Property & Evidence Technician

Duties

Major Duties

• Examines and completes storage of property according to established standards; ensuring accuracy in property submissions.
• Participates in inventory and inspection of the property room and prepares property for disposal as appropriate.
• Preserves evidence by counting cash, jewelry and guns, weighing drugs and maintaining up-to-date property lists and preparing related reports.
• Responds to crime scenes, evaluates and conducts searches for evidence using related crime scene investigation disciplines.
• Documents crime scenes using photography, measurements, diagrams and other techniques used to accurately record the dimensions, etc. of a scene.
• Collects and/or processes evidence at a crime scene using a variety of techniques to include alternate light sources, chemical and physical processes, and latent fingerprint collection.
• Testifies in court as required.

 Earn a Degree in Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Science, or Computer Forensics

Requirements

Experience and Skills Required

• Experience with or ability to learn the principals and practices of police property room and evidence control functions.
• Experience with or ability to learn the applicable laws, codes and regulations associated with the property room, evidence control function and evidentiary chain of custody.
• Experience with or ability to learn the practices and techniques of automated and manual inventory control systems.
• Experience with the crime scene investigation functions, to include defining the parameters of a crime scene, documentation and collection of evidence contained in a crime scene, and properly securing evidence for additional analysis and/or presentation in court.
• Experience in recognizing the appropriate and best methods associated with the collection of various items of evidence and use of the appropriate equipment to develop, document and collect items of evidence.
• Ability to read, write, understand and follow oral and written instructions.
• Ability to effectively communicate and provide testimony.

Minimum Qualifications: Any combination equivalent to the education and experience likely to provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying. A typical way to gain such knowledge and abilities would be:

• Possession of an Associate’s Degree or 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university and two (2) or more years’ experience as a Crime Scene Investigator, or an equivalent position, or;
• Possession of an Associate’s Degree or 60 credit hours from an accredited college or university and five (5) or more years’ experience as a Property Room Attendant, or equivalent position, or;
• Possession of a Bachelor’s Degree in crime scene or forensic-related field from an accredited college or university, or; • Two (2) years’ experience as a certified sworn law enforcement officer in the State of Texas.
• Any combination equivalent to the education and experience likely to provide the required knowledge and abilities would be qualifying.
• Possession of or ability to readily obtain a valid driver’s license issued by the State of Texas for the type of vehicle or equipment operated.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Possession of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university and two (2) or more years’ experience as a Crime Scene Investigator, or an equivalent position, or;
• Possession of a Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university and five (5) or more years’ experience as a Property Room Attendant, or equivalent position, or;
• Five (5) or more years as a certified sworn law enforcement officer in the State of Texas with two (2) or more years’ experience as a Crime Scene Investigator, Property Room Attendant, or equivalent positions.

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