How to Become a Crime Scene Technician

Are you someone who has a desire to work with the police department and crime branches? But at the same time do not find it comfortable to be working in the field. Then there is no other better option for you than becoming a crime scene technician. These professionals investigate the findings of the crime scene while working at the laboratory. Their work is more confined to the laboratories and work under the supervision of crime scene investigators. Here in this blog, we have given the complete details on how to become a crime scene technician.

Who is a Crime Scene Technician?

These are the forensic scientists who deal with the examination of the evidence collected by the investigating officers. This profile is a junior one to that of a crime scene investigator and is considered to be an entry-level job. These people help in the examination, collection, and preservation of the evidence. These people are responsible for taking photographs of the crime scene and recreating them to help in solving the case.

How to Become a Crime Scene Technician?

The task of these experts is very complicated and requires precision in every result they bring. These people have to work exhaustively in the laboratories and hence require paying full attention to their work. A single variation in the actual reading of the sample can lead to a variation in the entire result, thus changing the judgment. Their role is quite important in society as these are the people who help in the investigation of the case. And thus helps in creating a crime-free society.

Here we have given the complete details about the process of becoming a crime scene technician:

Get a Bachelor’s Degree:

The foremost step in turning your passion into a profession of being a crime scene technician is getting a bachelor’s degree in forensics course. The candidates must fulfill the basic educational qualification. Candidates are required to obtain a bachelor’s degree in any of the specific specializations of their choice. To get admission in the desired course candidates are required to fulfill the below mentioned eligibility criteria:

Eligibility Required:

• Students need to pass class 10th and 12th with a science background from a recognized board with at least 50% aggregate marks.

You can be admitted to any of the courses depending on your availability. There are various colleges and universities across India that offer multiple choices to the candidates. For example, candidates can opt for full-time, part-time, and distance courses.

Enroll In Training/Internship:

Just getting a degree in this course will not make you an efficient professional. For this you need to get the training as well. Working as a trainee or an intern at a reputed firm will enhance your knowledge base along with giving you real-life experience. This will give you lessons on how to tackle the challenges while dealing with crime mysteries. You can start working as a trainee or an intern during your college years or right after the completion of your bachelor’s courses. You can work as an intern for 6 months to 2 years. The mandatory skills required to be learned by a candidate are learned during this phase itself.

Complete Certification:

This profession is not about the bookish knowledge that you hold, instead, it’s about the skills you own. Companies while recruiting you will be more focused on the certification you have completed, so if you get some special certifications in this field you will surely get additional benefits. You can get these certifications in any of the specializations of your choice from any reputed institute across India.

There are so many certification options available to you; however, here we have mentioned some of the most common certificate courses:

• Bloodstain Analyst Certification:Candidates can get this certification if they wish to work as a blood splatter analyst. These are the experts who study the blood stains, blood spots, evidence with blood on them, etc.
• Certification in Crime Scene: These are the people who investigate the crime scene and collect, analyze, examine, and preserve the evidence. These experts analyze the site and the surrounding environment. They being perfect in their field don’t miss even a single point of investigation.
• Certification in Footwear Pattern:Candidates can opt for the study of footwear patterns as they are an integral and important part of the crime investigation. After getting a certification in this particular specialization, you will be vested with the responsibility of analyzing all kinds of footprints found at the crime scene.
• Photography:It is quite an important task for the investigators to take the pictures of the crime scene and the evidence found at the site. It makes the task easy for the re-creation of the crime and thus to conclude the case easily and simply. These experts click the perfect pictures of the scene to get the exact dimensions of the evidence and objects present at the scene along with the dead body.
• Fingerprint Certification:

  One of the most important sources of identification of the offender is the fingerprints. As twins also don’t have matching fingerprint patterns, these give a unique identity to the accused and the victim. It helps in the identification of all the people who were present at the crime scene.

Get A License For Practice:

After completion of your graduation and the certification course, you will be required to get a permit from the state you wish to work in. For this, in some states, you need to appear for respective exams and in some states, you can get the license simply by making an application for the same at the concerned authority. If do not get a license, you will not be allowed to work with the police and other concerned departments of the state.

Get A Master’s Degree In Forensics:

After completing your basic education in the concerned field, you can also opt for pursuing post-graduation courses in the same field. Doing so will help you get a better job at a better organization. Recruiters want their employees to be more efficient and for this, they prefer to hire a candidate with higher education instead of a candidate with an undergraduate degree. To get admission to a master’s course you need to fulfill the below mentioned eligibility criteria:

Eligibility Criteria:

• Students must have passed class 10th and 12th in the science stream with at least 50% aggregate marks.
• Candidates should have passed their bachelor’s degree from a recognized university with at least 50% marks.

Postgraduate Courses Available:

• M.Tech.
• M.Sc.
• M.Phil.
• Doctorate

Skills Required To Become A Crime Scene Technician:

Only getting a degree in the concerned field is not enough for a candidate. They also need to hold some skills to be working as a technician. Working as a crime technician is not an easy job hence it is an additional advantage for the candidates that they get a strong hold on the skills required for this profession. Some of the skills required by the candidates are mentioned below:

• Analytical Skills: These experts need to be good at analyzing the situation so that they can understand the crime scene in a better way. They should be detail-oriented people and must be perfect at collecting and examining the evidence.
• Strong Communication Skills: If you are not good at presenting your thoughts and findings then what is the whole point of being good at examinations? It is because after working for months on a case when you finally get to a final result and you can’t even present your findings then your hard work goes waste and thus you should be a good speaker and a good listener too. You should be good at verbal and non-verbal communication skills.
• Critical Thinking Ability: Working in such a tense field is not easy and not everyone can work easily in this domain as well. Only those who are good at analyzing what is important for the case can sustain in this field. Your decisions and logic should be appropriate as they will affect the judgment and nothing should go against the victim because of your carelessness.
• Mathematical skills: Apart from owning all the above mentioned skills, candidates should also be good at mathematical analysis as you have to make lots of permutations and combinations to conclude a case.

Role And Responsibilities of A Crime Scene Technician?

These experts play an important role in crime investigations and have a lot of responsibilities. These roles may vary from company to company but there are some common ones to all the organizations. Some of the common responsibilities of these experts are mentioned below:

• Analyzing and examining the crime scene,
• Take pictures of the crime scene,
• Collect the important evidence,
• Make the sketches of the crime scene and reconstruct them,
• Record the observations and findings,
• Preserving the evidence,
• Conduct various tests like biological, chemical, and microscopic analysis on the evidence collected,
• Collaborating and coordinating with other specialized forensic professionals and the police department,
• Present their findings in the court of law.

References:

• https://www.forensicscolleges.com/ blog/htb/how-to-become-a-crime-scene-technician
• https://www.purdueglobal.edu/ blog/criminal-justice/how-to-become-crime-scene-technician/
• https://www.bridgeport.edu/ news/how-to-become-a-forensic-science-technician/
• https://universityhq.org/how-to-become/crime-scene-technician-careers/