Crime scene resources

Many of us believe we have a pretty good grip on the process, and rumor has it criminals are getting a jump on the good guys using tips they pick up from these shows about forensics. But does Hollywood get it right? Do crime scene investigators follow their DNA samples into the lab? Do they interview suspects and catch the bad guys, or is their job all about collecting physical evidence?

Crime Scene Resources, Inc. is a fifteen year company specializing in Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science information and instruction.

In this article, we'll examine what really goes on when a CSI "processes a crime scene" and get a real-world view of crime scene investigation from a primary scene responder with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation. There is no typical crime scene, there is no typical body of evidence and there is no typical investigative approach. At any given crime scene, a CSI might collect dried blood from a windowpane — without letting his arm brush the glass in case there are any latent fingerprints there, lift hair off a victim's jacket using tweezers so he doesn't disturb the fabric enough to shake off any of the white powder which may or may not be cocaine in the folds of the sleeve, and use a sledge hammer to break through a wall that seems to be the point of origin for a terrible smell.

All the while, the physical evidence itself is only part of the equation. The ultimate goal is the conviction of the perpetrator of the crime. So while the CSI scrapes off the dried blood without smearing any prints, lifts several hairs without disturbing any trace evidence and smashes through a wall in the living room, he's considering all of the necessary steps to preserve the evidence in its current form, what the lab can do with this evidence in order to reconstruct the crime or identify the criminal, and the legal issues involved in making sure this evidence is admissible in court.

The investigation of a crime scene begins when the CSI unit receives a call from the police officers or detectives on the scene.

Crime Scene Resources is a twenty-five year company specializing in Crime Scene Investigation and Forensic Science information and instruction.

The overall system works something like this:. Every CSI unit handles the division between field work and lab work differently. What goes on at the crime scene is called crime scene investigation or crime scene analysis , and what goes on in the laboratory is called forensic science. Not all CSIs are forensic scientists.

Some CSIs only work in the field — they collect the evidence and then pass it to the forensics lab.