This past Friday, November 11, my Fundamentals in Biomedical Sciences Class (II) was visited by Mrs. Stephanie Fisher, a Forensic Scientist. Mrs. Fisher graduated from the University of South Alabama where she gained her masters in public administration. While at south, she completed upper level courses in Biology and Chemistry, two fields that are essential to Forensic Science.
The Field of Forensic Science is the study of the application of science to law. Forensic Scientists are responsible for analyzing submitted evidence and reporting the results in a court of law. The field of forensic science is entirely objective, meaning personal bias does not affect the work in this field (for the most part, of course). Most forensic laboratories are independent entities, rather than owned by the city/county/state/nation.
Forensic scientists “wear many hats”. They have various different jobs to fill in their labs. The services/disciplines provided by forensic scientists include the analysis of drug chemistry/clandestine labs (largest section; testing of the drug itself), toxicology (analyzes bodily fluids), forensic biology (DNA), firearms and tool marks, latents/fingerprints, crime scenes, death investigations. All the information they gather in these instances can be used as evidence. The use of forensic evidence can be crucial to a case, therefore there are many steps taken to ensure that the evidence couldn’t have been tampered with. Evidence submitted in a sealed manner with a unique number is assigned to that case. The evidence is distributed to the correct discipline of the laboratory and personnel, so a chain of custody is created at the time the evidence comes to the lab and is maintained all the way to the agency. In the lab, evidence is analyzed, weighed, pictures taken and documented. Evidence is placed in Sarchie bags which serve to be tamper resistant. If they are tampered with, one would know.
Mrs. Fisher then discussed the various disciplines of forensic science. Drug Chemistry is responsible for analyzing seized drug evidence submitted. Forensic scientists use drug chemistry to weigh and analyze solid material, powder material, liquids, tablets, needles, residue and more. An example of the use of this field would be to differentiate between Crack Cocaine(basic, low melting point, can be smoked)and Powder Cocaine (acidic, high melting point, can’t be smoked).Forensic scientists use various tools in their field including scales, gas chromatograph/ mass spectrometer (gives identification based on molecular structure), and infrared spectroscopy Forensic Toxicology is study of poisons pertaining to legal matters
This includes the study of postmortem samples, anti-mortem samples, alcohol and drug screens, blood, urine, vitreous humor (liquid in the eye), tissues, and gastric contents Forensic Biology examines evidence for the presence of biological material
Forensic scientists use this to identify/characterize biological material. This would include fingerprints or hair samples!
Forensic Scientists define a crime scene as either primary, secondary, macroscopic, or microscopic. When studying a crime scene, forensic scientists use Locard's Exchange Principle which states: whenever two objects come into contact, a mutual exchange of matter will take place between them
I enjoyed getting to learn about forensic science and a little bit about the legal system! It was a fun transition away from our normal studies. I would love for Mrs. Fisher to come back and talk with us more about her field!
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