The Role & Expectations
As a scene of crime officer, you work with the police to investigate crimes. When a crime happens - like a theft, break-in or assault - you go to the scene and look for evidence. This might be fingerprints, blood, fibres from clothing, or broken objects. You carefully collect, photograph and package this evidence so it is safe and clean for scientists to test in the laboratory. Your work is very detailed - you need to be careful not to disturb or contaminate anything.
You work in all kinds of places - homes, shops, cars, streets - sometimes when it's dark or in bad weather. You use special equipment like cameras, swabs and test kits to record what you find. You also write clear notes about where you found each piece of evidence. Your work is important because good evidence can help police catch the right person and prove what happened. It can be upsetting sometimes, as crime scenes can show that people have been hurt, but you are helping to make sure justice is done.
Daily Responsibilities
- Travelling to crime scenes such as homes, shops, cars or streets to begin an investigation.
- Searching the scene carefully for evidence like fingerprints, blood, fibres or broken objects.
- Taking detailed photographs of the scene and the evidence before anything is moved.
- Collecting and packaging evidence using swabs, test kits and special equipment so it stays clean.
- Writing clear notes that record exactly where each piece of evidence was found.
- Making sure the scene is preserved and nothing gets disturbed or contaminated.
- Passing evidence safely to laboratory scientists and updating the police on what you found.