NCJ Number
205389
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 54 Issue: 3 Dated: May/June 2004 Pages: 327-341
Date Published
May 2004
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This article reports on a 2003 study of the salaries on civilian Crime Scene Units (CSU) within sheriffs’ offices in Florida.
Abstract
The study was initiated to demonstrate the need for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office to re-evaluate the salaries of the crime scene unit; it was subsequently expanded to aid others in the field at large. The study included two phases of questioning, the first involved gathering salary information from human resources departments and the second involved contacting crime scene units directly to complete a more in-depth interview. Data were also drawn from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Salaries between departments were evaluated against the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) Crime Rate Index (CRI). Results of the analysis revealed that two counties, Broward and Pinellas, had peculiarities that made comparisons between departments problematic. Pinellas County’s CSU is used by four municipalities within the county, making reliance the CRI an inaccurate measure. In Broward, the problem of too few civilian members of the CSU skewed the percentage of civilian to sworn CSU members. Results of the salary comparison are offered in table and graph format. In brief, Seminole County had the highest average salaries for civilian CSU’s, while Lake County had the lowest. The range was between $16.62 and $9.62 per hour. Figures, references