Rosie Baker - SOCO (Scene of Crime Officer) - A day in the life - Careers - Surrey Police

Profile: Rosie Baker - SOCO (Scene of Crime Officer)

With at least two people working at any one time, the first thing to do in the morning is to check what jobs might have come in overnight. The 'Deployer' in the team will then divide these up, at the same time deciding which need the most urgent attention - everything's a priority, but for various different reasons some jobs need a rapid response. With that done, we go to the jobs to recover the evidence.

Each Scene of Crime Officer has their own van to get us to each job, and it's full of equipment. Everything we need should be there, large and small, so it's up to us to check we're well stocked and up-to-date.

At the scene itself, before we take any evidence, we first talk to the victim(s) to get important information. A burglary victim, for example, might need to tell us areas he/she knows have been disturbed, or if there's anything that shouldn't be there - anything to help us. During this time, we have to remain sensitive to the fact that the victim is likely to be affected emotionally by what's happened. It doesn't matter what it is, all crime is very upsetting.

We then get on with collecting what evidence we can find - it can be anything, from fingerprints, footprints and foreign objects to miniscule traces of hair or DNA. It can be a delicate, methodical, sometimes lengthy process, it's important for us to get on with it without being disturbed.

All the evidence is then brought back with us to the station, where we send it off to the relevant department - internal or external, depending on what it is we've retrieved. If required to do so (mostly just for fingerprints and DNA evidence), we write up statements for the case paper. With some cases (especially where DNA evidence is involved) we can remain involved through to the end, perhaps culminating in a court appearance.

We by no means spend our entire time in the field. There's often a bit of paperwork and preparation to do, and from time to time we're called on to give advice on other cases, perhaps to a doctor or police officer involved.

It's not a job someone can walk into, there are a number of weeks' training required to become a full-time SOCO, and for the initial six months the new officer is mentored throughout. Forensic evidence can sometimes be the only evidence available to convict or clear a suspect, and so the importance of our work is never lost.