What does a Police Identification and Records Officer do?

Collect evidence at crime scene, classify and identify fingerprints, and photograph evidence for use in criminal and civil cases. Day to day that includes work like maintain records of evidence and write and review reports and Package, store and retrieve evidence.

What skills should a Police Identification and Records Officer put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Police Identification and Records Officer list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Computer aided composite drawing software, Database software, DataWorks Plus Digital CrimeScene, and DeChant Consulting Services iWitness. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Police Identification and Records Officer work?

O*NET records 39 titles for this occupation, including Crime Scene Investigator, Crime Scene Technician, Criminalist, and Forensic Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Police Identification and Records Officer need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 28% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Police Identification and Records Officer role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Police Identification and Records Officer resume example

A resume for a Police Identification and Records Officer needs to show the work itself: collect evidence at crime scene, classify and identify fingerprints, and photograph evidence for use in criminal and civil cases. Day to day that means work like this: maintain records of evidence and write and review reports; package, store and retrieve evidence. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

Crime Scene Investigator
Crime Scene Technician
Criminalist
Forensic Specialist
Crime Scene Evidence Technician
Field Identification Specialist
Identification Officer
Identification Technician
Latent Fingerprint Examiner
Latent Print Examiner
Crime Lab Analyst
Accident Examiner
Accident Investigator
Accident Reconstructionist
Community Service Officer
Computer Forensic Examiner
Computer Forensic Specialist
Corrections Identification Technician

O*NET records 39 titles for this occupation in total.

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Maintain records of evidence and write and review reports.
Package, store and retrieve evidence.
Submit evidence to supervisors, crime labs, or court officials for legal proceedings.
Testify in court and present evidence.
Analyze and process evidence at crime scenes, during autopsies, or in the laboratory, wearing protective equipment and using powders and chemicals.
Look for trace evidence, such as fingerprints, hairs, fibers, or shoe impressions, using alternative light sources when necessary.
Photograph crime or accident scenes for evidence records.
Dust selected areas of crime scene and lift latent fingerprints, adhering to proper preservation procedures.
Create sketches and diagrams, by hand or computer software, to depict crime scenes.
Serve as technical advisor and coordinate with other law enforcement workers or legal personnel to exchange information on crime scene collection activities.
Coordinate or conduct instructional classes or in-services, such as citizen police academy classes and crime scene training for other officers.
Interview survivors, witnesses, suspects, and other law enforcement personnel.

15 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Maintain records of evidence and write and review reports, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Package, store and retrieve evidence, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Submit evidence to supervisors, crime labs, or court officials for legal proceedings, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Testify in court and present evidence, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Adobe Photoshop
Computer aided composite drawing software
Database software
DataWorks Plus Digital CrimeScene
DeChant Consulting Services iWitness
DesignWare 3D EyeWitness
Digital Image Management Solutions Crime Scene
Eos Systems PhotoModeler
Image enhancement software
Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System IAFIS
Linux
Microsoft Access
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software

26 software entries are recorded in total.

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

35 millimeter cameras
Adjustable widemouth pliers
Automobile door handle removers
Axes
Biohazard suits
Blood collection kits
Bolt cutters
Breathalyzers
Bulletproof vests
Camera lens filters
Claw hammers
Compound light microscopes

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Computer aided composite drawing
DataWorks Plus Digital CrimeScene

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Critical Thinking
03Speaking
04Reading Comprehension
05Writing
06Complex Problem Solving
07Active Learning
08Judgment and Decision Making
09Monitoring
10Social Perceptiveness

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Law and Government
English Language
Public Safety and Security
Customer and Personal Service
Administrative

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

28%Associate's Degree
26%Bachelor's Degree
22%Master's Degree

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Medium Preparation Needed”. Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.

Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.

Common questions

What does a Police Identification and Records Officer do?: Collect evidence at crime scene, classify and identify fingerprints, and photograph evidence for use in criminal and civil cases. Day to day that includes work like maintain records of evidence and write and review reports and Package, store and retrieve evidence.
What skills should a Police Identification and Records Officer put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Critical Thinking, Speaking, Reading Comprehension, and Writing among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Police Identification and Records Officer list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Adobe Photoshop, Computer aided composite drawing software, Database software, DataWorks Plus Digital CrimeScene, and DeChant Consulting Services iWitness. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Police Identification and Records Officer work?: O*NET records 39 titles for this occupation, including Crime Scene Investigator, Crime Scene Technician, Criminalist, and Forensic Specialist. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Police Identification and Records Officer need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 28% reported their level of education as "Associate's Degree". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Police Identification and Records Officer role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.