Law Enforcement
Transcription Jobs
Are you a professional transcriber looking for a job in law enforcement transcription? If you are, you’ve come to the right page. Ditto Transcripts is always looking for skilled, committed, and experienced transcriptionists to add to our ever-growing team of specialty law enforcement transcribers.
As more people seek remote employment opportunities, there’s never been a better time to begin a law enforcement transcriptionist career than now.
If you are an ambitious, detail-oriented individual who takes pride in delivering high-quality service, you will fit right in with us at Ditto Transcripts.
The Need for Law Enforcement Transcription Is Increasing
There is a growing demand for transcriptionists specializing in law enforcement audio files.
Law enforcement agencies are busy chasing criminals and investigating cases, leaving them no time to transcribe often lengthy audio recordings. Besides, this administrative type of work is not what they were trained to do, so they often outsource this task to professional transcriptionists.
Many police officers have also started using portable cameras, more commonly known as “body cams,” while on duty. These devices can capture audio and video and have become essential in criminal investigations.
For these reasons, law enforcement transcription should remain vital for the foreseeable future.
What Does a Law Enforcement Transcriptionist Do?
The most common type of work that law enforcement transcriptionists do is transcribing audio recordings of criminal investigations, including suspect interviews and bodycam recordings from field officers.
Law enforcement transcriptionists are often exposed to sensitive information. Cases involving crimes against minors, murder, and other violent offenses are often discussed in vivid detail. That’s why we require our transcribers to undergo criminal background checks so we can be assured that they are able to maintain the security and confidentiality of the data they handle.
How Much Does a Remote Law Enforcement Transcriber Make?
Experienced law enforcement transcribers are usually paid by the audio minute, line, or page and can earn $60,000 a year or more, depending on your experience and speed. That’s why starting a new career as a law enforcement transcriber today is important. The sooner you begin, the quicker you will increase your transcription earnings.
Ditto Transcripts pays its law enforcement transcriptionists $0.80 to $1.10 per minute of audio, with the actual pay differing based on the person’s experience, turnaround time, shift, and audio difficulty.
There are instances where our transcriptionists are paid higher because of the short turnaround time required or the complexity of research involved in producing a 99% accurate transcript. In fact, we’ve paid as much as $5.00/minute for court hearings transcripts needed overnight.
We assure you that you will be paid fairly and above almost all of our competitors. We want the best people working with us and our clients, and we believe offering higher-than-standard compensation is the best way to attract top talent.
Our online independent contractors and employees are paid on the 1st and the 15th of every month via direct deposit and PayPal.
What Makes a Good Law Enforcement Transcriptionist?
Although there are a handful of online courses teaching law enforcement transcription, nothing beats real-life experience. Combine that with advanced typing and listening skills, and we’ve got ourselves an excellent candidate for this type of remote transcription work.
Here’s a list of characteristics that Ditto Transcripts looks for in an applicant:
- Fast and accurate typer: Typing speed should be at least 65 words per minute with a 99% accuracy rate.
- Excellent listening skills: Audio files recorded by law enforcement agencies in the field are often difficult to hear, especially when multiple people speak over one another. That’s why superior listening skills are essential when transcribing law enforcement audio recordings.
- Knowledge of law enforcement jargon: Understanding and accurately recording words and phrases unique to the profession is essential when it comes to law enforcement transcription.
Best Equipment For Law Enforcement Transcription
Transcriptionists use several tools to complete transcription work faster and easier, helping them improve both their efficiency and earnings.
Here are some tools you’ll need to jumpstart your law enforcement transcription career:
- A late-model desktop or laptop: Get a computer with at least 4 GB of RAM (8 GB recommended).
- Quality, closed-back headphones: High-quality headphones are crucial when audio quality is low or when multiple people are speaking over each other. The Spectra USB Transcription Headset is an excellent choice.
- Foot pedal: A foot pedal allows you to control actions without using a mouse. For this one, we recommend the Infinity USB Digital Foot Pedal.
- Mechanical and ergonomic keyboard: An ergonomic, high-quality keyboard is an essential tool in law enforcement transcription. Your hands should rest comfortably on the keyboard, and your arms must be properly positioned for extended use.
- Software: Transcription software helps make many computer tasks more efficient. The software most commonly used by transcriptionists typically depends on the company, but the one we recommend is Express Scribe by NCH Software. As for browsers, Safari and Google Chrome are popular with many of our transcriptionists.
- Legal Dictionary: Having a legal dictionary at your disposal can help you decipher difficult legal words and phrases. Once your familiarity with law enforcement terminology increases, your comprehension and typing speed should improve as well.
- High-speed and private internet connection: Upload speeds of at least 10 Mbps are preferred. But if available and within budget, getting an internet plan with a download speed of 100 Mbps should work better.
The Application Process
If you have the experience and skill level to work with a high-quality transcription company like Ditto Transcripts, we invite you to complete our online employment form.
Qualified candidates that we feel will best fit our company and our clients will be contacted directly by our office. But if you do not hear back from us, please accept our apologies in advance.
Applicants will be required to take an initiation test. To pass, you need to get at least 95% of the questions correct over a few tests covering grammar, spelling, a single-person narrative audio file, and a multiple-person interview.
Note: We do not accept calls about submitted or yet-to-be-submitted online transcription job applicants. We are also unable to hire or onboard non-United States-based personnel and individuals who reside in California, New Jersey, or Massachusetts at this time.
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