Evidence Technician Job Description

What Does an Evidence Technician Do?

In a property room, the paperwork matters as much as the evidence. Evidence technicians work for police departments and other law enforcement agencies, logging, storing and releasing every item officers collect and keeping a signed chain of custody that will hold up in court. In some agencies the job extends to crime scenes.

Also known as: Police Evidence and Property Technician

Evidence Technician Duties and Responsibilities

The primary responsibilities of an evidence technician include:

• Receive evidence and found property from officers and check the packaging, seals and paperwork.
• Barcode each item and record its storage location in the property management system.
• Store drugs, firearms, money and biological evidence in the secure areas each one requires.
• Document every transfer so the chain of custody stays unbroken from intake to court.
• Deliver items to the state crime lab and collect them when testing is done.
• Release property to owners after checking identification and case clearance.
• Arrange court-ordered destruction of drugs and weapons, with witnesses present.
• Conduct inventories and audits of the property room and fix discrepancies right away.
• Testify in court about how an item was received, stored and handled.
• Photograph crime scenes and lift fingerprints in agencies that combine property and scene work.

Required Skills and Qualifications

To succeed as an evidence technician, you will need the following skills and qualifications:

• Chain-of-custody procedure
• Property and evidence software with barcode tracking
• Safe handling of drugs, firearms and biohazards
• Attention to detail on every form
• Organizing large, crowded storage spaces
• Composure on the witness stand
• Integrity around cash, drugs and weapons
• Property and evidence training, such as IAPE courses

Education and Training

Background checks are thorough, since the job puts you in charge of items headed for trial. Police departments often hire people with records, warehouse or police support experience. They train new technicians on the job. A bachelor's degree is the norm for forensic science technicians as a whole, and agencies that also send evidence technicians to crime scenes often want one in forensic or natural science.

Salary and Job Outlook

Employment of forensic science technicians is projected to grow about 13 percent from 2025 to 2035, BLS says. That wider group, which includes crime scene and lab analysts, expects about 2,800 openings a year. Property room posts tend to turn over slowly, but every department that takes in evidence needs someone to keep it safe and traceable.

Outlook source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections, 2025 to 2035, Forensic science technicians.