Property and Evidence Technician

City of Northfield•Northfield Police Department, MN

3d•Onsite

About The Position

With general supervision, performs a variety of routine clerical, professional and technical administrative and field work involving the detection, collection, preservation, receipt, storage, and release of property and evidence in accordance with State law as a non-sworn (civilian) police employee.

Requirements

Ability to establish and maintain courteous and effective working relationships with city personnel and the general public; maintains professional demeanor, tone, and conversations in all public areas of the city.
Keeps supervisor informed of issues affecting departmental operations.
Effectively interacts, participates and contributes to a high performing Police Department.
Demonstrated ability to deal effectively with the public, fellow employees, and others with courtesy and discretion.
Demonstrated skill in a modern, automated office environment, including applicable computer software.
Demonstrated ability to prioritize work tasks.
Maintains a high level of confidentiality and complies with all legal requirements of the job.
Proper & safe use & maintenance of any assigned City vehicle, equipment, property, etc.
Functions as a team member with all city employees and effectively interacts with all levels of city personnel.
Effectively coordinates activities with other staff and city personnel.
Actively participates and promotes all department activities, duties, meetings, training sessions, etc. as a team member.
Associate’s degree, plus two to three years administrative/office assistant experience and/or education/experience that provides equivalent knowledge, skills, and abilities will be considered.
Valid Minnesota Driver's License.

Nice To Haves

Database software experience.
Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in Criminal Justice, Police Administration, Business or Public Administration, or a related field and at least one year of work experience in a law enforcement environment.
Evidence Custodian/Crime Scene Technician certification.
Experience in an evidence/property room environment.
Certification by the State of Minnesota in the operation of the CJIS network.
Strong Computer Experience
Strong organizational skills

Responsibilities

Provides excellent customer service to all members of our community, inclusive of all races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, abilities, ages, national or ethnic origins, languages, citizenship status, socioeconomic status, and political affiliations.
Receives items into evidence/property, tags, marks, packages, stores, processes invoices, and logs and maintains chain-of-custody to maintain property integrity for court presentation.
Prepares impounded property for destruction, distribution, and/or auction as authorized.
Performs random evidence audits every six months and completes a full audit every two years.
Purges evidence every six months or as required by policy, statutes or rules.
Responsible for the Northfield collection site of the “Take-It-To-The-Box” Program.
Completes required annual reporting of medications destroyed.
Serves as the primary point of contact for vendor support regarding the department’s Body-Worn Camera (BWC) and Fleet/In-Car Camera systems; coordinates system updates, routine maintenance, hardware replacements, and technical troubleshooting.
Monitors and audits BWC and fleet camera data to ensure proper recording retention, tagging, video export, and digital evidence storage integrity.
Oversee general asset tracking, management, inventory, deployment, and auditing of department technology assets, electronic evidence hardware, and specialized equipment.
Administers facility security access system and manages user accounts, permissions, and access control for electronic key cards.
Exports building security videos as requested and collaborates with vendors and IT for system updates and troubleshooting.
Maintains appropriate release records and records of disposition of property and evidence.
Ensures all required BCA evidence documentation is properly saved to the case file and forwarded to Records.
Assists with suspense file management.
Responds to and/or fulfills requests for evidence from County/City Attorneys using the department's various evidentiary records systems.
Maintains evidence and case files in the department’s evidentiary records systems, including performing audits to ensure case shares are up to date with any new evidence added.
Assists officers with questions and issues regarding department evidentiary records systems.
Serves as a backup to Records to maintain workflow continuity.
Assists law enforcement personnel at crime scenes by processing, photographing, and documenting the scene.
Provides crime scene analysis of physical or trace evidence.
Identifies, classifies, and collects trace and physical evidence as necessary to assist criminal investigations.
Maintains case notes, prepares reports of scene investigations, photography, diagrams, and scientific analysis, and testifies in court.
Transports evidence for laboratory analysis.
Provides in-house fingerprinting services as needed.
Runs ATF Traces on all firearms.
Files forfeiture documents on confiscated weapons.
Assists individuals with the return and release of firearms in accordance with department policies and applicable laws.
Releases property in compliance with departmental policy, city ordinance, state or federal laws.
Answers citizen inquiries and complaints regarding property dispositions.
Keeps evidence processing areas stocked.
Maintains the department’s Hazardous Waste ID information online.
Adheres to all city and department policies, procedures, and requirements.
Observes & practices safe work habits.
Ensures compliance with pertinent Federal, State, and local codes, laws, and regulations including the Minnesota Data Practices Act and (OSHA) Occupational Safety and Health Act.
Assists city departments, divisions, and outside agencies as needed or directed.
Performs other duties as appropriate or assigned.