Forensics Questions

ThroughALens said:
So I plan on going into something with forensics and im not sure how I should go into this. Any ideas? I'm still in high school but i want to know whats best to go about it, like courses, internships, etc? Please help, I want to be ready for college.
Click to expand...
There are lots of areas of forensics one could go into. If you are interested in the process of evidence collection, that would be a true CSI or evidence tech. Most people who do this are first trained as police officers. If you want to be the person working in the lab that examines samples, then you would need degress in pathology or biology. There are also forensic photographers who photograph crime scenes and bodies. A lot of times, they tend to be evidence techs with special photo training. There is also something called a forensic nurse examiner (that's what I am). In most states, a forensic nurse is an RN with special certifications in sexual assault examinations. I work for a county in which our forensic nurses also help with homocide cases by going to crime scenes, hospitals, jails and morgues to do full body examinations for injury documentation, photographs, and evidence collection off of bodies (either homocide, sexual assualt, abuse, or even collection from suspects. Good luck in whatever you decide to do!
 
Re: fibers/ washing the mouth

GSRfanatic25 said:
i have a kind of forensics question, kind of not.
is it irrational to consider a career in forensics beause of the show... i'm interested in learning about science, adn want to take more science classes because of the show, but science and math are not my forte in teh slightest... so? i dunno, just need some advice i guess cause i have no idea waht i want to study in collge, and since i've become obsessed w/ csi, that career has been on the forefront of my interests...
Click to expand...

It is not irrational, as long as you understand that a true real life career in forensics is absolutely nothing like the tv shows. Those who collect do not test, and those who collect and test, do not interrogate suspects (just one example) We dont get to wear sexy red leather pants, either :)
 
Re: forensic questions

stokesgirl said:
I've been reading all the posts and I just want to make sure on a couple of things.

To be in the field, collecting evidence, you only need a 2-year degree?

You're a civilian and unarmed, but some agencies have you carry a firearm?

It also, sounds like you could be alone at a crime scene, there is no police protecting you/crime scene?

Now what about Computer Forensics? I'm thinking about changing careers. I have a fair amount of knowledge when it comes to computers. As a Computer Forensic would you work for law enforcement or with a firm that provides computer forensics?

I'm, also, considering forensics collecting evidence at a scene.
Click to expand...

At every scene I've ever been to, there were always police officers there, writing reports, gathering info from their investigations, and they would definitely be there to secure the scene from others who should not be there, gaukers, media, etc.
 
KenGoddard said:
Greg Cox said:
Forgive me if this has been asked before,but is there any way to tell whether a wound or laceration was inflicted before or after death?
Click to expand...
This is really a question that a medical doctor or pathologist should answer (and I'm not); but in general, if you get bruising around a wound, its because the heart was actively pumping blood into damaged capillaries/tissues ... whereas you wouldn't see bruising if a cut was made on a dead body.
Click to expand...

That is correct, you may see bruising when inflicted on a live person, and obviously wouldnt on a dead body. Also I think there was something in the question about bone involvement. Examining the bone wouldnt tell you when the wound was inflicted, it can however, if deep enough, leave some very interesting and helpful tool marks or pattern marks which when examined in addition to the skin might give a clue to the offending object (a serrated knife versus smooth, a pocket knife with a hilt, the length of the knife blade, etc).
 
Luna, next time you would like to answer multiple posts, may you please edit the original post with all the other answers instead of creating multiple replies?
 
I apologize if this was answered before, but I am curious about something. I watch CSI:NY, but not the other two (sorry, I got hooked b/c of Gary Sinise). I notice that the CSI's will use something that looks like a Q-tip to test a fluid to see if it is blood. Is that something that really happpens at the scene of a crime, or is that something that was "made up" for the sake of drama? :confused:

Thanks!
Beth
 
The Q-Tip is the most common instrument used when performing the Kastle-Meyer test. Any blotter type object can be used, like filter paper. Basically you just need to be able to collect up some of the suspected blood material, and have a location to apply the chemical solutions for the test to work.

But yes, this test is routinely done in the field, as well as in the lab.
 
I know this might be more of a legal question, but if anyone can direct me or answer this question, it would help me.

1. Suspect pays someone to allow their son to get out of a prison cell and assault a CSI on a case within the prison. Allows for situation to occur where no one is watching the CSI at the time. What would that person be charged with and would it be a. state or b. federal?

2. Medical question, someone is stabbed once in the chest-not near the heart, once in the abdomen and once in the back...when they are in the ICU what kind of medical treatment do they receive-yes they make out alive long enough to see the ICU.
 
I am not a lawyer, so these are just guesses from watching lots of Matlock, Perry Mason, LA Law, etc.

1. The suspect might be charged with conspiracy if it can be proven. Of course he or she would have payed by cash and not check or credit card so there would not be a record, except maybe bank withdrawal. I am thinking it would be a state crime, but it might depend if it is a state or federal prison.

I am not a doctor and hate the sight of blood, so I don't watch too many doctor dramas, so I can't help you with the second question. We have had some forensic and medical experts on this board. Hopefully, someone might give better answers.
 
Okay, I'm a bit confused by the whole identical twins and fingerprints thing. I would think their fingerprints would not be identical, but I've gotten conflicting answers from other tv shows.

On Full House (eons ago, I know), Jesse and Rebecca's twin boys were identical, but their foot prints were not. One of the twins had a little squiggly line in a different place than the other or something.

However, on the short lived show called Two where one man frames his identical twin for murder, the prints on the scene came back as the one who did not commit the murder. Which to me made it sound like they were saying identical twins= indentical prints. Which I would figure would not be so. Identical DNA, yeah, but prints? I wouldn't think so.
 
Nope, identical twins definitely don't have the same fingerprints. Identical twins form from the same fertilised egg, so share the same genetic make-up. But they developed seperately, and since fingerprints are not genetically determined, they develop different prints.

So any tv show that claimed twins have the same fingerprints got it wrong :)

Apparently twins' fingerprints can have striking similarities though... i'm not sure how true that is.
 
Hmm... maybe on Two the evil twin wore gloves and maybe he killed his twin's wife in their home, so his twin's prints were already present since he lived there. Maybe that's how they explained it. It's been so long since that show was on that I can't remember. :lol:
 
steph_r said:
Nope, identical twins definitely don't have the same fingerprints. Identical twins form from the same fertilised egg, so share the same genetic make-up. But they developed seperately, and since fingerprints are not genetically determined, they develop different prints.

So any tv show that claimed twins have the same fingerprints got it wrong :)

Apparently twins' fingerprints can have striking similarities though... i'm not sure how true that is.
Click to expand...


And in talking to my friend who is the state specialist in fingerprints, he tells me that sometimes, mirror twins can have fingerprints that seem similar (such as, take your hand place it a mirror and that is what he is saying) however, the ridge depth, width, and spacing is different. Thus, though they may seem similar, they are very much different.

My son is doing a science project on this subject for school. We have researched ALOT!
 
I'm not sure if someone already posted a similar question, but does anyone here know exactly how the procedure of matching bullets works?

If they have the bullets, can they match them to a particular gun (like down to the exact individual gun), or just a general model, or even just to a type of bullet? What about once they get shell casings?

Also, I've seen CSIs send evidence directly from a crime scene to the Lab, via some type of technology. What kind of evidence does this work for? I was assuming it's just a scanner that they use, so that it would only work for fingerprints and other two dimensional images.

One last question (and this is for a fanfiction, not so I can go out and kill someone or purchase a gun)- does anyone have any suggestions for a rare gun used in the 80's? Preferably one that would have been expensive back then.

Thanks,
Harper
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top