Gooch, Graham, and Michael Williams. A Dictionary of Law Enforcement. Oxford: Oxford UP,
2007. Print.
This source provides a definition of what a crime scene investigator is and what their job entails. A crime scene investigator is "an employee of a police force specially trained and employed to examine and record crime scenes, recover, package, and store physical evidence, and give evidence of those findings in court."
"Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) Career and Job Options." How to Become a Crime Scene
Investigator. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2015.
This website provides information on the professions within the world of crime scene investigators. Depending on their expertise, crime scene investigators "work as a team at the scene of a crime to identify, collect and process evidence that is then studied by forensic scientists and used to identify the perpetrator of a crime and ultimately to prosecute offenders in a criminal court of law." These professions include:
- Crime Scene Leader - A person with extensive experience that oversees the crime scene. The job entails "managing the processing of the crime scene... prevent crime scene contamination, and make an initial assessment of the scene... oversees a team of crime scene investigators to ensure the proper collection, preservation and labeling of evidence." They also coordinate evidence collection and with the crime lab and law enforcement.
- Crime Scene Photographer - A person who is generally the first person on the scene that takes photos of the scene. They take photos of the initial scene as well as details of the scene that include "the crime scene victims, victim wounds, and all evidence at the scene of the crime." The photographer often plays a significant role in the analysis of the crime.
- Evidence Collector - A person that preserves evidence and ensures that the evidence has not been compromised in any way. They do anything from " lifting fingerprints to collecting blood, hair and DNA trace evidence... make impressions of shoe prints, tire tracks and tool marks and recover everything from broken glass to weapon fragments... [and] recover evidence from victims found at the scene." Because their role is so crucial in an investigation, they have to follow a strict protocol to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the evidence collected.
- CSI Technician - People that are responsible for "documenting crime scenes, processing evidence, examining items for trace evidence, performing tests on victims and evidence, and packaging and transporting evidence to the forensic laboratory... ensure the completion of diagrams, reports, evidence logs, wound charts, and firearm forms. Their jobs are often repetitive and tedious, but it can also be rewarding. They're the person that makes sure that the investigative equipment is cleaned, in good working order, and that all of the supplies are stocked before and after every investigation.
- Firearms/ DNA/ Toolmark/ Fingerprint Specialist - CSI professionals that are called in for their expertise. They specialize in a specific area of forensics such as " firearms, toolmarks, DNA and fingerprints."
- Forensic Artist/ Sketch Artist - A person that helps law enforcement by interviewing witnesses and victims to gather information and make a sketch of the possible suspect. They also can sketch and recreate the crime scene using the forensic evidence provided. Furthermore, they can engage in " composite imagery, which includes sketching images of the human face; image modification, which includes using computer software to manipulate images; demonstrative evidence, which includes sketches and other visual information that is used in court; and reconstructive/postmortem drawings, which use 2D and 3D facial software reconstruction to identify human remains."
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