Evidence technicians perform administrative-based as well as documentation-based services. They work in property and records and perform tasks of categorizing and documenting evidence. They are part of the warehouse taking care of things taken away from the crime scene. Let us know more detail about ‘Salaries For Evidence Technician’.
Salaries For Evidence Technician
Field Evidence Technicians chains off the crime scene and evaluates it for finding out pieces of evidence to prosecute the people who are possibly guilty of the crime. They may perform the additional duty of fingerprinting the prisoners.
The Evidence technician in the US, on average, earns $79,013 per year. This job does not include any involvement of bonus money. Although the average is $79,013, on an individual basis salary falls between $31,424 and $128,690. The median salary is $77,210. The top 80% of Evidence Technicians earn $128,690 whereas the middle 60% earn $77,210. The average salary per month is $6584.41, per week is $1646.10, per day is $329.22 and per hour is $41.15.
The pros and cons of evidence technicians’ jobs, their education requirements, and their salaries based on experience and location along with a comparison with other related jobs will be elaborated on in this article.
Evidence Technician Job’s Pros and Cons
Evidence technicians integrate and secure the evidence at the lab and in the tech control’s custody. They are part of the warehouse taking care of things taken away from the crime scene.
They integrate and secure the evidence at the lab and in the tech control’s custody. They collect evidence by taking fingerprints and photographs as well as minor items like clothing, blood, hair, fibers, etc. from the crime scene.
Pros
- A huge variety of work is available at the same time so many opportunities are available to work on a wide variety of cases. These cases find out what was the pattern of the crime committed.
- The evidence technicians can choose between different environments to work for, as a field evidence technician or a property and records evidence technician
- Educational requirements are not much demanding for property and records evidence technicians as they only require a high school diploma.
Cons
- Crime scenes might sometimes be disturbing and stressful for the evidence technicians.
- Working hours might turn out to be longer than usual which may cause disturbance to family life.
- The possibility of coming in contact with hazardous materials is always there.
- This job also requires having a good physical temperament because you might have to stand, bend or lift for long hours
- May have to work in all types of weather conditions on the field.
Education Requirements
Property and Documents Evidence Technician
For getting hired as a property and evidence technician, evidence technicians must have a high school diploma. Experience of working in a warehouse is considered a plus point by employers while hiring evidence technicians. They must possess skills with experience in the chain of custody as well as knowledge of receiving and storing documents and properties.
Field Evidence Technician
Some agencies might opt for technicians having a high school diploma whereas others may require a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, physics, or biology with a background in courses such as law enforcement, forensic science, criminal justice, and processing of the crime scenes.
Certifications
Certifications that are helpful for the evidence technicians include
- Crime scene certifications
- Forensic photography certifications
- Ten print fingerprint certifications.
- Bloodstain pattern examiner certifications
- Footwear certifications
- Latent print certifications
Skills
Various skills required from evidence technicians, by the employers are as follows:
- Sketching a crime scene
- Record keeping
- Report writing
- Taking crime photographs
- Collect and package evidence
- Determine firearm distance
- DNA and dental evidence collection
- Bomb investigation etc.
Salaries for Evidence Technicians
Details of salaries of evidence technicians based on years of experience and their locations are given below:
Years of experience
Increases and increments in salary are mostly dependent on the experience level of the evidence technician. The following salaries are expected salaries with years of experience.
| Level of experience | Salary |
| Less than 1 year | $31,424 |
| 1 to 4 years | $38,431 |
| 5 to 9 years | $48,720 |
| 10 to 19 years | $60,547 |
| 20 + years | $77,017-$128,690 |
Location Based Salaries
The Evidence technician in the US, on average, earns $79,013 per year. Different ranges of salaries exist in different states of the US, some of which are above the average range as well. Salaries in the most famous states of the US for evidence technicians are as follows:
California
The Evidence Technician in California enjoys similar average salaries as that of the US which is $79,013. The combined average salaries of other big cities like Boston and Portland match the average salaries of the state of California. The average salary per month in California becomes $6584.41 and per hour is $41.15.
Texas
The Evidence Technician in Texas has average salaries between $79,013 and $82,490. This average salary is between 0-4 percent more than the national average salary of the US’s evidence technicians. The combined average salaries of other big cities like Los Angeles are 4% lesser than the average salaries of the state of Texas. The average salary per month in Texas stays between $6584.41 and $6874.16. The average salary per hour is between $41.15 and $ 42.96.
North Carolina
The Evidence Technician in North Carolina has average salaries between $79,013 and $80,515. This average salary is between 0-2 percent more than the national average salary of the US’s evidence technicians. The combined average salaries of other big cities like Seattle are 2% lesser than the average salaries of the state of Texas. The average salary per month in North Carolina stays between $6584.41 and $6709.58. The average salary per hour is between $41.15 and $ 41.93.
Ohio
The Evidence Technician in Ohio has average salaries between $79,013 and $83,043. The average salary per month in Ohio stays between $6584.41 and $ 6920.25. The average salary per hour is between $41.15 and $ 43.25.
New York
The Evidence Technician in New York enjoys similar average salaries as that of the US which is $79,013.
Comparison with similar jobs
Jobs similar to evidence technicians earn the following amounts as salaries.
| Related Jobs | Average Salary |
| Police Officer | $48,418 |
| Fingerprint Analyst | $54,840 |
| Crime Scene Investigator | $51,372 |
| Private Investigator | $45,539 |
| Loss Prevention Specialist | $36,062 |
| Criminal Investigator | $47,728 |
Conclusion
Evidence technicians are expected from 2019 to 2029, to have an employment growth rate of 14%. The average growth rate for all occupations is almost 4% so the growth rate of evidence technicians is much faster than all other occupations.
The salary has variations based on experience, education, job market, industry, and the specific location you are working as an evidence technician. The average salary for an evidence technician in the US is $79,013 per year which is handsome and satisfactory at the same time.
FAQs
- What are the earnings of an Evidence Technician in the US?
The lowest and the highest salary in the United States are $31,424 and $128,690 per year respectively for an Evidence Technician.
- What skills are required to be an evidence technician?
Record keeping, report writing, and sketching a crime scene are the main skills required from an evidence technician
- What percentage of tax applies to an Evidence Technician?
An estimated average federal tax on the salary of an Evidence Technician would be 22% annually.
