Police Identification and Records Officers
Collect evidence at crime scene, classify and identify fingerprints, and photograph evidence for use in criminal and civil cases.
- O*NET-SOC code
33-3021.02 - Preparation Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Wages
BLS doesn't publish wages for Police Identification and Records Officers separately. These are the figures for Detectives and Criminal Investigators (33-3021), its parent occupation.
Median annual wage, U.S.$93,790
Employment, U.S.114,430
Median hourly wage$45.09
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $55,390 | $69,330 | $93,790 | $120,520 | $160,540 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 1,340 | $66,290 | 0.86 |
| Alaska | 140 | $114,940 | 0.58 |
| Arizona | 5,250 | $102,340 | 2.20 |
| Arkansas | 560 | $54,500 | 0.58 |
| California | 12,610 | $124,840 | 0.94 |
| Colorado | 1,930 | $105,480 | 0.91 |
| Connecticut | 940 | $95,240 | 0.75 |
| Delaware | 140 | $122,050 | 0.40 |
| District of Columbia | 2,980 | $160,760 | 5.78 |
| Florida | 6,440 | $77,060 | 0.88 |
| Georgia | 5,070 | $65,430 | 1.41 |
| Hawaii | 440 | $113,940 | 0.95 |
| Idaho | 630 | $72,520 | 1.00 |
| Illinois | 3,270 | $91,190 | 0.73 |
| Indiana | 1,280 | $70,340 | 0.54 |
| Iowa | 410 | $79,560 | 0.36 |
| Kansas | 1,060 | $75,740 | 1.00 |
| Kentucky | 720 | $71,670 | 0.49 |
| Louisiana | 1,740 | $60,450 | 1.22 |
| Maine | 550 | $88,310 | 1.17 |
| Maryland | 1,010 | $126,730 | 0.50 |
| Massachusetts | 1,300 | $110,150 | 0.49 |
| Michigan | 2,220 | $90,650 | 0.69 |
| Minnesota | 1,970 | $80,000 | 0.91 |
| Mississippi | 810 | $58,640 | 0.95 |
| Missouri | 1,600 | $75,650 | 0.74 |
| Montana | 500 | $92,410 | 1.32 |
| Nebraska | 290 | $100,530 | 0.38 |
| Nevada | 590 | $94,470 | 0.52 |
| New Hampshire | 290 | $89,290 | 0.58 |
| New Jersey | 3,080 | $116,300 | 0.98 |
| New Mexico | 2,020 | $86,840 | 3.15 |
| New York | 9,600 | $101,240 | 1.35 |
| North Carolina | 3,360 | $63,280 | 0.92 |
| North Dakota | 420 | $82,290 | 1.31 |
| Ohio | 2,140 | $79,300 | 0.52 |
| Oklahoma | 1,220 | $80,430 | 0.97 |
| Oregon | 520 | $107,450 | 0.36 |
| Pennsylvania | 3,370 | $97,580 | 0.76 |
| Rhode Island | 360 | $88,450 | 0.98 |
| South Carolina | 1,470 | $62,760 | 0.87 |
| South Dakota | 250 | $77,730 | 0.74 |
| Tennessee | 1,860 | $77,090 | 0.77 |
| Texas | 18,870 | $90,510 | 1.82 |
| Utah | 550 | $78,920 | 0.43 |
| Vermont | 190 | $106,330 | 0.85 |
| Virginia | 3,180 | $112,760 | 1.05 |
| Washington | 1,850 | $115,790 | 0.71 |
| West Virginia | 220 | $92,410 | 0.42 |
| Wisconsin | 1,640 | $91,040 | 0.76 |
| Wyoming | 170 | $81,880 | 0.82 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Forensic Science Technicians | 3 | 0.975 |
| 2 | Customs and Border Protection Officers | 3 | 0.966 |
| 3 | Private Detectives and Investigators | 3 | 0.956 |
| 4 | Detectives and Criminal Investigators | 3 | 0.954 |
| 5 | Retail Loss Prevention Specialists | 1-2 | 0.951 |
| 6 | Compliance Officers | 4 | 0.950 |
| 7 | Environmental Compliance Inspectors | 4 | 0.950 |
| 8 | Environmental Science and Protection Technicians, Including Health | 4 | 0.948 |
| 9 | Animal Control Workers | 1-2 | 0.947 |
| 10 | Government Property Inspectors and Investigators | 3 | 0.946 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Police Identification and Records Officers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detectives and Criminal Investigators | Social Perceptiveness | 1.12 | 0.954 |
| Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists | Management of Personnel Resources | 0.88 | 0.940 |
| Pharmacy Technicians | Mathematics | 1.00 | 0.933 |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists | Operations Monitoring | 0.76 | 0.933 |
| Police and Sheriff's Patrol Officers | Social Perceptiveness | 1.00 | 0.933 |
| Gambling Surveillance Officers and Gambling Investigators | Monitoring | 0.88 | 0.930 |
| Occupational Health and Safety Technicians | Systems Evaluation | 0.88 | 0.927 |
| Embalmers | Social Perceptiveness | 0.88 | 0.927 |
| Medical Assistants | Social Perceptiveness | 0.88 | 0.925 |
| Power Distributors and Dispatchers | Operations Monitoring | 0.76 | 0.925 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Police Identification and Records Officers, excluding software Police Identification and Records Officers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Outlook | 19 of 20 | 1.4x |
| Graphics software | 4 of 20 | 3.6x |
| Corel WordPerfect Office Suite | 4 of 20 | 2.9x |
| Geographic information system GIS software | 4 of 20 | 2.6x |
| ESRI ArcView | 3 of 20 | 3.5x |
| Geographic information system GIS systems | 3 of 20 | 2.3x |
| Email software | 8 of 20 | 1.3x |
| Adobe Acrobat | 5 of 20 | 1.4x |
| Microsoft SharePoint | 5 of 20 | 1.4x |
| UNIX | 3 of 20 | 1.6x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.88 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 3.00 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.62 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.50 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 2.12 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.75 | 1.00 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.50 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.25 | not rated |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.00 | not rated |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Law and Government | 4.19 | 4.55 |
