Apart from working hours, I go through everyday life more vigilantly. I notice sources of danger more quickly because my job allows me to see how crimes occur. By taking fingerprints and coming into contact with perpetrators, I realized: You can’t look into people’s heads. There are people who have their fingerprints taken and look as if they had a coffee that morning and calmly mowed the lawn. And later it comes out that they murdered someone. Others would make you intuitively switch sides if they met you on the street, and they would turn out to be harmless. My moral courage has also increased. In my job I work for law and order – and for justice. So when I see something that’s not okay, I now intervene more quickly than I used to.”
What questions do you get asked at parties?
“Are there really so many murders that it’s worth hiring someone to take photos? Then people always want to hear stories: What was the craziest crime scene you’ve been to? I’m not allowed to reveal any details, so I’ll just tell you what’s in the media. That’s usually enough.”
Imagination vs. reality
“The job is as I imagined it: very varied and interesting. I’ve been interested in police work for a long time and never had overly romantic ideas about it. It’s not like the crime scene on Sundays in reality. No detective goes under a ribbon and fishes a worn ballpoint pen out of his pocket to pick up a cup, which then becomes the most important piece of evidence. In reality, there are clear procedures and regulations. I wear a suit with a hood, booties and rubber gloves. Sometimes a helmet if the crime scene is in danger of collapsing.”
How I got the job
“After graduating from high school, I thought about joining the police, but then trained as a product photographer and primarily photographed furniture. Afterwards, I worked as a security guard in an accommodation for refugees and took photos on the side. The accommodation looked like a youth hostel, but was a former women’s prison. That’s why I already had indirect contact with the judiciary back then.
Later I took photos for a sporting goods retailer’s website. Because of the pandemic, my contract was not extended as originally agreed. So I started looking for a job – and found the advertisement for a position as a crime scene photographer. I was surprised myself at how many areas of responsibility there are in the police force that are no longer carried out by trained police officers. It also needs mechanics, IT specialists and doctors. Nevertheless, I feel connected to the police, as if we were one big team from very different professions.”
How much you earn
“After two and a half years, I have now reached salary level two and earn around 3,000 euros gross. I’ll soon be in salary level three. This is currently an average salary in the industry. I can make a decent living from it, but to be honest I would like more. But it’s not easy in the public sector because everything is regulated by collective agreements. Only after 15 years can I reach the highest tariff level: 3634 gross. Maybe I’ll stay that long, we’ll see.”