The UK National Wildlife Crime Unit (NWCU) is a specialist police-led unit that provides intelligence, analysis and investigative expertise to support law enforcement agencies tackling wildlife crime. This work focuses on the national wildlife crime priorities which are currently listed as raptor persecution, Badger crime, bat crime, illegal wildlife trade (CITES) and illegal hunting, poaching and coursing. The unit is hosted by Hampshire Constabulary and has a main office in Stirling, Scotland, but homeworking throughout the UK is available.
The NWCU is currently advertising the following three vacancies:
Intelligence Analyst
Permanent position, full time (37hrs per week), salary range £37,020-£39,276. Closing date for applications: 2 August 2026 at 23.55hrs. Interviews week commencing 10 August 2026. Click here to apply.
Job profile:
Intelligence Officer
Temporary position for two years (30hrs per week), salary range £37,026 – £39,276) pro rata. Closing date for applications: 9 August 2026 at 23.55hrs. Interviews week commencing 17 August 2026. Click here to apply.
Job profile:
Investigative Support Officer
Temporary position for two years (30hrs per week), salary range £37,026 – £39,276) pro rata. Closing date for applications: 16 August 2026 at 23.55hrs. Interviews week commencing 31 August 2026. Click here to apply.
Job profile:
Raptor Persecution UK 
If only I could live my life again how I would love to work with raptors
I acknowledge there are many ways to look at this, and it shows the direction of travel / level of interest is definitely there from NWCU. Which is great. But I have to say my gut feeling (again) is that in regards to raptor persecution at least there is plenty of intelligence – plenty known about what is happening. Plenty of known hotspots and in fact hotspots within hotspots. Plenty (hundreds, I would say) of known well recognised people who are at it are already well known, not just to RSPB Investigations, but by raptor monitors, birdwatchers and locals – and also the police, unavoidably from innumerable “near miss” cases where the perpetrators were known but there was not quite enough evidence to prosecute. How much more intelligence is needed before it is acted on “on the ground”? What I say IMO is needed is police employed people to conduct covert surveillance wherever the location or “beat”(in the keeper parlance) that these individuals manage overlaps with other indicating factors – such as corpses and other physical evidence turning up, last tag signals or the solid research of raptor monitors in the field that demonstrates that something dodgy is afoot in that given area.