Information about the role of a digital investigation supervisor, including the role purpose, key responsibilities and the skills required.
About the role
A digital investigation supervisor is a digital and cybercrime position within the investigation sector of policing. It's a team leader role in the policing professional profiles.
Role purpose
The digital investigator supervisor manages and coordinates the activities of the digital investigator (DI), identifies relevant advice and training, ensures that all relevant digital evidential material is secured to support investigative work and that the digital investigators are effectively utilised in policing.
Key responsibilities
Key responsibility statements show the accountabilities for someone in this role. They focus on what is done, not how it is done.
- Supervising a team of staff to ensure that they are inspired and motivated to perform their duties, and manage their welfare and professional development through coaching and mentoring.
- Coordinating the allocation, prioritisation, and completion of the digital investigation team workload to advance and support the force’s investigations.
- Advocating and promoting digital investigation services and capabilities to the force at all levels to make use of the service and support the delivery of force objectives.
- Identifying when specialist technical advice can be provided to senior investigating officers and investigating officers to maximise investigative opportunities.
- Providing support and guidance to digital investigators on fieldwork and during investigations to ensure the team's wellbeing and resilience and support their professional development.
- Identifying opportunities and resources to support technical knowledge and capability of the digital investigation team to develop and provide an improved service.
- Devising and implementing standard operating policies, procedures, and processes based on legal and regulatory requirements in order to maintain quality standards. Effectively manage the digital investigation team's technical operations and hold digital investigators accountable.
- Maintaining force minimum standards with regards to use and maintenance of all technical equipment used for evidential purposes to support investigations.
- Leading on the performance management of team members and be responsible for the achievement of the team and unit objectives as specified by force.
- Recruiting, budgeting and planning the resourcing of a team to enable the appropriate level of capacity in the team to provide a professional and consistent service at all times.
- Managing the budgeting, licensing responsibilities and procurement processes for the digital investigation unit to ensure the capability to effectively investigate.
- Collaborating regionally and nationally with all digital investigation units to share good practice and maintain expertise.
Competencies, values and core skills
The competency and values framework (CVF) provides clear expectations for everyone working in policing. It describes the behaviours required by police officers and staff to be effective in their roles and uphold the Code of Ethics for policing.
Competencies
The CVF has six competencies, which are split into levels. These levels can be used flexibly to allow for a better fit with frontline and non-frontline policing roles, and at different levels of seniority. This ensures that there is consistency throughout all the policing professional profiles. Some roles may contain different CVF levels due to the specialist nature of the role. Those working at higher levels should also fulfil the requirements of the lower levels.
This role should be operating at or working towards the following competencies.
- We are emotionally aware – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We take ownership – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We collaborate – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We support and inspire – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We analyse critically – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
- We are innovative and open-minded – Level 2: supervisor or middle manager
Values
The CVF has three values that apply to everyone in policing, regardless of their role or seniority.
Core skills
All roles in policing have nine core skills in common. These skills are split into levels that represent the different levels of policing.
This role should be operating at, or working towards, the following levels:
- Communicating and influencing – Level 2
- Problem solving – Level 2
- Performance management – Level 2
- Relationship management – Level 2
- Change management – Level 2
- Managing people – Level 2
- Managing resources – Level 2
- Planning – Level 2
- Use of IT – Level 2
Education, qualifications and experience
Demonstrate a sound knowledge and understanding of the law and procedure in connection with the following business areas:
- digital forensics and technology (computers and mobile devices)
- network investigations
- wifi opportunities
- open-source investigations
- communications data investigations
- automatic number plate recognition (ANPR)
- closed circuit television (CCTV)
- radio frequency propagation surveys (cellular and wifi)
Legislative and regulatory knowledge includes:
- Criminal Procedures Investigations Act 1996
- Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984
- Data Protection Act 2018
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- Human Rights Act 1998
- Investigatory Powers Act 2016
- Forensic Science Regulator Act 2021
- Forensic Science Regulators Code of Practice 2023
- ISO17025
- ISO17020
- Extraction of Information from Electronic Devices Code of Practice 2023
Strong understanding of processes including:
- investigation, prosecution, and case file preparation
- exhibits management and giving of evidence
- grading systems for single points of contact (SPoCs) and risk matrices used by the high-tech crime unit
In-role education, qualifications and experience
- Successful completion of professionalising digital investigation programme: digital investigation supervisors.
Continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD) enables everyone in policing to develop and gain recognition for their professional skills, knowledge and competence. CPD ensures that we continue to provide high-quality policing to keep the public safe and help to drive career aspirations. Discussion of CPD is usually included as part of professional development review (PDR)conversations.
Learning and accreditation
- Complete all annual and mandatory training.
- Any exemptions to learning and accreditation requirements are at chief constable discretion, in line with the local force policy.
Professional development
This role should consider the following CPD:
- staying up to date with the changing landscape of communications data
- remaining up to date on the techniques used by single points of contact (SPoCs), radio frequency propagation surveyors, analysts, digital forensics, and open-source teams through networking with these teams and other digital investigators; understanding how these techniques can be applied together and the possibilities or limitations of using them
- developing a working knowledge of emerging technologies and staying informed of any updates from service providers
- being aware of any changes to legislation that may affect digital work
- researching new methodologies for gaining digital evidence and data, within the parameters of the law and local force policy, and applying them to working practices
- maintaining and enhancing knowledge of both cyber spectrum crime
- understanding and implementing the current Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (IPA) code of practice and extraction of information from electronic devices code of practice 2023
- attending role-specific digital investigation continuing professional development events and training, where appropriate
- maintaining an overview of operational deployment for digital investigators within their Law Enforcement Agency (LEA)
Related roles
You can find other team leader roles in the: