Forensic Scientist Roles

Roles of Forensic Scientists as crime scene investigator, laboratory analyst, and expert witness

Forensic scientist must use scientific method when conducting observation and examination. It’s not a job of forensic scientist to determine whether the suspect is guilt or not. Through investigations, observation and evidence interpretation, they can determine how the crime can happened, when it happened and who could be at the crime scene.

1.0 Forensic scientist as crime scene investigator.

1.1 Preliminary scene assessment on crime scene.

Crime scene is locus or location where an incident happened before (Horswell 2004) . This crime scene must be secured and processed accordingly. A team with minimal number of officer –to prevent any activity

Create rough sketch of crime scene to identify all the possible locations where evidence can be find

IV. Photographic and video recording planning

1.2 Documenting the scene and evidence

The state of crime scene must be properly documented in order to record the conditions of crime scene and physical evidence. There are 4 major tasks in documenting crime scene which involve note taking, photography, sketching and videography. This documentation will help the analyst to understand how the evidence relates to overall scene and solve the mystery (Girard 2013).

Note taking : Note taking is the core of the crime scene. The note should contain any information about the scene, evidence and the personnel involved. During legal proceeding, investigator’s notes are vey helpful in resolving the case. Photography : A systematic photographs should include 3 types of shots which is mid-range, close-up and overall. These photos must be taken without the presence of photographer itself or anyone that can disturb the element of the scene. All of the item must be in original state without any changes or

It can be retrieved from clothes, floors, and furniture. Forensic scientist can help to prove the suspect was at the scene by matching the fiber found with the suspect clothing. It’s very difficult to tell whether two fibers are the same by looking at them because sometimes it may have the same color and texture. With the help of powerful instruments and skills, the details of the material can be seen. Forensic scientist examines the shape, size, and appearance of the fiber. They also analyze the chemical and dye on the fiber. Simply stated, forensic scientist has the ability to know the type of fiber, where it came from, what sort of fabric it was made into and the manufacturer with the help of modern