Crime Scene Investigation

Crime Scene Investigation

Crime scene investigators play a vital role in any criminal investigation. It’s their responsibility to secure a crime scene as well as any evidence that will help solve the crime. It’s an unfortunate fact that crime will never disappear completely, but as a crime scene investigator, you can serve as a major advocate in getting criminals off the street by collecting the best evidence to prove their guilt. You can have a major hand in making communities safer.

Crime Scene Investigation Degree Description

Because evidence collection is such a significant part of any criminal investigation, the stakes are high for crime scene investigators. Graduating from a program at a crime scene investigation school is the first step to preparing yourself for this important profession. It’s most common for professionals in this field to hold either an associate or bachelor’s crime scene investigation degree. You may choose to attend a crime scene investigation school that focuses specifically on the procedures to safely collect evidence, including the necessary precautions to keep evidence from being damaged or tampered with. Here, you’ll also learn how to analyze evidence in a lab and how to reconstruct a crime scene. Other programs will offer you broader knowledge in the criminal justice field. Choosing a crime scene investigation school like this will give you training on legal practices and criminal investigative techniques. With this additional knowledge attached to your crime scene investigation degree, you’ll be better able to help solve crimes and more likely to be promoted. While working on your crime scene investigation degree, it would also be beneficial to explore opportunities for real-world experience. Many police departments offer internships and on-the-job training for aspiring crime scene investigators. The more experience you have working under the strain and stressful environment that crime scene investigation can have, the more desirable you’ll be to future employers. Depending on the state you wish to work in, you also might have to receive licensure and/or certification to work as a crime scene investigator.

Crime Scene Investigation Careers

With your crime scene investigation degree, you’re probably hoping to delve directly into the field as a crime scene investigator. This title will allow you to work closely with crime scenes, collecting fingerprints, blood and DNA samples, and other items uniquely linked to the crime. You’ll also analyze what you’ve collected to make possible identification matches to the perpetrator of the crime. You may also deal with ballistics, usually relating to guns, to try to determine the exact weapon that was used in the crime. You may also decide to focus on one area of crime scene investigation and handle any evidence that is specifically related to that field. If you’re not so interested in working in a lab, you may pursue a career as a law enforcement officer instead. In this career, you’ll work less with the evidence and more with the suspects. Your crime scene investigation degree will still come in handy in this field because evidence is vital to helping law enforcement officers solve crimes, and specific knowledge of how evidence can be linked to suspects will be helpful. Crime-scene cleanup is another area of expertise in which you could specialize. Crime scenes are almost always unpleasant and often times can contain hazardous materials. Well-trained individuals are needed to go into a crime scene after evidence has been collected to restore the area and erase any sign that a crime was committed. They are especially needed in cases of violent crime.