Criminalist

State of Oklahoma; Cherokee (IA); On-site; USD 68,000 - 94,000; Full time

Job summary

The Criminalist position is located in the Northeast Regional Lab (NERL) in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. It involves performing forensic analysis of physical evidence from criminal cases and DNA samples, following OSBI quality systems, and potentially testifying as an expert witness in court.

Levels I-III describe progression from entry to senior analyst, including research, validation, training, and cross-disciplinary collaboration with law enforcement and prosecutors.

Qualifications

• Level I: bachelor’s degree or higher in biology/chemistry/forensic science with required coursework (biochemistry, genetics, molecular biology).
• Level II: 1 year forensic biology/DNA experience or equivalent; coursework as Level I requirements.

Responsibilities

• Performs scientific analysis on evidence items submitted for forensic testing and issues reports.
• Reviews work to ensure compliance with FBI/QA standards and can testify as an expert witness.
• Maintains familiarity with laboratory accreditation and safety policies; may train others and write/validate protocols.

Job description

Refer to the date listed at the top of this posting, if available. Continuous if date is blank.

Job Posting Title

Criminalist

Agency

308 STATE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

Supervisory Organization

State Bureau of Investigation

Job Posting End Date

Refer to the date listed at the top of this posting, if available. Continuous if date is blank.

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the day prior to the posting end date above.

Estimated Appointment End Date

Continuous if Blank

Full/Part-Time

Full time

Job Type

Regular

Compensation

• Level I: $68,122.50
• Level II: $80,080.00
• Level III: $93,587.00

Job Description

This Position is located in the Northeast Regional Lab (NERL) in Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Basic Purpose

Positions within this job family perform and/or manage forensic analysis of physical evidence from criminal cases and/or convicted offender DNA samples.

Major Work Duties

• Performs scientific analysis on evidence items submitted for forensic testing, issues report on his/her findings.
• Performs all activities in accordance with the OSBI quality system, OSBI policies, OSBI protocols, ISO IEC 17025 and QAS 2025 accreditation standards, federal/state statutes, and safety policies.
• Administratively and technically reviews the work of other Criminalists to ensure policies/procedures were followed in analyses.
• Compiles with subpoenas, other orders of the court, and testifies as an expert witness.
• Other duties as assigned, including but not limited to quality control, research/validation, audits, and training of OSBI personnel and stakeholders.

Typical Functions

The functions performed in this job family will vary by level, unit and organization, but may include the following:

• Strictly adheres to validated and internationally accepted scientific principles, methods, and quality assurance/quality control; follows safety and health procedures; examines and analyzes various types of forensic evidence from criminal cases and/or convicted offender DNA samples and accurately interprets the results; generates complete, accurate documentation and files of all forensic analysis performed; prepares laboratory examination reports for use by law enforcement entities and criminal justice members; enters/searches evidence profiles/patterns in forensic databases such as CODIS, AFIS, PDQ, and NIBIN.
• Processes and interprets crime scenes in the field routinely being exposed to biohazardous and chemical dangers; recognizes, documents, collects, packages, and transports physical evidence to a forensic laboratory for analysis, ensuring the integrity of the evidence is protected. Fingerprints deceased persons for the medical examiner’s office to aid in identifications and investigations, occasionally retrieving body parts to process them in a sterile lab environment; receives medical examiner’s evidence to submit to an OSBI laboratory.
• Complies with subpoenas, discovery orders, and other orders of the court; testifies as an expert in court and/or administrative hearings concerning the results of forensic examinations of physical evidence and crime scenes; prepares court exhibits as necessary.
• Actively reviews and assesses publications and directives being introduced at the federal level to determine impacts on state and local laboratories and practices; seeks membership on federal boards and organizations to influence direction of forensics; researches scientific/technical literature and forensic methods; attends training to maintain current knowledge and skills; develops/validates new or improved techniques/instrumentation for use in the forensic analysis of physical evidence; writes, reviews, and updates technical protocols, quality assurance policy/procedures, safety and health policies, and operational policies/procedures.
• Identifies grant programs that can provide needed funding to the laboratory; actively participates in writing grant applications and producing regularly scheduled grant reports to federal and state grant administrators to prove compliance with stringent grant program requirements; develops and closely monitors grant budgets when grants have been awarded.
• Provides training to criminalists, agents, crime scene technicians, student interns, law enforcement officers, forensic scientists, prosecutors, defense attorneys, and judges; represents the laboratory at committees, meetings, boards, and professional organizations; makes presentations to civic, educational, professional, law enforcement and other interested groups; and occasionally gives media interviews.
• Monitors proposed legislation to evaluate its impact on the forensic community; writes new legislation or modifies existing legislation when needed to improve the field of forensics in Oklahoma; educates law makers about proposed legislation and occasionally testifies before legislative bodies to explain legislative changes that are needed.
• Performs administrative and/or technical review of forensic work; performs internal quality audits/inspections of units, regions, disciplines, and laboratory functions; ensures technical compliance, quality, and uniformity; understands and complies with standards required for the laboratory to maintain international accreditation and federal standards regulating the analysis of DNA evidence and DNA database profiles.
• Develops and maintains effective professional communications and working relationships with peers, co-workers, supervisors, administrators, law enforcement officers, medical examiners, forensic professionals, prosecutors, defense attorneys, educators, and professional organizations; advises, educates and assists investigators and prosecutors in furthering criminal investigations and in preparing cases for trial by providing guidance on appropriate laboratory testing, and on the meaning, significance and applicability of the results of forensic analysis.

