Types of CSIs

• At any crime scene, there are different kinds of CSIs who work on specific tasks, including the team leader, the CSIs who document the scene and the ones that collect evidence that will be examined by forensic scientists.
  
  

Crime Scene Management

• The team leader is in charge of making assignments to the other CSIs at a crime scene and ensuring that the work is done efficiently. Team leaders are also in charge of communication and must impart the information that other members on the team, and law enforcement personnel, need to know.
  
  

Documentation

• The crime scene documenters--photographers, videographers and sketch artists--work to create an accurate record of the way a crime scene was found that can be used later by law enforcement and attorneys. Videographers usually make a recording of the scene first, which involves taping the evidence without narrative. Then photographers go through a crime scene to re-create evidence as it may have appeared to the criminal or victim. Lastly, crime scene sketch artists draw important pieces of evidence from different perspectives (e.g., overhead views and side views).
  
  

Evidence Collection

• Evidence collectors ensure that all of the important items at a crime scene are saved and preserved. There is a protocol for each type of evidence collected. For example, hairs at a crime scene should be picked up with tweezers and placed into small envelops---which are then placed into placed into larger envelopes, labeled and sealed. Mistakes during the collection stage may compromise evidence and make it difficult for forensic scientists to work with.
  
  

Forensic Science

• Once evidence is collected, forensic scientists begin their examinations. The type of evidence that forensic scientists analyze depends on their area of expertise. For example, criminalists look at bullets to determine what kind of gun they came from; forensic dentists may examine dental records against the teeth of an unknown victim to identify who it was; forensic pathologists perform autopsies that reveal how someone died; and forensic toxicologists run tests that can identify poison in someone's body.
  
  

CSI Effect

• Thanks to shows like "Forensic Files" and "CSI," more people are becoming interested in crime scene investigation and forensic science. Unfortunately, the down side to this interest is the affect that it has had in the jury box, which as been dubbed as "The CSI Effect." According to this theory, because cases are wrapped up so perfectly by forensic science in these shows, members of juries expect that every case can be solved the same way. However, forensic scientists and CSIs are human, so in real life, mistakes are sometimes made. Also, there are cases where forensic testing may not even be necessary.