08,March 2024
Crime mystery solving is not only about catching the offender and delivering justice to the victim. Instead, it involves the entire process of coming across a case, investigating the crime scene and evidence collected, examining the deceased or the victim, and finally delivering justice. In this entire process, the most important role is played by the forensic investigators. These people work in close collaboration with law enforcement officials and the police department to conclude the case. Here in this blog, we have given an overview of forensic investigators. You can check important details, like, how to become, roles and responsibilities, salary, skills required, etc below in this blog.
Who Is A Forensic Investigator?
Those forensic scientists who help police departments and crime branches in solving crimes by examining the evidence, crime scene, and the dead body are known as Forensic Investigators. These are the people who visit the crime sites along with the investigating officers to collect the pieces of evidence like fingerprints, blood stains, and hair. Along with this, they take photographs of the scene to re-create them. Their role is not confined to the crime scene or the laboratories instead they also visit the witnesses and the courtrooms to testify their findings in front of the judges.
How to Become a Forensic Investigator?
Becoming such an expert requires full attention and effort from a candidate. These experts need to comply with several requirements along with fulfilling the educational qualification parameters as mentioned below. Candidates can check the detailed procedure for becoming a forensic investigator below.
1. Complete Graduation:
Soon after you make up your mind of becoming a forensic investigator the next step that you should be prepared for is getting admission to a graduation program. Candidates are required to complete their undergraduate program in forensics course from a recognized institute with decent marks. You can opt for any of the specializations in this course as per your requirements and choice. Though these specializations may be available in some colleges and may not be available in others, here we have mentioned some common specializations that are present in all forensic science colleges.
Specializations Offered:
- Toxicology,
- Forensic Pathology,
- Forensic Odontology,
- Forensic Archeology,
- Forensic Serology,
- Forensic Entomology.
To get admission to the desired course and institute candidates are required to fulfill the basic eligibility criteria as mentioned below:
Eligibility Required:
- To pursue a bachelor’s in forensics course you must have passed class 10th and 12th in science from a recognized board with at least 50% marks.
2. Undergo Training:
Completion of your undergraduate program must be followed by training in your respective field. Candidates are required to undergo training to learn the skills that are required for their overall career growth. Training at a reputed organization will give you real-life experience of your job profile. You will get the actual feel of your roles and responsibilities that you will be required to fulfill. For example, if you choose to work as a forensic pathologist then you will be examining the evidence in the laboratory as a trainee and will get a better understanding of the things you will be doing once you start your full-time job.
3. Get Certification:
When you choose to work as a forensic investigator you must opt for a field that you find interest in. This is because, after a bachelor’s degree, you will be required to get a certificate in the respective field so that the companies hiring you should know what your specialization is. It will help you grow as a professional as well as an individual.
4. Complete Your Master’s Degree:
Once you are done with your undergraduate program, it’s not mandatory that you opt for a master’s degree but if you do so it will be beneficial for you for sure. Companies when hiring candidates for the investigator role, look for resumes with master’s degree mentioned on them. It is quite evident that the candidates with bachelor’s degrees are considered to be less efficient as compared to those with post-graduate degrees. The eligibility criterion for pursuing a post-graduation course is mentioned below:
Eligibility Criteria:
- Students must pass class 10th and 12th in science with at least 50% aggregate marks.
- Candidates need to complete bachelor’s degree from a recognized university with at least 50% marks.
Roles and Responsibilities of Forensic Investigators:
These experts play an important role in criminal mysteries by helping the investigating officers in identify the offenders. They analyze the crime trends and suggest the measures that can be taken by the police departments to prevent future crimes. They perform the following responsibilities while on the job:
- Collect evidence from the crime scene,
- Analyze the evidence,
- Prepare reports based on findings,
- Testify in the court,
- Recreate the crime scenes to investigate the case,
- Take the photographs of the scene and evidence,
- Collaborate with other professionals.
