Forensic Investigators
West Midlands Police has a dedicated group of Forensic Scene Investigators (FSI) who search for forensic clues at crime scenes. Over 100 police staff make up this team. Depending upon the circumstances of the crime, they might visit your home, street or business following a crime to gather evidence that will help police to detect and arrest the offender.
When a crime takes place, from burglary and vehicle crime to larger cases such as murder, the offenders are likely to leave forensic evidence at the crime scene which will provide clues to investigating officers. It is the job of the FSI to find these clues.
Using the latest forensic techniques, they look for all sorts of evidence, from fingerprints and DNA to footwear marks left by the offenders. If they find evidence whilst searching, it is carefully recovered and sent to West Midlands Police state-of-the-art forensic laboratories to be tested.
Whenever an FSI goes out to a job, there are several procedures which are followed. To stop potential evidence from being destroyed, lost or contaminated they first preserve and protect the crime scene. There are likely to be a lot of officers at the scene, and it is essential that the evidence is not affected by them. This is also important at outdoor scenes, where the weather can play a part, so they protect the scene from the wind and rain.
FSIs then start to work with the investigating officers. The FSI will find out what evidence they need to help with the investigation, so that they can determine the best way to recover it.
There are a lot of details that the FSIs will look for at a scene. The search will mainly look for and collect fingerprints, fibres, blood, hair, paint or glass, and search for footprints and marks left by tools or weapons. Throughout this search the scene will be recorded using photography and video. All of the evidence is packaged and sent to forensic laboratories or fingerprint bureau for analysis.
Ultimately the work is very varied but will help to catch and convict offenders and make the West Midlands even safer.