STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
HUMAN RESOURCES


 

CLASSIFICATION:  CRIMINAL EVIDENCE TECHNICIAN

 

Class Code:  2331-17                                                       Date Established: 11/1/11

 

Occupational Code:  7-6-4                                             Date of Last Revision: 

 

BASIC PURPOSE:  To receive, process, and store items of physical evidence in the Department of Safety, Division of State Police's Forensic Laboratory in connection with criminal investigations.

 

CHARACTERISTIC DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

·        Receives, labels, inventories and records physical evidence submitted to the Forensic Laboratory, ensuring legal accountability and proper chain of custody for admissibility in a court of law.

·        Checks each piece of evidence for proper packaging and labeling and verifies accuracy of evidence submittal forms.

·        Records and maintains information in laboratory and storage location databases.

·        Delivers bar coded evidence to vaults and secure storage areas.

·        Communicates with local police departments, police agencies and State Police officers concerning the level of priority and status of forensic examinations and other analytical work.

·        Returns evidence from completed and cancelled cases to individual police departments.

·        Prepares evidence for destruction and witnesses its incineration.

·        Testifies as an expert witness in depositions and criminal trials and prepares court exhibits for presentation at trial, as needed.

·        Assists State police and other agencies with crime scene processing to include documentation, collection and preservation of evidence, when required.

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DISTINGUISHING FACTORS:

 

Skill:  Requires skill in recommending routine changes in standardized operating procedures OR in retrieving, compiling, and reporting data according to established procedures OR in operating complex machines.

 

Knowledge:  Requires knowledge of business practices and procedures or technical training in a craft or trade, including working from detailed instructions, to apply knowledge in a variety of practical situations.

 

Impact:  Requires responsibility for achieving direct service objectives by assessing agency service needs and making preliminary recommendations for the development of alternative short-term program policies or procedures.  Errors at this level result in incomplete assessments or misleading recommendations causing a disruption of agency programs or policies.

 

Supervision:  Requires no supervision of employees or functions.

 

Working Conditions:  Requires performing regular job functions in an environment which includes exposure to continuous physical elements or a number of disagreeable working conditions with frequent exposure to minor injuries or health hazards.

 

Physical Demands:  Requires medium work, including continuous strenuous activities such as frequent reaching, bending, or lifting as well as performing work activities which require fine manual dexterity or coordination in operating machines or equipment.

 

Communication:  Requires summarizing data, preparing reports, and making recommendations based on findings which contribute to solving problems and achieving work objectives.  This level also requires presenting information for use by administrative-level managers in making decisions.

 

Complexity:  Requires a combination of job functions to establish facts, to draw daily operational conclusions, or to solve practical problems.  This level also requires providing a variety of alternative solutions where only limited standardization exists.

 

Independent Action:  Requires a range of choice in applying a number of technical or administrative policies under general direction and making routine decisions or in recommending modifications in work MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

 

·         Education:  Associate's degree from a recognized college or university with major study in laboratory technology or in the biological sciences, health sciences, physical sciences, or forensic science.  Each additional year of approved formal education may be substituted for one year of required work experience.

 

·         Experience:  Two years' experience in chemistry, biological sciences or forensic laboratory duties.

 

License/Certification:  Eligibility for New Hampshire driver's license.

 

SPECIAL REQUIREMENTS:  Must be able to pass a security background check.

 

RECOMMENDED WORK TRAITS:  Knowledge of chemical and physical laboratory equipment, techniques, procedures and language. Knowledge of the practices of physical testing. Knowledge of the proper handling, storage and preservation of crime scene evidence and laboratory specimens to be used as evidence.  Knowledge of the practices and procedures of inventory control and record keeping.  Skill in the use and care of laboratory equipment and materials. Skill in using computers and photographic equipment.  Skill in organizing work.  Skill in reading and interpreting written directions.  Ability to record information accurately. Ability to communicate effectively orally and in writing.  Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with departmental and local police, legal personnel and the general public.  Must be willing to maintain appearance appropriate to assigned duties and responsibilities as determined by the agency appointing authority. 

 

DISCLAIMER STATEMENT:  This class specification is descriptive of general duties and is not intended to list every specific function of this class title.

 

 


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