>>SNIP
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>>>Notwithstanding, my beef was with the assertion that they're suffering budget cuts, yet the kit they have at their disposal, even if it is science fact, is not available from your local hi tech store and would cost a fortune. They also have the 3-D holographic head whatchamacallit too.
>>>
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>>Possibly due to the way funding is handled. Sometimes Police depts get federal funds or grants to be used for specific purposes (new and improved equipment, interagency communication; and congress passes the bill to provide it for that specific purpose - it's a one-time benefit) and then there is the annual budget (salaries included there) that mostly comes from local taxes.
>>
>>It would seem the best scenario would be for the department to receive the funds and then allow them to use those funds as they see best able to support their mission. However, in other government agencies that has proven to be a disaster with the funds going for all types of crazy stuff and wasted.
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>>So, the department gets the funds, buys and implements the equipment, and then a year or two later the tax dollars decrease (for whatever local reason - economy, mortgage failures, less spending) so there is less money available to pay salaries and it's looking at cutbacks and layoffs...
>
>Thank you, Tracy. That explains the machinations of this make-believe agency :-) (Remember that the series is known as "CSI NY" yet on the series "Law and Order" the crime scene dept is called "CSU". Go figure.

The name of the department differs everywhere just as the name for the job might as well:

Crime Scene Investigator CSI
Crime Scene Analyst CSA
Forensic Technician FT
Crime Scene Technician CST
Evidence Technician ET
Forensic Investigator FI
Criminalistic Officer CO
etc...

The roles differ slightly or a lot too in different areas.