Job Description
Duties and Requirements Click to read more
Duties
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
- Collects forensic evidence and maintains custody as required by each case including received property, biological evidence, drug evidence, and weapons while ensuring items are stored in a secure and organized manner to protect integrity of evidence and prevent theft, loss, tampering, or contamination while in either temporary or long-term custody of the section.
- Maintains legal and accreditation compliance for documentation by retaining files of chain of custodies, legal documents including court orders for retesting, and shipping documentation as applicable for each case.
- Establishes cases in the Medical Examiner LIMS upon submission of evidence for analysis by external law enforcement agencies.
- Provides court testimony regarding property and evidence chain of custody including collection, processing, handling, storage, security, disposal, and disposition.
- Conducts and documents maintenance and quality control procedures on equipment according to protocol and regulatory guidelines. Monitors and logs temperatures of freezers maintaining cold storage of biohazardous materials and communicates with Facilities personnel in the event of equipment malfunctions.
- Orders and maintains supplies including barcode labels, organizational storage bins, evidence tape, and shipping kits.
- Performs advanced-level procedures for aliquoting biological samples for reference laboratory testing as requested by pathologist. Completes requisitions and required paperwork. Packs specimens into a cold storage shipping container and coordinates pickup using secure trackable shipping methods. Receives samples returned by reference laboratory to secured long-term storage.
- Coordinates the return of evidence to law enforcement agencies after the completion of laboratory services. Packs and tracks shipment of evidence using secure, trackable shipping methods. Verifies returned evidence is received by agency.
- Communicates with Medical Examiner Office departments, courts, district and county attorney’s offices, law enforcement agencies, defense attorneys, accrediting bodies, JPs offices, and citizens pertaining to property and evidence receipt, storage, dissemination, return, and final disposition.
- Establishes and manages Texas-DPS Track-Kit cases as “in lab” when sexual assault evidence is received from external law enforcement, thus allowing victims to track the kit at all times, and marks evidence ready for pick up when complete. Establishes and manages Texas DPS Track-Kit cases within the software when sexual assault evidence is collected in the morgue. Notifies agencies regarding the status of the sexual assault evidence in Track-Kit.
- Recommends new policies to supervision to ensure the efficient operations of the property and evidence room and adapts to policies that may change due to state law or statute updates.
- Serves as the central point of contact for court orders for testing. Ensures court orders are documented in the LIMS and supervision and analysts are notified of court order testing requirements. Interprets legal documents to ensure items are handled appropriately and within time limits under supervision of the Crime Laboratory Director.
- Completes affidavits regarding integrity of evidence and chain of custody.
- Determines proper disposition of property and evidence and maintains records of disposition. Uploads supporting documentation for disposition authorization in digital media of LIMS.
- Performs all other related duties as assigned.
Requirements
Minimum Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree or higher AND Two (2) full-time years of related forensic laboratory or evidence handling experience. -OR-
- Associate's degree AND four (4) full-time years of related forensic laboratory or evidence handling experience. -OR-
- High School diploma or GED AND six (6) full-time years of related forensic laboratory or evidence handling experience.
- Documented completion of designated coursework regarding evidence management and handling is required within one (1) year of hire.
- Ability to work independently or as part of a team.
- Extreme attention to detail is mandatory.
- Ability to communicate and understand property and evidence requests from Medical Examiner Office personnel, court personnel, district and county attorney’s offices, outside laboratories, outside law enforcement agencies, defense attorneys, and citizens.
- Ability to participate in time-sensitive and multiple projects concurrently without loss of quality on any project.
- Demonstrable interpersonal and public relations skills.
- Must be able to multitask and work independently on basic or routine assignments using independent discretion and judgment as well as transition quickly between tasks. Understand, interpret, and properly apply court orders and relevant state statutes and accreditation requirements in property and evidence processes.
- Prepare and execute official and legal documents to perform job functions.
- Working knowledge of property and evidence statutes in the State of Texas, policies, and procedures relating to property and evidence collection, classification, storage, release, destruction, and auction.
- Must have working knowledge of Medical Examiner Office LIMS software, Texas DPS Track-Kit software, and Microsoft software to complete job tasks.
* * * IMPORTANT * * *To be considered for this position, your application must be complete and clearly reflect the minimum qualifications. Incomplete information in the EDUCATION (including type of degree, field of study, and graduation status), EXPERIENCE, or CERTIFICATION/LICENSE sections may result in disqualification, as eligibility for minimum qualifications cannot be confirmed without complete documentation. If hired, must provide proof of educational attainment at new hire processing.
Tarrant County will conduct background checks on new hires that will include a criminal background check related to convictions and deferred adjudication in the past seven years and may include credit reports, motor vehicle records, employment records and educational attainment. A conviction or deferred adjudication is not an automatic bar to employment. Each case is considered individually.
Physical Demands and Work Environment & Other Requirements
- While performing the duties of this position, the incumbent is regularly required to bend, carry, tolerate cold inside temperatures, keyboard, lift below the waist, lift between waist and shoulder, lift overhead, lift to the side/twist, pull, push, reach, reach overhead, perform repetitive tasks, sit, be exposed to solvents, squat, stand, stoop, talk, and walk. The hazards associated with this position may include handling physical evidence from evaluating loaded firearms and explosives to dealing with dangerous chemicals and blood borne pathogens associated with biological evidence and human remains. There is routine exposure to decomposition with odorous specimens and graphic visual situations.
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Job Tags
Full time, Temporary work, Work at office,