| Administrative | 3.81 | 4.60 |
| English Language | 3.76 | 4.03 |
| Public Safety and Security | 3.61 | 3.97 |
| Computers and Electronics | 3.50 | 4.38 |
| Customer and Personal Service | 3.17 | 3.78 |
| Education and Training | 3.05 | 4.03 |
| Administration and Management | 2.68 | 2.90 |
| Biology | 2.60 | 2.87 |
| Mathematics | 2.56 | 2.61 |
| Telecommunications | 2.54 | 2.65 |
| Psychology | 2.52 | 3.13 |
| Chemistry | 2.49 | 3.45 |
| Transportation | 2.43 | 2.19 |
| Communications and Media | 2.37 | 2.50 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 2.34 | 2.53 |
| Physics | 2.34 | 2.18 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.17 | 2.09 |
| Geography | 2.16 | 1.65 |
| Production and Processing | 2.14 | 1.85 |
| History and Archeology | 1.99 | 1.39 |
| Engineering and Technology | 1.92 | 1.76 |
| Economics and Accounting | 1.85 | 1.18 |
| Mechanical | 1.83 | 1.53 |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.76 | 1.57 |
| Foreign Language | 1.74 | 1.36 |
| Design | 1.73 | 1.30 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.63 | 1.95 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.52 | 1.20 |
| Building and Construction | 1.37 | not rated |
| Fine Arts | 1.21 | not rated |
| Sales and Marketing | 1.19 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.18 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Near Vision | 3.88 | 4.12 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Information Ordering | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Oral Expression | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Written Expression | 3.75 | 4.00 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.62 | 3.62 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.62 | 3.38 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.50 | 3.75 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.50 | 3.75 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.38 | 3.88 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Far Vision | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Perceptual Speed | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Originality | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Time Sharing | 2.75 | 3.00 |
| Visualization | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.62 | 2.75 |
| Manual Dexterity | 2.62 | 2.62 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.50 | 2.88 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.50 | 2.75 |
| Control Precision | 2.50 | 2.62 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.38 | 2.38 |
| Number Facility | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Auditory Attention | 2.25 | 2.38 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Spatial Orientation | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Depth Perception | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.12 | 2.12 |
| Memorization | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Response Orientation | 2.12 | 2.00 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Reaction Time | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Static Strength | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Rate Control | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Peripheral Vision | 2.00 | 1.25 |
| Night Vision | 2.00 | 1.12 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 1.88 | 1.50 |
| Stamina | 1.88 | 1.38 |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Sound Localization | 1.88 | 0.88 |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.75 | 1.25 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Adobe Photoshop hot
- Linux hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Office software hot
- Microsoft PowerPoint hot
- Microsoft Visio hot
- Microsoft Windows hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- Computer aided composite drawing software
- DataWorks Plus Digital CrimeScene
- Database software
- DeChant Consulting Services iWitness
- DesignWare 3D EyeWitness
- Digital Image Management Solutions Crime Scene
- Eos Systems PhotoModeler
- Image enhancement software
- Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System IAFIS
- National Crime Information Center (NCIC) database
- National Integrated Ballistics Information Network NIBIN
- SmartDraw Legal
- The CAD Zone The Crime Zone
- Trancite Logic Systems ScenePD
- Visual Statement Vista FX3 CSI
- Web browser software
Where it concentrates
BLS doesn't publish wages for Police Identification and Records Officers separately. These are the figures for Detectives and Criminal Investigators (33-3021), its parent occupation.
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle Pass, TX | 590 | 42.42 | $91,560 |
| Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ | 730 | 29.35 | $108,350 |
| Laredo, TX | 1,410 | 17.46 | $98,180 |
| El Centro, CA | 770 | 16.07 | $123,970 |
| Yuma, AZ | 790 | 15.51 | $94,520 |
| Las Cruces, NM | 560 | 9.57 | $106,330 |
| Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 880 | 7.61 | $109,300 |
| McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 1,600 | 7.34 | $103,380 |
| El Paso, TX | 1,790 | 7.16 | $109,300 |
| Brunswick-St. Simons, GA | 240 | 6.90 | $158,060 |