Criminalist

State of Oklahoma • Tahlequah, OK

1d • $68,123 - $93,587 • Onsite

About The Position

This Position is located in the Northeast Regional Lab (NERL) in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Positions within this job family perform and/or manage forensic analysis of physical evidence from criminal cases and/or convicted offender DNA samples.

Requirements

• Level I: a minimum of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university.
• Level II: a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university plus one year of experience as a forensic laboratory criminalist. Depending upon selective qualifications, experience may be in controlled substances, trace evidence, forensic biology, serology, forensic DNA, toxicology, questioned documents, digital evidence, firearms/toolmarks, or latent prints. Experience must have been full time and the primary job responsibility to be qualifying.
• Level III: a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university plus three years of experience as a forensic laboratory criminalist. Depending upon selective qualifications, experience may be in controlled substances, trace evidence, forensic biology, serology, forensic DNA, toxicology, questioned documents, digital evidence, firearms/toolmarks, or latent prints. Experience must have been full time and the primary job responsibility to be qualifying.
• Level I: knowledge of the assigned field of work (chemistry, biology, forensic science, criminalistics, criminal justice, latent print development, print identification, firearms and toolmarks, digital evidence, or document examination); of basic scientific principles; of methods used in forensic analysis; of grammar, punctuation, English usage, and spelling; and of math. Ability is required to prepare evidence and exhibits for court; to effectively testify in court or administrative hearings; to organize and present facts and opinions clearly; and to establish and maintain effective working relationships.
• Level II: knowledge of the assigned field of work (chemistry, biology, forensic science, criminalistics, criminal justice, latent print development, print identification, firearms and toolmarks, digital evidence, or document examination); of basic scientific principles; of methods used in forensic analysis; of grammar, punctuation, English usage, and spelling; of math; of criminal investigative procedures relating to laboratory criminalistics; of statutory criminal law; of laboratory techniques; of Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control standards; and of laboratory safety policies and practices. Ability is required to prepare evidence and exhibits for court; to effectively testify in court or administrative hearings; to organize and present facts and opinions clearly; to establish and maintain effective working relationships; to use laboratory equipment and instrumentation efficiently; and to conduct crime scene investigations.
• Level III: knowledge of the assigned field of work (chemistry, biology, forensic science, criminalistics, criminal justice, latent print development, print identification, firearms and toolmarks, digital evidence, or document examination); of basic scientific principles; of methods used in forensic analysis; of grammar, punctuation, English usage, and spelling; of math; of criminal investigative procedures relating to laboratory criminalistics; of statutory criminal law; of laboratory techniques; of Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control standards; and of laboratory safety policies and practices. Ability is required to prepare evidence and exhibits for court; to effectively testify in court or administrative hearings; to organize and present facts and opinions clearly; to establish and maintain effective working relationships; to use laboratory equipment and instrumentation efficiently; to conduct crime scenes investigations; to provide leadership and direction to lower level employees; to make public presentations and speeches; and to conduct scientific research.

Nice To Haves

• Depending upon selective qualifications, experience may be in controlled substances, trace evidence, forensic biology, serology, forensic DNA, toxicology, questioned documents, digital evidence, firearms/toolmarks, or latent prints.
• Some positions may require certification by the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialist (IACIS) as a Certified Forensic Computer Examiner.

Responsibilities

• Performs scientific analysis on evidence items submitted for forensic testing, issues report on his/her findings.
• Performs all activities in accordance with the OSBI quality system, OSBI policies, OSBI protocols, ISO IEC 17025 and QAS 2025 accreditation standards, federal/state statutes, and safety policies.
• Administratively and technically reviews the work of other Criminalists to ensure policies/procedures were followed in analyses.
• Compiles with subpoenas, other orders of the court, and testifies as an expert witness.
• Other duties as assigned, including but not limited to quality control, research/validation, audits, and training of OSBI personnel and stakeholders.
• Strictly adheres to validated and internationally accepted scientific principles, methods, and quality assurance/quality control; follows safety and health procedures; examines and analyzes various types of forensic evidence from criminal cases and/or convicted offender DNA samples and accurately interprets the results; generates complete, accurate documentation and files of all forensic analysis performed; prepares laboratory examination reports for use by law enforcement entities and criminal justice members; enters/searches evidence profiles/patterns in forensic databases such as CODIS, AFIS, PDQ, and NIBIN.
• Processes and interprets crime scenes in the field routinely being exposed to biohazardous and chemical dangers; recognizes, documents, collects, packages, and transports physical evidence to a forensic laboratory for analysis, ensuring the integrity of the evidence is protected.
• Fingerprints deceased persons for the medical examiner’s office to aid in identifications and investigations, occasionally retrieving body parts to process them in a sterile lab environment; receives medical examiner’s evidence to submit to an OSBI laboratory.
• Complies with subpoenas, discovery orders, and other orders of the court; testifies as an expert in court and/or administrative hearings concerning the results of forensic examinations of physical evidence and crime scenes; prepares court exhibits as necessary.
• Actively reviews and assesses publications and directives being introduced at the federal level to determine impacts on state and local laboratories and practices; seeks membership on federal boards and organizations to influence direction of forensics; researches scientific/technical literature and forensic methods; attends training to maintain current knowledge and skills; develops/validates new or improved techniques/instrumentation for use in the forensic analysis of physical evidence; writes, reviews, and updates technical protocols, quality assurance policy/procedures, safety and health policies, and operational policies/procedures.
• Identifies grant programs that can provide needed funding to the laboratory; actively participates in writing grant applications and producing regularly scheduled grant reports to federal and state grant administrators to prove compliance with stringent grant program requirements; develops and closely monitors grant budgets when grants have been awarded.
• Provides training to criminalists, agents, crime scene technicians, student interns, law enforcement officers, forensic scientists, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges; represents the laboratory at committees, meetings, boards, and professional organizations; makes presentations to civic, educational, professional, law enforcement and other interested groups; and occasionally gives media interviews.
• Monitors proposed legislation to evaluate its impact on the forensic community; writes new legislation or modifies existing legislation when needed to improve the field of forensics in Oklahoma; educates law makers about proposed legislation and occasionally testifies before legislative bodies to explain legislative changes that are needed.
• Performs administrative and/or technical review of forensic work; performs internal quality audits/inspections of units, regions, disciplines, and laboratory functions; ensures technical compliance, quality, and uniformity; understands and complies with standards required for the laboratory to maintain international accreditation and federal standards regulating the analysis of DNA evidence and DNA database profiles.
• Develops and maintains effective professional communications and working relationships with peers, co-workers, supervisors, administrators, law enforcement officers, medical examiners, forensic professionals, prosecutors, defense attorneys, educators, and professional organizations; advises, educates and assists investigators and prosecutors in furthering criminal investigations and in preparing cases for trial by providing guidance on appropriate laboratory testing, and on the meaning, significance and applicability of the results of forensic analysis.

Benefits

• The State of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level