Evidence and Property Technician

Duties

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
The duties listed below are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to this class.

• Receives, tags, catalogues, and processes items of evidence into the Property and Evidence Room, following established procedures with a high degree of attention to detail; stores and safeguards items of evidence that may be used in court proceedings, meticulously following procedures to document and validate Chain of Custody; follows established procedures to preserve items of evidence which may include firearms, other weapons, money, jewelry, sex kits, blood, DNA, chemicals, toxic substances, computers and a wide variety of other items; following strict procedures, releases evidence to investigative, forensics and District Attorney personnel for entry into court proceedings.
• Processes firearms into the property room by verifying that all serial numbers and description are correct for entry into the records management system and AFS.
• Packages and ships evidence to other agencies. May transport evidence to court and lab as required.
• Testifies in court concerning custody and integrity of evidence and other pertinent information regarding evidence preservation, as required.
• Receives, records, classifies, and stores a variety of recovered and found property; researches and processes unclaimed and non-returnable items; located and releases recovered and found property to owners in accordance with required authorizations.
• Disposes of nuisance weapons and illicit materials after disposition of cases; destroys or disposes of items of evidence as directed or when court proceedings have been concluded; prepares them for auction.
• Enters and maintains evidence and property data in the department’s records management system; complies a variety of statistical and narrative reports; arranges and lays out storage of property to make optimal use of space.
• Performs regular auditing of detailed records, money, weapons, contraband, narcotics, etc., and their associated procedures.
• Participates in the development and implementation of policies, procedures and standards for property receipt, storage and disposition; participates in training other technicians.
• Prepares orders for supplies and materials; performs a variety of housekeeping duties in the property room.
• Provides training in appropriate evidence and property processing methods and techniques to ensure strict security and control of all incoming evidence and property acquired by the police department.
• Ensures that medical waste chemicals and other hazardous waste in the Forensic and/or Property Sections are properly stored and disposed of according to departmental policies and applicable state and federal laws.
• Provides day-to-day leadership and works with staff to ensure a high performance, customer service oriented work environment that supports achieving City objectives and service expectations; provides leadership and participates in programs and activities that promote a positive employee relations environment.

 Earn a Degree in Crime Scene Investigation, Forensic Science, or Computer Forensics

Requirements

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
Education:

• Possession of a High school diploma of GED equivalent.

Experience:

• At least one year of progressively responsible law enforcement work experience in a property and evidence room is highly preferred.

License; Certificates; Special Requirements:

• A valid California driver’s license and the ability to maintain insurability under the City’s vehicle insurance policy.
• International Association for Property and Evidence (IAPE) and California Association for Property and Evidence (CAPE) courses are desired at time of application; however, these courses must be obtained within 12 months of appointment to this classification.

Knowledge of:

• Practices and procedures for the storage, preservation, control, and retrieval of items in a large property and evidence room, including procedures for the safe storage and disposal of hazardous materials;
• principles and legal requirements for the preservation of evidence, including methods for maintaining and validating Chain of Custody, applicable to areas of assigned responsibility;
• methods and legal requirements for the safe storage and disposal of firearms and other weapons; department policies, procedures, and standards applicable to areas of assigned responsibility;
• use and operations of a computer, standard business software and specialized records management software;
• record keeping methods and procedures; customer service principles and practices;
• safe work practices and safety policies and regulations.

Ability to:

• Receive, store, preserve, and retrieve a wide variety of items of evidence and other property in a property and evidence room;
• apply meticulous detail and accuracy in the cataloguing and entry of records information for evidence, recovered and found property in an automated records management system;
• read, understand, interpret, and apply detailed legal requirements and departmental procedures and standards in receiving, preserving and releasing property and evidence;
• maintain the security and confidentiality of privileged information and items of evidence;
• establish and maintain effective working relationships with sworn and civilian staff of the Police department, representatives of other law enforcement and justice agencies, the public and others encountered in the course of work;
• analyze problems and identify solutions; plan, establish, implement, and evaluate department goals and objectives.
• Organize, set priorities, and exercise sound independent judgment within areas of responsibility;
• operate a variety of office equipment including computers and applicable software applications.

Physical and Environmental Demands

• The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this class. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, stand, or walk; talk and hear, both in person and by telephone; use hands to finger, handle and use computers and standard business equipment; reach with hands and arms. The employee may be required to climb a ladder up to two stories and may be required to lift and carry supplies and materials weighing up 50 pounds.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and vision sufficient to read small print, computer screens, and other printed documents.
• The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this class. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.
• Employees work under varied office, lab, and field conditions and the noise level may range from quiet to loud. Employees may be exposed to fumes, gases, grease, chemicals, blood-borne pathogens and other biohazards, and inclement weather. Employee is occasionally exposed to outdoor weather conditions, and wet or humid conditions.

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