Annual Salary
£16,000 to £37,000
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
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Scenes of crime officers (SOCOs) find, record and recover evidence from crime scenes.
Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)
You could work: days / nights / weekends; on call
There will be
0.2% fewer Scenes of crime officer jobs in 2027.
In this role you could:
You may need to wear protective clothing.
You could work on the streets, in a court, at a mortuary or at a police station.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding, outdoors some of the time, dirty, cramped and at height.
You can get into this job through:
You could do a degree in forensic science, or in a scientific subject like biological science or chemistry.
Other relevant subjects include:
Some courses are accredited by The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences.
You'll usually need:
Police services and law enforcement agencies set their own entry requirements for this type of work. In general, you'll need at least 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) or equivalent, including English, maths and a science subject.
Some employers may prefer A levels or equivalent, including a science like chemistry or biology as you'll need laboratory skills.
Many employers ask for a degree and will expect you to have experience in police work or a related field, for example intelligence gathering and analysis.
If you are already working for the Police, you may be able to do courses through the College of Policing to become a scenes of crime investigator.
You'll need to:
Experience of dealing with the public and working in sensitive situations will be helpful.
Qualifications or experience in photography can also be useful and may be essential for some jobs.
You can find out more about working in forensics from The Chartered Society of Forensic Sciences.
Check with your local police service for details of vacancies and entry requirements.
With experience, you could become a senior or principal officer, with responsibility for managing a crime scene investigation (CSI) team.
You could also complete further training to manage investigations at major incidents.
You'll need: