LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
I have no idea--are you referring to utility companies marking gas lines, etc? My agency has some flags but we haven't used them recently. I suspect if an agency uses different colored flags it might be some internal coding that they use. Sorry I can't be more help.
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Nothing's really 'dumb' since every case involves, a minimum, property loss or inconvenience. Criminals can be dumb...the best example I can think of was when a bunch of boys broke the glass in a door to get into a jewelry store, couldn't find much to take, then were hightailing it out of there as the alarm rang and one was trying to climb back out the broken window and not having much luck when his buddy barreled through the other door simply by pushing the push bar on it. The video was hilarious.
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Job requirements depend on the job. Requirements might range from a HS diploma to a PhD. Check the websites of forensic professional organizations (IAI, AAFS, pathology or other disciplines) for job vacancies. I like the variability of the days.I dislike the hours, which can be unpredictable, and require being ‘on call.’
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Unfortunately, no, I cannot. I've never worked in toxicology. Sorry I couldn't help.
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Chef
Is it true that the "specials" are usually the stuff that's been sitting around awhile?
Toymaker
With all the high-tech kids toys, is there still a demand for traditional ones?
Casino Marketer
What's the most unethical thing you've seen casinos do to "part you from your dollars?"
That’s an excellent question, that unfortunately I can’t answer. We have the OBTI test that can confirm blood is human, but beyond that…I don’t know if there are alleles that both animals and humans share that might show up in the average DNA analysis. Even if animals have some alleles that are the same as humans, if those aren’t the alleles looked for in a DNA test, then it wouldn’t affect things. But if they are, then I don’t know if scientists have a way to distinguish them. Sorry I can’t be more help!
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That entirely depends on the requirements of the hiring agency. Since they’d probably require advanced schooling so hirees would wind up being older. It also might have to do with liability if the person would need to drive agency vehicles, etc.
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That would be a legal question, unaffected by forensics.
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