The Crime Scene Services Unit is the "CSI" Unit for the Cambridge Police Department. Though not as glamorous as today's popular television shows, the Crime Scene Services Unit assists detectives in processing major crime scenes and evidence collected by Officers and Detectives. Crime Scene Services responds to major crime scenes to capture photographs of the scene, process the scene for fingerprints, and collect physical evidence for further analysis. We may collect such evidence as hairs, fibers, DNA, and firearm evidence and submit to the State Police or the FBI for further examination. Crime Scene Services' fingerprint examiner compares latent prints developed at the scene to fingerprints of known suspects. In some cases, the staff of the Crime Scene Services Unit may be required to testify in court to findings recovered from the crime scene.
In addition, the Crime Scene Services Unit is responsible for archiving booking photographs, or "mug shots". The Unit also handles the fingerprinting services and photographing processes for License to Carry Firearms or FID cards, Constable, employment purposes and sex offender registry applications.