Techniques Used By Forensic Investigators:
While investigating the criminal cases these people perform a range of tests and analysis techniques on the deceased and the evidence collected. They do so to ensure that they are getting the right result and there is no chance of wrong interpretation at all. The techniques used by these experts are as follows:
- DNA Analyses of hair and other biological evidence,
- Odontology for identifying the dental imprints and comparing the findings with the pre-existing records of the database,
- Liquid and Gas Chromatography,
- Examining the decayed dead body using Anthropological techniques.
Skills Required By Forensic Investigator:
Apart from getting a degree in a respective domain acquiring sufficient skills is also important for a person to become a successful forensic investigator. The task of such people is not like the task of simple investigators who visit the crime scenes and based on the materials, people, and other relevant things present start their investigation. Instead, their role is to dig out those hidden mysteries that are connected to the case and help in finding leads for the case. Therefore they need to have some special skills so that they can work efficiently. Some of the most important skills required by these people are mentioned below:
1. Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication Skills:
When these people make findings on a case they need to present them in the form of reports, sometimes they testify in the courts as well to present supporting evidence to the judiciary so that justice is delivered. To do such a task these people must know how to speak and present their thoughts in front of others. Because of the demand of this job, it’s important for such experts that they successfully communicate their results to the intended audiences.
2. Analytical and Critical Thinking:
One of the most important tasks of these professionals is the examination and analysis of the evidence found at the crime scene. Hence to analyze them efficiently these experts should have built a good analytical and critical thinking ability. They should be able to connect the dots between their findings of the evidence and the crime. While doing so they should be able to consider all the possibilities so that they come to the best conclusion and do not mislead the investigation.
3. Strong Problem-Solving Skills:
Your job is quite important in reducing the crimes in the society and hence you are required to have a strong potential of solving the problems quickly and efficiently. It is because if you are able to solve the cases quickly there is less possibility that another crime will be committed by the same criminal as you will be able to identify the pattern followed by them. You should be able to interpret the findings and thus make suggestions to the law enforcement agencies.
4. Attentive:
As a forensic investigator, you will be required to examine old, damaged, and difficult to understand evidence with dust all over it. For this, you must pay attention to all the details mentioned in the evidence. You have to be attentive while noticing every detail so that you do not miss any of them and mention them in the record.
5. Strong Mathematical Skills:
You need to have mathematical skills not because you will be required to perform calculations of numbers. It is because you will be required to perform calculations of the evidence, details mentioned, etc. If you are someone who has strong calculation skills then you can also utilize the numerical data to the utmost level by presenting them in the form of proof to the judiciary.
6. Professionalism:
For such an expert it is important to maintain professionalism. You have to maintain an objective attitude during the investigation to produce enough evidence to be presented in court. You have to be serious enough while analyzing the crime scene and the evidence so that you can conclude the case effectively.
Salary of Forensic Investigators Based On Experience:
The demand for such professionals is quite high in the market, thus the packages they are being offered are also high. Their salaries rise with the increase in the years of experience. After getting experience for a few years working in India you can also settle abroad where you will get a better salary. Here we have mentioned the salary offered per annum based on your experience.
| Serial No. | Experience | Salary (Per Annum) |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Entry level (less than one year) | 6-8 Lakhs |
| 2. | Early career (1-4 years) | 8-10 Lakhs |
| 3. | Mid-career (5-9 years) | 10-15 Lakhs |
| 4. | Experienced (10-19 years) | 15-18 Lakhs |
| 5. | Late-career (20+ years) | 20 Lakhs+ |
The job of being a forensic investigator is tough and requires your attention, dedication, and hard work. Your profile is a prestigious one and you should have enough sensibility to maintain it.
References:
- https://learn.org/articles /forensic_investigator_job_ description_salary.html
- https://ca.indeed.com/career -advice/finding-a-job/what ss-does-forensic-investigator-do