Level Descriptor

Level I: This is the entry level where incumbents train to perform forensic analysis, and perform some limited supervised casework. All aspects of assigned tasks are clearly defined and all work is technically and administratively reviewed during performance and upon completion. At this level, incumbents may accompany senior analysts to crime scenes and perform tasks under direct supervision. Incumbents do not have supervisory, research and development, or training responsibilities.

Level II: At this career level incumbents perform a range of basic work as a forensic laboratory analyst. They perform scientific and technical analysis in all but the most difficult and complex criminal cases. They train to perform more advanced and complex analysis. They may assist in training others in basic work, perform limited technical and administrative reviews, and perform limited supervised research and development, and may assist in crime scene work.

Level III: This is the specialist level where incumbents independently plan and perform advanced scientific and technical analysis of physical evidence in criminal cases, including the most complex and difficult of examinations requiring extensive knowledge and high skill levels. They are individually responsible for the accuracy, sufficiency, and timely completion of their work. Incumbents may train other criminalists, function as lead worker by assigning/reviewing work of others, conduct research and scientific studies to develop new techniques and methods, assist in writing technical protocols and laboratory procedures, and may serve as unit or regional supervisor in the absence of the supervisor. Incumbents at this level may independently process crime scenes.

Education And Experience

SELECTIVE QUALIFICATIONS:

Level I: Minimum of a bachelor’s degree or higher from an accredited college or university in a biology-, chemistry-, or forensic science- related area. Any four-year or higher degree in a forensic science-related area must include emphasis in the sciences, such as biology, chemistry, etc. Criminalist I’s must also demonstrate successful completion (grade of a C or better) of college coursework covering a minimum of 2 of the 3 following subject areas: biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, each constituting an integral component of any coursework used to demonstrate compliance and as required/defined by the current FBI Quality Assurance Standards. For the subject areas of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, each course must have been a minimum of 3 semester hours or equivalent. If an applicant has not completed college coursework in all three previously mentioned subject areas, successful completion of the missing coursework is required within the first year of employment. Any analyst hired/appointed/promoted or qualified (as defined by the laboratory in accordance with FBI Quality Assurance Standards, Standard 4.2) prior to July 1, 2020, shall have coursework and/or training in statistics and/or population genetics as it applies to forensic DNA analysis. Any analyst hired/appointed/promoted or qualified (as defined by the laboratory pursuant to Standard 4.2) on or after July 1, 2020, shall have successfully completed coursework covering statistics and/or population genetics.

