Worcester County Sheriff's Office - Forensic Crime Scene Technician

A Crime Scene Technician is forensic field services work and will collect, record and preserve evidence found at crime and disaster scenes for laboratory examination and court presentations. This includes the collection and examination of audio and video evidence.

Employees receive close supervision from a Criminal Investigation Division Supervisory Staff member. Employees may be subject to 24 hour on-call and overtime based upon staffing needs and demand for service. The work is physically demanding and is performed in the laboratory or at crime and disaster scenes.

A Crime Scene Technician is responsible for reporting to crime scenes for the purpose of detecting, collecting and preserving evidence, and photographing the scene and the collected evidence. Under close supervision, the employee reviews the crime scene; gathers information from witnesses, when available, which may provide insight into the sequence and location of events and possible evidence. The employee will learn to determine the best methods and procedures to detect, collect, and preserve the evidence, performing chemical and other tests, preparing detailed crime scene diagrams, and testifying in courts of law about collected evidence.

Completed work is evaluated for technical soundness, and conformity with agency policy and standard operating procedures. Guidelines and procedures for performing the work shall be available to the employee. The employee must use sound judgment in selecting and applying the appropriate guidelines. It is important to note that these guidelines, procedures, and standards addressing evidentiary issues must be rigorously adhered to for evidence to be considered by the court.

The complexity of this class of work is derived from the variety of processes which are employed; and which are occasionally carried out in adverse weather conditions which compound the difficulties associated with evidence detection, collection and preservation. It is significant that normally there is only one opportunity to detect and collect evidence at each crime scene. Work must be performed quickly and efficiently in order to prevent the loss of perishable evidence and to facilitate the timely release of the crime scene to proper authorities. The impact of properly performed tasks in this job classification is significant, and often the key factor, in a successful criminal prosecution.