The Wilmington Police Department Crime Scene Investigation Unit (CSI) falls under the Command of the Criminal Investigations Division of the Support Operations Bureau. The unit currently consist of one Sergeant, two sworn police SCI investigators, and six civilian CSI Investigators. The unit is tasked with responding to crime scenes in the City of Wilmington and assisting surrounding agencies as requested. At the crime scene, CSI's identify, process, and collect all types of evidence using various forensic techniques including photography, alternate light sources, various chemicals including Luminol, and other methods.
The value of collected physical evidence and subsequent analysis by trained personnel in the CSI Unit cannot be underestimated. Physical evidence is a silent witness, always present at crime scenes. Only after it has been detected, collected, analyzed, interpreted and presented will the evidence have meaning.
The CSI unit is responsible for collection, preservation, and the proper documentation of evidence collected during a criminal investigation. The CSI unit has received specialized training in the following areas:
The Crime Scene Investigations Unit also has the ability to examine and identify fingerprints, In-house, through A.F.I.S. (Automated Fingerprinted Identification System) and also the ability to examine and identify ballistics through N.I.B.I.N (National Integrated Ballistics Identification Network). The CSI Unit also has it's own photo lab. The CSI unit also downloads and maintains photographs taken at crime scenes.