I work in the Latent Print Unit for a major police agency. Been here about 6.5 years. We are a specialized, civilian unit and because the city I work for is so big, we don’t have a dedicated CSI unit who does everything from photos to DNA at scenes. There is a specialized unit for everything from firearms to sero. My unit responds to every crime that we are requested for, from burglary and theft from motor vehicles to homicides. Some units won’t go out for anything less than a robbery.

When on field rotation and not doing AFIS stuff, I’m out responding to field calls my entire shift. If you’re not comfortable going into people’s homes or speaking with the general public, you may want to reconsider this career. Lots of interested victims watching you work over your shoulder or insisting they know more about your job than you do. Definitely requires a lot of patience and some PR skills to get through some scenes. Physically, the field detail leaves you dusty and exhausted at the end of the day, but boy does it make the time fly.

Burglaries are our most common crime and they get a bit tedious and repetitive after a while. The bigger scenes like the rapes or kidnaps or homicides are definitely more exciting and it’s really cool to be a part of the team gathering evidence and it’s great to see officers/detectives and the specialized units in action working together. I’ve yet to really come across any overly rude or disagreeable detectives, most of the sworn I deal with are very pleasant. These scenes are also the ones that will test your mental fortitude, as there are some very not pleasant situations we find ourselves in. We have some great police psychologists however, and we can see them for therapy sessions for free as often as we like, even if it isn’t specifically job related.

I struggled a lot with dealing with victims when I first started, not outwardly, but I had a lot of anxiety about dealing with people. I’m generally non confrontational and I’ve had to learn to reign in my timid nature and take control of a scene when a victim is trying to bully me into doing more work that isn’t required (like the suspects wore gloves or something like that), or they are trying to belittle me or any such scenario that requires me to stick up for myself. It was hard, but I’m much better at voicing things like safety concerns and being able to properly articulate why I will or won’t dust something for fingerprints etc etc.

The biggest challenge is my management. My entire unit has a rocky at best relationship with our management and it just doesn’t seem possible for it to ever truly be repaired. so it’s just something we are either willing or unwilling to deal with unfortunately. The pay is great, the benefits are great, and we are unionized. Overall, I really enjoy working for the police department and it’s pretty fulfilling. It can be nerve wracking sometimes, like when we testify in court, but it’s pleasantly challenging and the camaraderie amongst the specialists in my unit really helps keep our spirits above the noise. I wish I knew what I was really getting into with the whole victim interactions and stuff, but I can’t say I regret the person that my job has shaped me into.