CSI Salary

The Crime Scene Investigator or CSI salary varies between USD 20,000per annum to USD 50,000 per annum depending on the regular variablessuch as education, experience and geographic location. Also known as ET(Evidence Technician), CST (Crime Scene Technician), FI (ForensicInvestigator), SOCO (Scenes Of Crime Officer), CSA (Crime SceneAnalyst) etc. the CSI is a key person in criminal procedure whoexamines, identifies, documents and collects physical evidence at acrime scene.

Since crime includes a whole gamut of activities starting from carthefts, burglaries, accidents to assaults and suspicious deaths, theCSI’s tasks would include preserving and protecting the crimescene from contamination, searching for footwear marks andfingerprints, taking samples for DNA testing (saliva and other bodyfluids), examining clothing for samples such as hair, fibre and blood,taking photographs, preparing statements of evidence, attending courtswith evidence collected for enquiry purpose and attending postmortemsin case of suspicious deaths.

The CSIs job is a meticulous one and leaves no room for complacencybecause the tiniest evidence at the site of crime such as fibres,fingerprints and DNA could be crucial in solving the crimes. CSIsanalyze the evidence themselves or send it to laboratories for testingwhere they use a variety of high-tech equipment. With a good,well-recorded statement from a CSI, crimes may be solved many yearslater as well.

Now how does one begin earning CSI salary? The simplest way is tobecome a police officer and then apply to become a CSI after a fewyears. Another way is to become a civilian CSI. Police agencies do nothire civilian CSIs routinely and therefore they do not have anyprescribed educational requirements for one. Some require a 2-yearcollege degree while some seek specialized courses such as forensicstudy, biology etc. It is best to contact the local police to find outtheir requirements for a CSIs job and apply accordingly.

As a CSI you work as a part of scientific support department in thepolice force (especially CID) and forensic laboratory staff. To earnCSI salary, you need to work approximately 40 hours a week with nofixed timings and no weekends (since crime is committed at all times ofthe day and night). You may be summoned to the crime scene anytime ofthe day or night, indoors or outdoors and maybe required to investigatea simple burglary to a complicated or a messy crime with blood andmutilated bodies. Police cars, unmarked cars, protective clothing,gloves and radios, powders and magnifying glasses and a host of otheraccessories are part of your daily life. Though you would be working inall kinds of weather conditions and dangerous crime scenes it isimportant for you to remember that it is on the basis of your evidencethat an offender will be punished and justice will be done –sometimes years after the crime is committed. Your meticulous, detailedand tireless work will bear fruits and that in itself is a hugesatisfaction to you.

To get your CSI salary you would do well to cultivate qualities such asbeing able to concentrate for long periods of time, being physicallyfit, possess normal colour vision, being methodical and meticulous,possessing good oral and written skills, a scientific approach toconclude from physical evidence, ability to work in teams andindependently, ability to remain cal and focussed in situations thatnormally traumatize ordinary people and being comfortable withscientific equipments and computers.