City of Wichita - Technical Services-CSI Crime Lab CSI

There are eleven Crime Scene Investigators and three Crime Scene Supervisors assigned to the Crime Lab. They are responsible for investigating crimes such as homicides, suicides, dead bodies, robberies, rapes, drive-by shootings, assaults, burglaries, auto thefts and any other crime where a specialized skill is needed. Other responsibilities may include attending autopsies. Special Equipment and Techniques are used by the Crime Scene Investigators.

After the investigators complete their investigation at the scene they return to the laboratory to process any evidence they have collected and type reports. Every hour on the scene generates an hour of paper work in the lab.

The Crime Scene Investigators document the scene by first photographing, (general to specific, outside to in). Then they diagram and measure the scene and evidence. Next, they collect any and all evidence pertaining to the case. The investigators may spend a short time or several days to completely document and process the scene. The Crime Scene Investigators investigate between 1,800 to 2,100 cases a year.

Latent Print impressions (fingerprints) are most often found on any non-porous surfaces such as glass or other smooth surfaces. Latent fingerprints can be found on wood and rough surface plastics. A latent print is 99% water and the other 1% is composed of amino acids and other compounds. When you touch a dusty surface the dust absorbs the moisture of the fingerprint, leaving no latent prints on the object to be collected. If the hands are very dry an impression will not be left since the fingerprint is 99% water. When a person touches an object it may or may not leave a fingerprint.