Norfolk Crime Scene Investigators (CSIs) are on duty from 8am through to 11pm, seven days a week, 52 weeks of the year on a shift system. Between 11pm and 8am there is an on-call system in place should immediate attendance be required for a serious offence.

On starting their shift a list of crime scenes will be compiled from crime committed overnight. These will then be sorted, prioritised and divided between the CSIs on duty. As is the nature of our business, during the course of the day further requests may change our priorities.

In the majority of cases CSIs will attend and work at scenes alone, however in the case of a major investigation such as a murder it is usual to have a team of CSIs working at a scene or a number of related scenes all coordinated by a senior CSI.

On arrival at a scene information will be gathered from the victim, the attending police officer, any witnesses or CCTV. This will allow the CSI to establish what evidence the investigating police officer requires and decide what the best method of recovery will be.

Often the scene and evidence will be recorded using photography and video before the forensic evidence is gathered. Areas thought to have been disturbed by the offender can be examined for fingerprints using a variety of powders or whole items can be recovered for chemical development within the fingerprint laboratory. If any fingerprints are found it may be necessary to take elimination fingerprints from the victim or anyone else who may have legitimate access to the property or items.

All exhibits recovered are packaged at scene to ensure nothing interferes with the forensic evidence collected and any subsequent analytical work that may be required. The CSI will then write a comprehensive report of the results of the investigation before attending the next scene.

On returning to the office the CSI will have to decide what to do with the exhibits recovered – Fingerprints will be forwarded to police headquarters for identification by a fingerprint officer. Photographs can be uploaded directly from the police station to a database held by the photographic department again at police headquarters.

Exhibits may be stored pending further examination or in the case of exhibits that may contain DNA forwarded to a forensic laboratory where the DNA can be extracted and compared to individuals held on the National DNA database.

The CSI's work may not have finished there. They are also required to write statements for court, detailing what action they took and what exhibits they recovered. They may also be required to attend court when requested to give evidence directly to a judge or jury to describe, often in fine detail, the measures taken in recovering the individual pieces of evidence.

Do you want more information on working as a CSI? Then please see our section on a Career in Crime Scene Investigation.