A Career in Crime Scene Investigation
The rise in television shows surrounding crime scene investigations has spurred an interest in this field. My husband laughs at me when I start correcting what they are doing on television, but after 20 years in law enforcement it is hard not to say something when scenes are entered without taking overall photos, without putting hair up and when women work in high heels. Ugh! Moving evidence before a photo is taken, before a diagram is done and without proper packaging would never hold up in court. Oh, yeah they have to solve the crime in an hour. Yet I find myself watching CSI with him. There is something about physical evidence that intrigues us all.
There are many different levels of crime scene investigation that could be pursued by someone interested in this field. Smaller law enforcement agencies cross train their patrol officers to collect crime scene evidence. Smaller scenes can be processed by the responding officer, but larger scenes need the focused attention of a crime scene investigator or investigators.
A crime scene investigator may have many different names, but the investigator is just that the person who does the investigation pertaining to the crime scene. This is different from a detective, who will follow up with interviews, put the case together and follow up additional information as it is discovered.
Any one working in criminal investigations should be detail oriented. A crime scene must be meticulously processed for it will be scrutinized by prosecutors and defense attorneys, with judges sitting in judgment of what the investigator had but one chance to do. Unlike television, many scenes can not be revisited when the investigation takes a different direction.
A crime scene investigator should know the basics of photography. The digital camera has enhanced photography, but the basics of how to operate a 35 mm should still be a skill the investigator has. Diagramming a scene to scale is another skill needed. Computer software has enhanced this area, but knowing how to get the measurements is still required. How to search a scene is also a much needed skill, for each scene will be unique and may involve more than the crime that is immediately visible.
Dusting for prints is not as easy as it looks and knowing that the chemicals used for raising prints may destroy other evidence is important. How to collect potentially contagious bodily fluids and not cross contaminate that evidence is of vital importance as well. Labs have specialists in each of these areas, so the investigator must have a working knowledge of every area. Then knowing what information can be obtained from the evidence is another must.
How to package and label evidence is beginning criminalistics 101. Evidence is rarely, if ever, processed at the scene, so it must be packaged properly to preserve the evidence for later processing. For instance, evidence covered with biological fluid is never put into anything plastic, contrary to most popular shows where the bloody knife is in a plastic bag. Plastic degrades biological evidence, but then again for television sake you can not see what is inside the properly packaged paper bag or box. (Knives also have a nasty tendency to cut through what they are put in.) Meticulous documentation and labeling of that evidence is then done to maintain the chain of custody.
An investigator also needs to know when to call in the specialists as well. An arson or explosion scene will require the assistance of the arson investigator. DNA evidence will be sent to a specialized lab, as there are few labs that have the credentials that are required for court room testimony. Thus, a crime scene investigator must be able to work alongside other specialized investigators and lab specialists.The investigator must be able to work with the detective, the officers who arrived on scene initially (and medical personnel) and be aware of how to work around a scene that has some contamination. The one thing CSI does portray well is how well fire personnel destroy crime scenes that is just the nature of the beast.
Meticulous detail searching of a scene can paint a fairly good picture of what happened at the location and how it happened. It requires a mind that can think outside the box. It requires a strong fortitude for some of the scenes can rip on the emotional cords of everyone there. It requires someone who can then put everything they did in writing. This is by far the worst part of the job that takes the longest to do, but it is also the most susceptible when lawyers have had the chance to nit pick through the report.
My hat goes off to anyone who works in criminal labs across this country for they are sorely understaffed and have huge back logs of cases, but as with any job the reward is putting the puzzle together
