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Scene of crime officers are responsible for collecting, processing and preserving forensic, photographic and fingerprint evidence from crime scenes, post mortem and accidents.

A scene of crime officer works alongside police officers to help solve crimes. Their role is to locate, collect, preserve and catalogue evidence from a crime scene. They are also known as crime scene investigators (CSIs). A scene of crime officer will work on a wide variety of crime scenes, from burglaries and vandalism to murders and sexual offences.

Typical responsibilities of the job include:

• responding to and prioritising calls from police officers

• taking charge of crime scenes

• establishing what evidence is required from incident scenes and how best to obtain it

• taking, developing and printing photographs of the scene

• gathering forensic evidence such as samples of blood, hair, footprints, tyre marks etc, using appropriate scientific techniques

• obtaining impressions of fingerprints from prisoners, dead bodies or from people who may have accessed the crime scene

• placing evidence into protective packaging and sending it away for forensic analysis

• preserving crime scenes against contamination

• compiling written reports

• giving and defending evidence in court

Applicants should be capable of concentrating on the task in hand despite the difficult circumstances that a crime scene may present.

Qualifications and training required

It’s possible to become a crime scene officer both with or without a degree. However, while it’s not necessary to have a degree, it might be beneficial to have one in a science subject or in forensics. Good photographic ability is important and a qualification in photography can prove advantageous.

Key skills for scene of crime officers

• Able to cope well with pressure

• Able to deal with witnessing upsetting scenes

• Patience

• A logical and enquiring mind

• Meticulous attention to detail

• Excellent written and oral communication skills

• Good teamworking and problem solving abilities

• Good people skills

Typical employers of scene of crime officers

Scene of crime officers (SOCO) are employed by individual police. Although a few are police officers, most are civilians. They are based in police force headquarters or divisional stations but spend most of their time attending investigations.