Level II: Requirements include those identified in Level I plus either one year of experience working full-time as a forensic laboratory criminalist within any forensic discipline of the OSBI’s Criminalistics Services Division or one year in a position with another agency in which the applicant performed forensic analysis full-time in forensic biology/DNA. Additionally, must demonstrate successful completion (grade of a C or better) of college coursework covering the coursework as described in Level I, as required/defined by the current FBI Quality Assurance Standards. For the subject areas of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology, each course must have been a minimum of 3 semester hours or equivalent.

Level III: Requirements include those identified in Level II plus either two years of experience working full-time as an OSBI forensic laboratory criminalist in the OSBI’s Forensic Biology Units or two years of experience in a position with another agency in which the applicant performed forensic analysis full-time in the forensic biology/DNA discipline.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities And Competencies

Level I: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required at this level include knowledge of the assigned field of work (chemistry, biology, forensic science, criminalistics, criminal justice, latent print development, print identification, firearms and toolmarks, digital evidence, or document examination); of basic scientific principles; of methods used in forensic analysis; of grammar, punctuation, English usage, and spelling; and of math. Ability is required to prepare evidence and exhibits for court; to effectively testify in court or administrative hearings; to organize and present facts and opinions clearly; and to establish and maintain effective working relationships.

Level II: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required at this level include knowledge of the assigned field of work (chemistry, biology, forensic science, criminalistics, criminal justice, latent print development, print identification, firearms and toolmarks, digital evidence, or document examination); of basic scientific principles; of methods used in forensic analysis; of grammar, punctuation, English usage, and spelling; of math; of criminal investigative procedures relating to laboratory criminalistics; of statutory criminal law; of laboratory techniques; of Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control standards; and of laboratory safety policies and practices. Ability is required to prepare evidence and exhibits for court; to effectively testify in court or administrative hearings; to organize and present facts and opinions clearly; to establish and maintain effective working relationships; to use laboratory equipment and instrumentation efficiently; and to conduct crime scene investigations.

Level III: Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities required at this level include knowledge of the assigned field of work (chemistry, biology, forensic science, criminalistics, criminal justice, latent print development, print identification, firearms and toolmarks, digital evidence, or document examination); of basic scientific principles; of methods used in forensic analysis; of grammar, punctuation, English usage, and spelling; of math; of criminal investigative procedures relating to laboratory criminalistics; of statutory criminal law; of laboratory techniques; of Laboratory Quality Assurance/Quality Control standards; and of laboratory safety policies and practices. Ability is required to prepare evidence and exhibits for court; to effectively testify in court or administrative hearings; to organize and present facts and opinions clearly; to establish and maintain effective working relationships; to use laboratory equipment and instrumentation efficiently; to conduct crime scene investigations; to provide leadership and direction to lower level employees; to make public presentations and speeches; and to conduct scientific research.

Special Requirements

Applicants must possess, or be eligible for a valid Oklahoma driver’s license. They must be able to meet the requirements for peace officer certification if required by the agency. They must possess the physical and mental stamina to perform the work and accept the inherent physical, chemical, and biological hazards. They need accurate vision with or without corrective lens, and need to accurately distinguish between colors. They must be able to successfully complete any necessary training and certification required by the agency, be able to be called back to work at irregular times, be willing and able to work overtime when required, and be willing and able to travel frequently and be in travel status for extended periods of time. They must be willing to transfer where and when needed and to accept assignments anywhere in the state; pass a thorough character and background investigation; successfully pass a polygraph examination, drug screen and, if required by the agency, a psychological evaluation. Subsequent to an offer of employment, applicants may be required by the Oklahoma Law Enforcement Retirement System to satisfy psychological testing, medical examination and/or physical agility testing standards or requirements. Educational and/or experience selective qualifications may apply for specific disciplines, levels, or positions.

Some positions may require certification by the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialist (IACIS) as a Certified Forensic Computer Examiner.

The federal Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act of 1997 contained an amendment of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968. This amendment addresses misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. Commissioned applicants must be able to satisfy the limitations contained in this federal law.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has determined that some positions in this job family are safety sensitive as defined by63 O.S.

• 427.8.

Equal Opportunity Employment

The State of Oklahoma is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of genetic information, race, religion, color, sex, age, national origin, or disability.

Current active State of Oklahoma employees must apply for open positions internally through the Workday Jobs Hub.