Salary, Job Description, How To Become One, and Quiz
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Crime Scene Investigators
The primary responsibility of a Crime Scene Investigator is to gather and preserve evidence from crime scenes. They use chemical and dusting techniques to analyze forensic evidence, and they testify about the evidence at court trials and hearings.
Table of contents
A Crime Scene Investigator can work for local, state, or federal law enforcement agencies and gather physical evidence from crime scenes. They process and preserve the evidence and help law enforcement officials use the evidence to solve crimes. They can use their expertise to testify in court and help to explain how the evidence shows what happened when the crime took place.
Crime Scene Investigators work for law enforcement, coroner’s offices, crime laboratories, and government agencies to help collect evidence from crime scenes and process it. Crime Scene Investigators normally have a Bachelor’s Degree in Natural or Forensic Science or in Criminal Justice. They should have strong detail-oriented skills and analytical skills to help use this evidence to prove or solve crimes.
What they do
The primary responsibility of a Crime Scene Investigator is to gather and preserve evidence from crime scenes. They use chemical and dusting techniques to analyze forensic evidence, and they testify about the evidence at court trials and hearings.
Collect Forensic Evidence at Crime Scenes
One of the primary responsibilities of a Crime Scene Investigator is to collect forensic evidence at a crime scene. They use specialized equipment such as chemical and dusting techniques to gather fingerprints, and they can use forensic photography to take photographs of suspects, witnesses, and other important documents. They collect evidence at different crime scenes including burglaries, homicides, and traffic accidents.
Crime Scene Investigators can specialize in particular aspects of crime scene investigation, such as blood spatter pattern analysis or bullet trajectory paths. These specialists have skills that allow them to determine the details of how a crime occurred by evaluating this specific evidence.
They Analyze the Crime Scene Evidence in the Lab
Once a Crime Scene Investigator collects the evidence from a crime scene, he or she takes it back to the lab to analyze it. They might run fingerprints through the system to match them to a person or they can create a detailed chart showing what happened based on the evidence. They use the evidence to recreate the crime and try to bring understanding to what happened and how the crime occurred.
They Organize the Evidence and Report Their Findings
After a careful analysis of the crime scene evidence, Crime Scene Investigators organize the evidence and create a report where they list out their findings. They show where some evidence may be inconclusive but other evidence may identify how the crime occurred and who committed it. They send these reports to the detectives in charge of the case, and they may need to discuss the report and their findings with the detectives and the prosecutors who are working on the case.
They Testify in Court
It is very important that Crime Scene Investigators follow strict protocols for collecting evidence so that they can testify in court. They testify on behalf of the prosecution and on behalf of defendants accused of a crime. Their testimony can be critical to proving a case or clearing someone’s name.
This part of the job is the reason why it is so important that Crime Scene Investigators follow protocol and protect the chain of possession with any evidence they collect. If DNA samples or fingerprints are compromised in any way, they will be thrown out in court and this can cause a criminal to go free or an innocent person to be convicted of a crime they didn’t commit.
What is the job like
Pros
You get to use your skills to solve crimes
Crime scene investigators often provide critical answers that solve crimes such as homicide, burglary, and more. Without their expertise, many of these crimes would go unsolved.
You can help protect an innocent person
Sometimes a person is in the wrong place at the wrong time and they may be accused of committing a crime. As a Crime Scene Investigator, you can help someone prove their innocence by looking at the evidence.
You are part of a team that helps to make society safe
Crime Scene Investigators are part of a team that helps to keep society safe by providing the evidence needed to put criminals behind bars.
You Gain Skills in Forensics
When you become a Crime Scene Investigator, you will gain skills in forensic fields and learn how to dust for fingerprints, how to collect and analyze DNA, and now to track the potential trajectory of a bullet by looking at the evidence. You have the ability to specialize in an area of expertise as you gain experience.
Cons
You work odd hours
As a Crime Scene Investigator, you have to work when you are needed on a crime scene. There are no set hours for this because crimes can happen any time of day. You may also work long hours to analyze evidence and put together a report if the detectives are waiting on your evidence to obtain a warrant.
You work in gruesome settings
Some crimes are pretty heinous and you may have to work on crime scenes where people have committed horrific crimes.
Where they work
Crime Scene Investigators work on crime scenes and in labs. They can also work in morgues with the medical examiner and they might work for different law enforcement agencies including local sheriff’s departments, federal law enforcement agencies such as the FBI, or private investigators. They are experts in collecting and analyzing forensic evidence from crime scenes so they help people who have been the victim or a crime as well as those who have been wrongly accused.
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How to become one
Step 1: Earn your Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice
If you want to become a Crime Scene Investigator, you will usually need to have a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice. You should specialize in forensics. You can also go to a technical school or earn an Associate’s Degree but you will have greater job opportunities if you earn a four-year Bachelor’s Degree. In this program, you will study advanced math, chemistry, biology, psychology, and other courses that help you prepare for this field.
Step 2: Start Your Training
Your education is important but your on-the-job training is very important as well. Most law enforcement agencies will require extensive on-site training under a Senior Crime Scene Investigator before you can work on your own. This will last anywhere from six months to two years and it will help you develop the skills you need to work independently.
Step 3: Get Your State License and Certification
Many CSI positions also require that you get a state license after you have trained on the job. Some may require professional certification as well and you usually need 18 months of training on the job to achieve this. The requirements will vary depending on where you live, with some states having their own certification requirements and other deferring to national guidelines.
Step 4: Stay up to Date with Continuing Education
To maintain your professional certification, states and employers have continuing education requirements that you need to meet. You can take courses online or in person and you can further specialize if you want to become an expert in CSI. Staying up to date on your training and education is critical in this field that has technology advancements all the time.
Should you become one
Best personality type for this career
People with this personality type likes to follow set procedures and routines. They prefer working with data and details more than with ideas.
You can read more about these career personality types here.
A person who excels in this career has patience and pays attention to detail. They need to be methodical in the collection of forensic evidence and the tiniest mistake can throw the entire case. In addition, you need to have strong analytical skills so that you can evaluate the evidence and draw conclusions. It is important to be impartial when you evaluate evidence and you need good communication skills to work with a team and explain your findings. You also should have a natural curiosity and enjoy solving crimes.
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