What type of environments do crime scene investigators work in?

Don't believe everything you see on TV. Our department has crime scene technicians. They are not sworn officers and they don't investigate crimes. They go out to crime scenes and collect evidence, fingerprints and take photos. The investigate work is done by sworn officers who are detectives.

So it can depend on what department you work for that will determine what the job involves.

Crime scene investigation begins with being a sworn officer. Meaning five months in the police academy and a total of eighteen months on the job to complete probation. In Chicago the next step is to pass a crime scene investigation test for your aptitude. After being accepted as a crime scene investigator there is a three month course. Upon completion, you are reassigned to a special unit and cover one-half the city of Chicago (320 square miles). This means inside and outside of buildings, forests, rivers, prairies etc. during all four seasons, It also means you accept all assignments without questions, like it or not. There is no option to pick and choose the ones you like. It's not TV, but is real police work and very rewarding because you will be able to do things others can only dream about. Good luck. JRL Chicago Police canine unit retired.