Crime scene
investigators collect and preserve evidence, such as weapons.
Crime scene investigator is an informal job title, popularized by television, for a forensic scientist or forensic science technician. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, forensic scientists earn competitive salaries for intellectually challenging work that involves handling and analyzing crime scene evidence, including blood, DNA and hair. Factors such as education, experience, employer and geography affect a crime scene investigator's annual earnings.
Average Salary
The BLS reported in 2010 that forensic science technicians earned an average yearly salary of $55,070 in 2009, the most recent year for which salary figures were available. Average salaries for forensic scientists ranged from $32,420 a year for the bottom 10 percent to $84,260 a year for the top 10 percent. The median salary for a crime scene investigator or forensic science technician was $51,480 a year in 2009.
Salaries by Agency
The majority of crime scene investigators work for state and local government agencies, such as police departments, according to 2009 data from the BLS. Forensic technicians employed by local agencies earned slightly higher salaries than their counterparts in state-level departments. Salaries for forensic scientists in local government agencies averaged $54,880 in 2009. Technicians in state government organizations earned an average of $53,070 a year.
Significance
A small number of forensic science technicians worked for the federal government but earned far higher salaries than crime scene investigators in local and state agencies. BLS reported that forensic technicians in the federal executive branch earned an average of $92,100 a year, well above the $55,070 average reported for all forensic science specialists.
Geography
The geographic region in which a crime scene investigator works also influences salary figures because of differences in cost of living. Forensic scientists in the Washington, D.C., area and the West Coast earned the highest salaries, according to the BLS. Forensic technicians in the South and Midwest earned lower salaries.
Considerations
Becoming a crime scene investigator and being paid to analyze criminal evidence and provide expert testimony in court requires at least a bachelor's degree in a scientific field, such as biology or chemistry. In addition, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences advises aspiring crime scene investigators to take college courses in criminal justice, law enforcement, criminal procedure and related subjects.
Tags: crime scene, forensic science, scene investigator, scene investigators, crime scene investigator, earned average