Fingerprint officer

As a fingerprint officer, you could:

• attend crime scenes to collect fingerprint evidence
•  take prints from bodies at incident scenes or in a mortuary
•  compare prints with those of suspects
•  scan police fingerprint forms into national fingerprint database systems
•  analyse prints and marks to uncover links between crime scenes
•  work with forensic staff to collect traces of other evidence left by fingerprints
•  eliminate prints to rule out people not under suspicion
•  classify records and maintain fingerprint databases
•  prepare and present evidence for investigators and for court
•  attend training on new fingerprint methods and technology

• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• knowledge of public safety and security 
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• to be flexible and open to change
• the ability to work on your own
• legal knowledge including court procedures and government regulations
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

You'll usually need a driving licence.

You can get into this job through:

• a university course
• applying directly

With experience, you could become a senior fingerprint officer or scientific support manager. With further training, you could become a scenes of crime officer (SOCO), or move into forensics or criminal intelligence work.