This week (2-6 March) marks the annual Police Staff Week of Celebration and Recognition 2026. Forensic practitioners make up a vital part of the police staff family, supporting investigations and ensuring reliable scientific evidence enters the criminal justice system. There are many routes into the forensic sciences, from apprenticeships to quality or police roles.

To shine a spotlight on the varied professional backgrounds of forensic practitioners, we're featuring the experiences from our own team – some of whom joined FCN from quality roles, police forces and elsewhere.

Dr Debbie Sharp, FCN Lead Scientist

I always knew I wanted to be some kind of scientist, but I wasn’t particularly interested in forensics. I did a degree in Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Leeds and then stayed on at Leeds Medical School to complete a PhD in genetics. As a post-doc, I was leaning towards a career in embryology when I saw an advertisement for ‘court reporting officers’. This was in the late 1990s when the Forensic Science Service was rapidly expanding to cope with the increase in demand brought about by the advancements in DNA profiling and subsequent launch of the National DNA Database in 1995. Using DNA to solve crimes was all over the TV at the time and it suddenly dawned on me that my hands-on lab experience could be put to good use in the fight against crime!

I worked for the FSS at Wetherby for 12 years, gaining experience in body fluid analysis and DNA interpretation across a wide range of crime types and by 2010 I was ready for the next challenge, having spent many years as a blood pattern expert attending major crime scenes and a specialist advisor for serious sexual offences. I enjoyed working for the FSS immensely, but I felt a sense of disconnect from my customer – the Police. So, I made a career move into operational policing when an opportunity came up as the Head of Forensic Services in West Yorkshire Police. This was a very different role, with far more focus on leading a team and managing operations, rather than doing actual science and working on individual cases. I was employed by West Yorkshire Police for 10 years, life was full of challenge and change, from designing new state-of the-art forensic facilities, developing quality standards for in-house forensic services,  delivering a regionalisation programme and creating new service models with private sector forensic providers following the demise of the FSS.  

This gave me a new-found love for collaboration, having seen first-hand the benefits it could bring to policing and the communities we serve. So, when the opportunity arose for a Lead Scientist in the FCN, I knew it was the role for me! 

Paul Fenwick, FCN Scientific Officer

Prior to the FCN I held roles providing service support and installing network systems, which included building computers for marine navigation systems, and point of sale systems. I also worked as a service manager repairing commercial printers, fax machines and photocopiers.

I joined Staffordshire Police in 2001 as digital forensics examiner as part of a small team to support commercial fraud and financial crime investigator. This later led to the development of the Digital Forensics Unit, where I ended my career after 19 years with Staffordshire Police as a Digital Forensics Coordinator and joining the FCN as Scientific Officer (Digital Forensics). I received my 20 year service medal just after joining the FCN, my current service to policing is 25 years.

Kelly Forrester, FCN Information Assurance Manager

My journey began with a lucky break: an administrative temping job faxing DNA match reports to police forces for the Forensic Science Service in the early 2000s. What might have seemed like a small role gave me a front row seat to the real-world impact of forensic science and the evolution of DNA as a key tool to identify suspects and exonerate the innocent. From there I built a strong foundation in Quality Management Systems, learning how critical processes, accuracy and consistency are to maintaining trust in forensic results. As my role grew, I was able to apply this knowledge in a new way – testing and improving the quality of Forensic IT software and systems. During this time, I began studying for my IT degree with the Open University.

When the Forensic Science Regulator was established and policing began implementing international standards in forensic laboratories, I seized the opportunity to join the National Policing project team. Working with police forces across the country was inspiring. I saw first-hand how quality standards could strengthen forensic services, and developed project management skills that would shape my future career.

After completing my degree, I specialised in Information Assurance at the Home Office, helping to protect and strengthen the security of the National DNA Database. I found my passion in acting as a bridge between technical teams and the people who rely on and use these systems every day. This led me into both Service and Project Management roles, ensuring that technology truly served its users. As data protection legislation evolved, I worked closely with colleagues from the Information Commissioners Office to navigate new requirements and safeguard sensitive information. It was a powerful reminder that forensic science is not just about evidence – it is about responsibility, integrity, and public trust.

Today at the FCN, I bring together everything I have learned to support change and provide guidance on Information Assurance and Data Protection. It’s incredibly rewarding to see how far the CJS has come in embedding quality standards, and to work alongside dedicated professionals who continue to innovate, strengthen the discipline and find new ways to deliver excellence. 

If there’s one thing my journey has taught me, it’s that there is no single route into forensics. Whether your strengths lie in science, technology, quality or problem-solving, there is a place for you. Every role, no matter how small it may seem at first, contributes to a much bigger purpose: delivering truth, supporting justice, and maintaining public confidence. You never know where that first opportunity might lead.

James Kendall-Milnes, FCN Quality Lead

I always loved science, so I naturally gravitated towards science based A-Levels (Biology, Chemistry and Psychology) but I definitely didn’t know anything about forensics at that point. For my degree it seemed logical to continue with the scientific theme, so I chose a degree in Biochemistry. It was at a Lancaster University open day when a Professor gave a brief talk and I remember him saying "if you are considering a career in forensic science, a degree is a biological science is a really solid grounding". That was the first time I drew a connection between what I was choosing for an education and a potential career in forensic science. 

I graduated 2009 and job opportunities were really limited, but there were two opportunities that I was forced to choose between: a PhD opportunity or a job with the Forensic Science Service. At that time, all I wanted to do was start work, so I opted out of the PhD and accepted the position with the FSS in Wetherby. Having not done a forensic science degree, I didn’t really know what to expect. I was informed I would be joining the Drugs team but I didn’t understand exactly what that would entail until my first day and a lab tour. Stepping over and under cannabis plants, seeing piles of various powders piled high on laboratory benches was surreal when I first saw it.

My time at the FSS didn’t last long, it was only around 9 months after I started that the announcement was made to wind up the FSS, so I would need to start looking for something else. Of course, the bug had already got me at that point and I knew I wanted to stay in forensics. So I looked into opportunities within the private sector and took a job with LGC in Oxfordshire. LGC gave me so many opportunities to grow and develop that really allowed my career to begin in earnest. I genuinely thought I would stay with LGC for all of my career. I transferred to the Toxicology team, which really allowed me to develop my analytical capabilities. 

Later, I joined Avon & Somerset Constabulary as a Drugs Expert, with the responsibility of setting up my own laboratory for the police to examine drugs. This was a real challenge, not only scientifically but also managing the estates upgrades and building work as well. By now, I was also realising that I had a passion for improvement, for doing things better, with higher quality and more efficiency and this also stirred something inside me. I loved doing the work but I was increasingly now loving improving the way the work could be delivered. That change in mindset was what made me think about working for UKAS. I wanted to work with other organisations to help them improve their forensic science. 

I joined UKAS in 2017 and worked with so many different organisations assessing them for their compliance to ISO/IEC 17025 and the FSR Codes (as it was at the time) but I wanted more. I was never satisfied to leave an organisation with a finding, I wanted to do more, I wanted to stay and help and advise but that wasn’t possible: that’s called consulting. 

And that’s when I learned about the creation of the Forensic Capability Network. It seemed like a perfect opportunity to go that step further and actually directly support practitioners, to take problems they weren’t able to solve themselves and try to solve them on behalf of the entire police forensic community. There's never a dull moment and there’s always a new challenge but that’s exactly what 18-year-old James wanted when he was doing his science A-Levels. 

Every role, no matter how small it may seem at first, contributes to a much bigger purpose: delivering truth, supporting justice, and maintaining public confidence.