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Scenes of Crime Officer
Introduction
Technology plays an increasing part in collecting evidence at the site of a crime or accident. Using special equipment that is able to record clues often invisible to the naked eye, scenes of crime officers gather forensic, photographic and fingerprint evidence.
Scenes of crime officers, who are sometimes also known as crime scene investigators, work for individual police forces in scientific support. A small number are police officers. The majority are civilians.
Work Environment
Scenes of crime officers work from police force headquarters or divisional offices. They spend most of their time out on investigations – and use their offices as bases to write reports and prepare statements.
Scenes of crime officers work in all kinds of environments and weather. They may be called to night time road traffic accidents or have to climb on to roofs to look for evidence of forced entry to buildings.
Hours of work are 37, on a shift system over five days each week, including weekends. In most forces normal hours of work are between 7 and 8 am and 11pm and midnight. But scenes of crime officers are required to be on call on a regular basis outside these hours and may have to work overnight.
Daily Activities
At the beginning of a shift scenes of crime officers are given a list of calls that have come in from police officers overnight. They put these in order of priority and plan to do them in a logical order. However, as they are driving from one incident to another, urgent calls may come in from control and they may decide to reorganise their route. They remain in contact with control by mobile phone, pager and VHS radio.
At the scene of the incident they establish what evidence the investigating police officer requires and decide on the best methods of obtaining it. They then take charge of the scene and decide on an order of work. Before beginning, they put on protective clothing – paper suits, overshoes and masks to avoid contaminating evidence.
They take photographs of the scene, arranging lights and using filters and chemicals. They gather forensic evidence, using various techniques – for example brushing surfaces with special powder or passing an electrical charge through chemically treated paper to raise dust from furniture and clothing fibres or footwear prints from carpets.
They also take impressions of fingerprints from people who may have had access to the scene of the crime. They may have to take fingerprints from dead bodies in order to establish their identity.
Finally, they put the samples into protective packaging and send them to forensic laboratories or fingerprint bureaux for analysis.
Their work may take them to private houses, schools, industrial premises or to outdoor sites. In some cases they might have to walk long distances in the countryside, carrying all their heavy equipment.
Scenes of crime officers sometimes work alone, sometimes with colleagues. In murder investigations it is usual to have a team of one scenes of crime supervisor and two scenes of crime officers – one to take photographs and one to collect forensic samples.
They often have to work in difficult conditions – for example taking photographs in the dark, with flashing lights from police cars and ambulances making it difficult to take the shots.
Scenes of crime officers also have to do some unpleasant tasks. For instance it is their job to recover bodies – perhaps from a river or a railway line. They are responsible for identifying bodies through DNA or fingerprint testing. Sometimes they may decide to request dental records.
They frequently give evidence in court.
Skills & Interests
Scenes of crime officers must be patient and methodical. They need to pay meticulous attention to detail and must never hurry, even if under pressure to do so. Sometimes they need to be firm and able to explain to a police officer who is hoping for a speedy result or a householder who wants to begin tidying their property that they cannot work more quickly. They need to be able to communicate sympathetically with the victims of a crime or an accident and to have good interviewing and listening skills.
They must be physically fit.
Sometimes scenes of crime officers arrive to find a crowd of onlookers or colleagues from the other emergency services at the scene. They need the confidence to take charge and after making sure that any victims have been attended to, request people to move aside and clear the way for them to begin the investigation.
Entry Requirements
These vary in different police forces. Some ask for a good standard of general education plus evidence of photographic ability. Others ask for GCSEs or A levels.
Some new scenes of crime officers attend a residential course at the National Training Centre for Scientific Support to Crime Investigation near Durham. Others are trained by their police force, for example Kent Police and the Metropolitan Police in London train all their own scenes of crime officers. Training within the force like this is often less generic and more specific to particular posts.
Further training is then given on the job. They also take a course to qualify as police approved drivers. During their careers scenes of crime officers attend short courses to keep their skills up to date.
Estimated salary range
Salaries also vary. The average salary is approximately £17,000-£18,500 plus a 14% shift work allowance. Scenes of crime officers also receive additional payments for working outside their normal hours.
Please note that salary information is a guide only and there may be local agreements in place. For further information about salaries for particular positions, please contact your local council directly.
Future prospects & opportunities
Police forces employ different numbers of scenes of crime officers. A medium sized police force might employ up to 20 scenes of crime officers, with three or four scenes of crime supervisors. Some large ones have over 60 scenes of crime officers and 10 supervisors. There are prospects of further promotion to head of scenes of crime.
Related Occupations
Follow this link to view a list of all related occuptions in Protecting Your Community.
Alternatively, follow this link to view all career profiles placed in the same job area.
Further Information & Services
Contact your local police force headquarters for further information on the work of a scenes of crime officer and for local entry requirements and training information.
You may find further information about this area of work in your local Connexions service/careers office/school careers library – under UG.
What should I do next?
Look for current local government Scenes of Crime Officer vacancies in the following places:
LGjobs.com - the official recruitment website for local government.
Weekly, bi-weekly or monthly jobs bulletins produced by local councils themselves, available from libraries, community centres, town halls/main civic buildings and central council personnel departments.
Local council websites.
Local newspapers
National newspapers – The Guardian is particularly well known for its public sector job advertisements on a Wednesday.
Find out about the council and get some work experience if possible by:
Making the most of work experience placements arranged through your school, college or university.
Contacting councils close to your home to find out about the work experience opportunities they offer.
Talking to someone who does the job you are interested in – ring your local council to see if someone can spare some time.
Making an appointment to see a careers adviser for more specific information about jobs and training
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