SEGUIN, Texas – It's a job that’s glamorized by Hollywood, but the reality is that being a crime scene investigator can be a dirty job and requires a lot of attention to detail.
"I do respond to the crime scenes and collect the evidence, and my final job, or the bottom line for my job, is to recreate that crime scene and then present it to a judge or jury and hopefully it can bring closure to a family," said Sarah Wilson, the evidence forensic specialist for the Seguin Police Department.
Wilson is the only specialist working for the department.
"I don't know how she does it, because if you mess up something, it can mean that someone goes free or that someone innocent might be guilty," said Erma Harper-Franklin, who enrolled in the Citizens Academy.
The department’s Citizens Academy got a chance to go one-on-one with Wilson.
"I respond to murders, suspicious deaths, suicides, robberies, sexual assaults (and) burglaries," Wilson said.
Wilson gave the class a quick lesson about the tools she uses.
"I tried to pick different things from fingerprints, different types of chemical processing, black fingerprint powder, magnetic powder, just different things we use, different tools," Wilson said.
Wilson is one of the first and last to leave a crime scene. It's quite the difference from what people see on television.
"Seeing things that you see on TV is a lot different than what you see in real life, so this (class) put it all into perspective," said Amanda Palasky, who attended the Citizens Academy.
For anyone who would like to join the Citizens Academy, you can apply at a police department near you. Here are a few of the classes KSAT 12 found:
• The Seguin Police department will begin its next round of classes next year in March.
• The FBI academy will likely be held in either March or early April 2018.
• The San Antonio Police Department’s next course will start October 10, 2017.
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