
Jennifer Castillo
Forensic Specialist
Pasadena Police Department
Pasadena, CA USA
“Believe in yourself. You don’t have to immediately accomplish your goals, you can achieve them step by step just by motivating yourself.”
Pasadena Police Department
Pasadena, CA USA
“Believe in yourself. You don’t have to immediately accomplish your goals, you can achieve them step by step just by motivating yourself.”
Forensic Specialist
Photograph and process crime scenes for evidence.
I arrive and log on with dispatch. No two days are ever the same. I wait for an officer to call over the radio for forensics to either photograph or process a crime scene. Crime scenes are all different as well. Sometimes I only take photos of a victim or vandalism / graffiti. At burglaries, I take photos, dust for prints, collect prints if I find any, and also swab for DNA when available.
Here's the first step for high school students
Find someone who has information about becoming a crime scene investigator. They can tell you what programs to join or what schools offer a forensic science program. They can also help you find a job in the field. It’s a small field so networking is a good idea. I kept in contact with the coordinator of my CSI certificate program and they helped me throughout my entire application process.
"I won’t stand out in this competitive field. I was an average student and didn’t think about my future. I took to long to finally get a job in the career I always wanted."