Evidence Custodian Assistant

Under general supervision of the Property and Evidence Manager, provides pre-trial disclosure for discovery demands. Assist with maintaining chain of custody for property and evidence seized, including preserving and securing of evidence; including redacting video evidence. The Evidence Custodian Assistant provides technical assistance to ensure a compliant process with the collection, documentation, redaction, and storage of evidence.• High School diploma or GED equivalent; and a minimum of one (1) year of relevant clerical experience and demonstrated customer service experience.
• Valid State of New Mexico Driver's license or able to obtain within six (6) months of employment.• Work is generally performed in an office environment, and evidence room; sometimes requiring work in the outside impound yard; may be subject to repetitive motion such as typing, data entry and vision to monitor; may be subject to extended periods of intense concentration in the review of documents and reports, lifting moderately heavy items to move and place on shelves.
• At times will handle Bio-hazard material, sharps containers, weapons, narcotics and other potentially hazardous substances in a controlled environment.
• Work schedule for this position may include working on religious holidays.
• Utilize, process, and navigate the County’s electronic ERP system as necessary and appropriate based on the needs and requirements of this position.The list that follows is not intended as a comprehensive list; it is intended to provide a representative summary of the major duties and responsibilities. Incumbent(s) may not be required to perform all duties listed, and may be required to perform additional, position-specific tasks.
• Processes discovery demands for court which includes the copying pertinent evidence to one or both parties to a legal action or proceeding.
• Receives property and evidence from law enforcement officers; documents receipt of items; maintains the chain of possession from intake to final disposition; log and enter evidence of all pertinent information into system.
• Redact images and information from body worn camera footage that will intermittently possess graphic audio and images.
• Operate other electronic devices as part of redaction processes to meet public information requests.
• Maintains procedures for the custody and handling of evidence, including photos, paperwork, interviews, in-car camera footage, videos, and/or other digital evidence.
• Documents all handling of evidence and property; maintains activity logs and generates reports as needed; update status of evidence.
• Provides customer service assistance to patrol, detectives, attorneys, and the public by phone, email, mail and in person; provides copies of relevant evidence for a particular case.
• Disposes of evidence items in accordance with State and Sheriff’s Office policies and procedures; disposes of Bio-Hazard material according to statutes and policy.
• Prepares, distributes, and assist with processing paperwork and documentation related to discovery demands.
• Able to handle difficult situations in a diplomatic manner with angry citizens while still maintaining procedures on releasing evidence which sometimes requires telling people they can’t have their property back.
• Prepares necessary documentation and evidence for court; may be required to testify in court.
• Follows procedures in collecting fees from the public.
• Performs inter-office evidence runs to retrieve items stored off-site utilizing a Sheriff’s Office vehicle as needed.
• Assists in maintaining the organization of the evidence storage area.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.