Police Identification and Records Officers
Collect evidence at crime scene, classify and identify fingerprints, and photograph evidence for use in criminal and civil cases.
Most important skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Active Learning
- Monitoring
- Social Perceptiveness
Key knowledge
- Law and Government
- Administrative
- English Language
- Public Safety and Security
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Education and Training
- Administration and Management
What the work involves
- Photograph crime or accident scenes for evidence records.
- Testify in court and present evidence.
- Dust selected areas of crime scene and lift latent fingerprints, adhering to proper preservation procedures.
- Look for trace evidence, such as fingerprints, hairs, fibers, or shoe impressions, using alternative light sources when necessary.
- Package, store and retrieve evidence.
- Perform emergency work during off-hours.
- Process film and prints from crime or accident scenes.
- Maintain records of evidence and write and review reports.
Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Conventional, Realistic, Investigative.
Qualifications and licensing
- Most common education
- High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED) (34.6% of respondents)
- Related experience
- Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (40.4%)
- On-the-job training
- Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (30.8%)
- Preparation level
- O*NET job zone 3: Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
- Licensing
- Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.
Check before planning
- Licensing for Police Identification and Records Officers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
- Projection education uses SOC 33-3021 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.
Limits
- Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
- Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0
Work environment
How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).
Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.
| Condition | Level | Compared with other occupations | Most common answer (O*NET survey) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Contact with others | Very low | Lower on contact with others than 90% of occupations compared | — |
| Dealing with the public | Moderate | Higher on dealing with the public than 51% of occupations compared | — |
| Teamwork | Low | Lower on teamwork than 75% of occupations compared | 42% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important” |
| Freedom to make decisions | High | Higher on freedom to make decisions than 79% of occupations compared | 59% of surveyed respondents chose “A lot of freedom” |
| Time pressure | Very low | Lower on time pressure than 90% of occupations compared | 40% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Conflict situations | Low | Lower on conflict situations than 61% of occupations compared | 34% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week” |
| Dealing with unpleasant or angry people | High | Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 71% of occupations compared | — |
| Consequence of error | Moderate | Lower on consequence of error than 50% of occupations compared | 29% of surveyed respondents chose “Not serious at all” |
Work-pressure profile
- Time pressure: very low
- Conflict situations: low
- Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
- Consequence of error: moderate
Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.
Full answer distributions
Contact with others
- No contact with others: 0%
- Occasional contact with others: 23.65%
- Contact with others about half the time: 14.72%
- Contact with others most of the time: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Constant contact with others: 28.1%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with the public
- Not important at all: 11.95%
- Fairly important: 5.91%
- Important: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Very important: 25.9%
- Extremely important: 24.4%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Teamwork
- Not important at all: 3.7%
- Fairly important: 13.52%
- Important: 10.6%
- Very important: 30.24%
- Extremely important: 41.95%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2025
Freedom to make decisions
- No freedom: 0%
- Very little freedom: 0%
- Limited freedom: 9.8%
- Some freedom: 31.52%
- A lot of freedom: 58.67%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Time pressure
- Never: 3.42%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 18.68%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 40.17%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 33.35%
- Every day: 4.38%
n = 21, Incumbent 08/2025
Conflict situations
- Never: 14.32%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 29.45%
- Once a month or more but not every week: 33.68%
- Once a week or more but not every day: 20.18%
- Every day: 2.37%
n = 20, Incumbent 08/2025
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people
- Never: 3.97%
- Once a year or more but not every month: 10.96%
- Once a month or more but not every week: suppressed by O*NET (low precision)
- Once a week or more but not every day: 19.55%
- Every day: 9.12%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2025
Consequence of error
- Not serious at all: 28.64%
- Fairly serious: 5.22%
- Serious: 25.74%
- Very serious: 22.12%
- Extremely serious: 18.28%
n = 19, Incumbent 08/2025
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O*NET-SOC 33-3021.02 · SOC 33-3021 (detailed_parent, medium confidence) · dataset 2026.10.8