This was a very fun week in Biomed! It's officially forensics week! For the first day of this exciting week, we had a review of what we had learned in years past. We focused particularly on forensic evidence. Forensic evidence is evidence obtained by scientific method: item considered to be of evidentiary value that can be examined by a person of specialized training to give an opinion about it. These include but are not limited to crime scenes, forensic pathology, biological, digital forensics, documents, bite marks, botany, toxicology, anthropology, and linguistics. The important thing to remember about forensic evidence is that the WHY + HOW= WHO. This means that the motive and the method can be used to find the culprit. To obtain forensic evidence, one must think like four people: the Detective, the Suspect, the Prosecutor, and the Attorney. This way, you will avoid missing anything that isn't obvious. To end the day, we got to study some real cases. We saw a man who had killed himself via carbon monoxide poisoning and a man who had been stabbed by his boyfriend. Although these were different circumstances, both cases had to be treated with the same meticulous detail.
On day two, we got started on the activities for this week. We needed the skills to evaluate the scenes in the coming days, so we discussed crime scene investigation with Corporal Russell Benefield. The responsibilites of a crime scene investigators include identifing evidence, documenting evidence (notes, sketch, photographs), processing evidence (DNA, fingerprints), collecting evidence (preserve, package and seal each item/prepare for court). We were able to evaluate some real crime scenes. We learned that we should treat every death case like a homicide until the facts prove otherwise. This way, professionals can do their best to ensure no criminal can walk free. Lastly we learned about some methods of obtaining forensic evidence. These include, fingerprint analysis, blood spatter analysis, and scene diagramming. Chemicals like ninhydrin spray are used to reveal and enhance fingerprints. Other sprays like Luminol, can reveal blood stains that had been cleaned away. These tools are integral to obtaining forensic evidence, but it takes a trained professional to know where to look!
On day three, we got to do some activities! We had three mini labs that detailed how to obtain forensic evidence. The first was a fingerprinting lab. We were able to use fingerprinting powder to dust and collect our own fingerprints! Next, we were able to obtain DNA samples. We partnered up, and took turns swabbing our partners mouth. We had to put the swabs away in a paper bag that was meticulously labeled with our name, our "suspect's"name, the date, the location, and the evidence number. We then had to tape down our bag , ensuring that nothing could fall out or be tampered with. If the tape was pulled off, it would be very obvious! In the last lab, we used luminol spray to reveal blood stains that had been recently cleaned. We couldn't see the blood with the naked eye, but with the spray, the stains lit up blue! You can see one photo that I took below.
I unfortunately had to go out of town for the rest of the week and couldn't participate in the last two days of activities. I am still very grateful for the experiences I had! I heard that everyone got to evaluate their own crime scene. I'm still very jealous.