Discipline Overview:
In crime scene investigation, scene investigators encounter many different types of evidence. They are tasked with documenting and collecting various evidence types including firearms and firearms related evidence, knives and other sharps items, items that can be processed for prints and/or DNA, trace evidence such as hairs and fibers, impression evidence such as shoe and tire marks, and fractured or broken items; as well as, on scene processing and documentation of fingerprints, trajectory analysis, bloodstain pattern analysis, and latent blood enhancement.
Most of the evidence preserved and collected by a scene investigator will be sent for additional analysis either at a laboratory or law enforcement agency. Some Crime Scene Investigation units are responsible for not only the documentation and collection on scene, but also the additional processing and analysis of those evidence items. Depending on the agency, CSI reports can range from scene observations and evidence collection, to analysis of bullet holes and bloodstains and conclusions based from that in-depth analysis.
Qualifications:
Qualifications for crime scene investigators can vary depending on the specific law enforcement agency. Some agencies require their scene investigators to have 4-year college degrees in a bachelor of science, as opposed to a bachelor of arts. These agencies are typically associated with a laboratory and are accredited entities, and are typically non-commissioned personnel. Other agencies require less specific qualifications for education, and often times are associated with police departments and sheriff’s offices. Some of those scene investigators are commissioned personnel as well.
For individuals interested in becoming a scene investigator, it is important to check the requirements for the type of entity that you are interested in joining whether it is a laboratory or a police department/sheriff’s office. Often times, internships, student worker positions, and job shadows in the related fields will give the student some experience with that agency and an advantage during the hiring process.
Certification:
Standards:
The Organization for Scientific Area Committees (OSAC) for Forensic Science Crime Scene Investigation & Reconstruction Subcommittee approved NIST documents:
- OSAC 2023-N-0020 Standard for the On-Scene Collection and Preservation of Friction Ridge Impressions
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2023-n-0020-standard-scene-collection-and-preservation-friction-ridge
- OSAC 2023-N-0003 Standard for Diagramming Scenes
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2023-n-0003-standard-diagramming-scenes-version-20
- OSAC 2023-N-0002 Standard for Scene Documentation Procedures
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2023-n-0002-standard-scene-documentation-procedures-version-20
- OSAC 2022-S-0037 Standards for DNA-based Taxonomic Identification in Forensic Entomology
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2022-s-0037-standard-dna-based-taxonomic-identification-forensic-entomologyregistry
- OSAC 2022-S-0036 Standard Method for the Chemical Testing of Suspected Projectile Impacts for Copper and Lead
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2022-s-0036-standard-method-chemical-testing-copper-and-lead-suspected-projectile-0
- OSAC 2022-N-0039 Standard for the Collection and Preservation of Entomological Evidence from a Terrestrial Environment
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2022-n-0039-standard-collection-and-preservation-entomological-evidence-terrestrial
- OSAC 2022-N-0035 Standard for On-Scene Collection and Preservation of Document Evidence
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2022-n-0035-standard-scene-collection-and-preservation-document-evidence-version-21
- OSAC 2022-N-0025 Standard for Scene Response: Initial Response by Scene Investigators
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2022-n-0025-standard-initial-response-scenes-scene-investigators-version-21
- OSAC 2021-N-0019 Standard Practice for the Documentation and Processing of Shooting Scenes
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2021-n-0019-standard-practice-documentation-and-processing-shooting-scenes-version-21
- OSAC 2021-N-0018 Standard for On-Scene Collection and Preservation of Physical Evidence
- https://www.nist.gov/document/osac-2021-n-0018-standard-scene-collection-and-preservation-physical-evidence-version-20
- ANSI/ASTM E2917-24a Standard Practice for Forensic Science Practitioner Training, Continuing Education, and Professional Development Programs
- https://compass.astm.org/document/?contentCode=ASTM%7CE2917-24A%7Cen-US
- ANSI/ASB Standard 159 Standard for Scene Investigation and Reconstruction - Foundational Principles, 2024, 1st Ed.
- https://www.aafs.org/asb-standard/standard-scene-investigation-and-reconstruction-foundational-principles
- ANSI/ASB Best Practice Recommendation 160 Best Practice Recommendation for Initial Response at Scenes by Law Enforcement Officers, 2024, 1st Ed.
- https://www.aafs.org/asb-standard/best-practice-recommendation-initial-response-scenes-law-enforcement-officers
Resources:
- For more information about Crime Scene Investigation, below are some helpful resources:
Texts
- Practical Crime Scene Processing and Investigation, 3rd edition, by Ross M. Gardner, 2019, CRC Press.
- Crime Scene Photography, 3rd Edition, by Edward Robinson, 2016, Academic Press Elsevier, Inc.
- Practical Analysis and Reconstruction of Shooting Incidents, Second Edition, Edward E. Hueske, 2021, CRC Press
- Effective Expert Witnessing: Practices for the 21st Century, 5th ed. By Matson, Jack V., 2013, CRC Press
- Forensic Science: An Introduction to Scientific and Investigative Techniques, 4th edition by James, Stuart H., Nordby, Jon J., and Bell, Suzanne, 2013, CRC Press
Informational Websites:
- RTI International
- OSAC
- Chesapeake Bay Division – IAI Chemical Reagent Techniques Guide
Journals that Publish Articles in this Discipline:
The IAI Journal of Forensic Identification
https://www.theiai.org/jfi_journals.php