Working in a police station

[Prettygyrl777]

Dispatcher, maybe?

[nitokenshi]

crossing guard,finger print analyst

[glass_of_merlot]

Originally Posted by nitokenshi

crossing guard,finger print analyst

crossing guard? Inside a police station?

[Rose_90]

Originally Posted by annerk

I forgot about the CSI people. One of the police forces around here was advertising heavily for CSI positions--it seemed like really intersting work, until I thought about the sights and smells at crime scenes. They only required a HS diploma or GED, and they were willing to train the right people.

I've been seriously considering joining the NYPD. Do you know if these are the only requirements needed for a CSI position here?

[eevee188]

Originally Posted by Rose_90

I've been seriously considering joining the NYPD. Do you know if these are the only requirements needed for a CSI position here?

Any CSI position that only requires a GED is likely a janitorial position--cleaning up the crime scene after it's been processed. Imagine cleaning up huge pools of blood wearing a hazmat suit, and probably getting paid peanuts.

Darn, I just realized I helped necro a dead thread.

[Dakotaxx]

Originally Posted by annerk

I forgot about the CSI people. One of the police forces around here was advertising heavily for CSI positions--it seemed like really intersting work, until I thought about the sights and smells at crime scenes. They only required a HS diploma or GED, and they were willing to train the right people.

I've always thought csi would be interesting but you do have a good point with the sights and smells. Detective work would be interesting but I couldn't see myself ever being a cop.
There are a lot of admins here, I think that they hire them while they're in the academy (several wear shirts that say cadet).

[aliss2]

"CSI" makes for great movie and TV but anyone who does anything beyond the disgusting clean-up tends to be experienced police officers with additional forensics training or trained scientists. It is not glamorous or fun.

Some other things that went on at the one I worked at-
- dispatcher
- call taker
- reception
- hr
- police file records
- court liason
- fitness coordinator
- secretaries (in their own departments- school liason, drugs, whatever)
- computer tech
- equipment
- jail guard
- maintenance

[11thHour]

The CSI type jobs can be pretty low on the pay scale as well, depending on the municipality.

[aliss2]

I always cringe when I see those CSI college ads.

At my PD, we had several job levels - the "csi scene" guys were college kids wanting to be cops (no real education beyond freshmen college/fast food), their job was to hose things down and carry out body bags. It was a great job for any young kid who wanted to be a cop because they could make connections/get to know some aspects of what the investigators did.

Those who actually took the samples, analyzed them, did comparisons, those were all (minimum) scientists with graduate degrees in the hard sciences, and they never really left their downtown science labs. Great job, boring IMO, but great for a nerd who loves their sciences. They probably had never even visited the town let alone the crime scene.

The guys who do the actual "CSI" stuff like you would see on TV - those are detectives (cops with several years of street experience) and additional forensics/ident training. And their job was still fairly boring and the call-out hours sucked. Once you see a dead body, you wish to never see it again. It is certainly not glamorous and nobody really wanted to do it. How fun is it really to stare at brain splatters while a family member is screaming in mourning outside the door?

TV, sigh!!!!! I am not trying to discourage anyone, but just give a hint as to more the realistic aspects. I took some criminology classes at university because the PD was paying for it, and I met several young kids that really thought that Miami CSI-type stuff was a real job. I'm not sure what happened to them but I know they aren't doing that!