How to Become a Crime Scene Technician

Additional academy training and education not provided by Purdue Global may be required for law enforcement positions.

Crime scene technicians, also called crime scene investigators (CSI) and forensic science technicians, do critical work: They collect and analyze evidence at crime scenes, working at all hours and anywhere they’re needed. They may also work in a laboratory, performing scientific and technical analysis on the evidence that’s been collected. This work can be difficult, but it’s immensely rewarding.

Purdue Global’s Robert Warnock, adjunct faculty member, shares his insights on forensic science technology and how to become a crime scene investigator or technician.

What Crime Scene Technicians Do

Many crime scene technicians specialize in either crime scene investigation or laboratory analysis.

At crime scenes, techs can be tasked with:

• Recording observations and findings about evidence
• Analyzing crime scenes to determine the next steps
• Taking photographs or videos of the crime scene and evidence
• Making sketches of the crime scene to ensure that all evidence remains in the appropriate location
• Collecting evidence, including bodily fluids, fingerprints, and weapons
• Reconstructing crime scenes
• Cataloging and preserving evidence for transfer to crime labs

Away from a crime scene, these techs may perform tests on weapons or other evidence to determine its significance to the investigation. They may also testify as expert witnesses on evidence or crime laboratory techniques. Many are specialists in such areas as ballistics, biochemistry, fingerprinting, or handwriting.

As a 26-year veteran of the police force in River Forest, Illinois, Warnock has spent his share of time at crime scenes. He says the portrayal of crime scene technicians on TV doesn’t reflect reality.

“The most common misconception is hoping to find latent fingerprints and DNA at a crime scene like on television shows,” he says. “I processed a lot of crime scenes where I found neither of those. The offenders would be wearing gloves, or the officers at the scene trying to locate the offender would walk over the offender's shoe impressions.”

Job Outlook for Crime Scene Technicians

The future looks bright for crime scene technicians, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The BLS projects employment to grow 13% from 2022 to 2032, much faster than the average for all occupations.

These jobs are likely to be with state and local governments as they process evidence from growing caseloads. Also, scientific and technological advances are likely to increase the availability, reliability, and usefulness of objective forensic information used as evidence in trials.

“Remote control drones can fly over crime scenes instead of using the state helicopter or airplane,” says Warnock. “There are also tools that you place in the middle of the crime scene to take pictures without a crime scene technician in the room. And these days, the laboratory can use the collected DNA evidence to locate the offenders within days instead of months.”

Steps to Becoming a Crime Scene Technician

Here are some of the steps to take to become a crime scene technician.

1. Graduate From High School

According to CareerOneStop, people starting this career usually have a bachelor’s degree, so ensuring you get your high school diploma or GED is a necessary step to becoming a crime scene technician. If you have a focus on lab work or biology, that is also helpful.

2. Get an Undergraduate Degree

The BLS reports that crime scene technicians usually need a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice or natural sciences. Additional on-the-job training is necessary, and while certifications and licenses are not usually required for entry into the occupation, they may be helpful. Purdue Global offers an online bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a concentration in crime scene investigation that could help you qualify for this role.

If you already have a bachelor’s degree but are considering a career change, a crime scene technician certificate may help you enter this field.

“Purdue Global has a fantastic crime scene technician certificate program,” Warnock says. “Among other things, we give students the tools to create mock crime scenes as assignments. This helps them better think through crime scene reconstruction in the field.”

Do note that credentials can vary widely because regulations and standards vary considerably from one jurisdiction to another.

3. Get Entry-Level Employment

In years past, a prospective crime scene technician usually had to start as a police officer. That’s starting to change.

“Police departments started moving toward hiring non-sworn — or civilian — crime scene technicians,” says Warnock. “The non-sworn crime scene technicians have the same training as the sworn crime scene technicians; some of them may have more.”

That being said, you may still need to complete a successful background check as well as undergo a physical and psychological evaluation. CareerOneStop also notes that people starting this career usually have 1 to 12 months of on-the-job training.

4. Consider a Professional Certification

Having a certification is usually not required to work as a crime scene technician or investigator, but it can be helpful when looking for new opportunities.

“Many law enforcement departments want their crime scene technicians certified by the International Association of Identification (IAI), a professional forensic association,” says Warnock. “These certifications are very special to crime scene technicians.”

The IAI offers certifications in the various disciplines governed by the IAI and its certification boards, including bloodstain pattern analysis, forensic photography, and latent prints.

Required Skills for Crime Scene Technicians

Besides education and training requirements, other skills crime scene technicians should have include:

• Analytical skills. Technicians must be detail-oriented to be good at collecting and analyzing evidence.
• Communication skills. Techs often write reports and testify about those reports in court. They work with other law enforcement officials and specialists.
• Critical-thinking skills. Techs collect physical evidence — such as DNA and fingerprints — so that the crime lab can match this evidence to an offender. This takes good judgment and logic.
• Math and science skills. Techs must have a solid understanding of natural sciences and statistics to be able to analyze evidence.
• Problem-solving skills. Techs use scientific methods and tests to help law enforcement officials solve crimes.

To this list, Warnock adds the quality of curiosity.

“It’s about thinking outside the box — thinking as though you’re the bad guy. That’s what I always did,” he says. “What is the bad guy going to touch? Where is the bad guy going to walk? That’s where you start.”

Start Your Crime Scene Technician Career with an Online Degree or Certificate

When you become a crime scene technician, you’re entering a fulfilling career, Warnock says.

“When you process the scene and find a classifiable latent fingerprint or DNA evidence, it’s a rewarding feeling,” he says. “You collect the evidence, send it to the laboratory, and it comes back [matching] to an offender. By the time you come back to work the next day, the detectives have arrested the offender, putting them behind bars until their court appearance.”

Get your start as a crime scene technician with Purdue Global, part of the respected Purdue University system. Purdue Global offers an online crime scene technician certificate and an online bachelor’s degree in criminal justice with a concentration in crime scene investigation. Contact us today for more information.