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.
1) The camera.2) Fingerprint science. 3) DNA analysis.
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When I was at the coroner's office, a typical day would be examining victim's clothing from a homicide or suicide, typing blood samples and testing gunshot residue samples. Now at the police department, a typical day is spent in front of the computer putting in latent prints that the officers or I have lifted from items and searching for a match, or checking past searches of new people put in the system. Then I might go out to process a burglary scene.
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Okay, I am emailing you.
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Yes, if you could find a microscopic hair analyst with a library of dog breed hairs, they could narrow the breed down. And if you got a DNA sample from the actual dog then DNA analysis could tie it to that specific dog.
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Hospice Nurse
Do most patients in hospice know they are going to die soon?
Veterinarian
Do you think keeping monkeys as pets is a bad idea?
Help Desk Technician
Do the stats actually back up the "Mac's never get viruses and crash way less than PCs" thing?
See above.
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I don't solve cases. Detectives solve cases. I suppose I actually 'solve' them when I get a fingerprint hit for a burglary where there would have been no other way to ever identify the burglar. That happens maybe 5-10 times a year. Otherwise forensic science is usually confirming or eliminating factors that are already suspected, and often provides information (say, what caliber of gun was used or where the burglar got into the house) that doesn't point to the identity of the criminal but adds details to the overall event.
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I work 4 10 hour days, but previously I've worked 8-5 Mon-Fri and on rotating 12 hour shifts from 6 am to 6 pm. It all depends on what's needed. I love investigation but didn't want to be a cop. A typical day depends entirely on where you work and what you do. If you do only crime scenes, you might have to go out to a car accident, a suicide and an industrial accident. If you're a DNA analyst, you'll spend all day in the lab with test tubes. If you're a fingerprint examiner like me, you might spend 8 hours in front of a computer looking at fingerprints. At a smaller department like mine you might do all three things in one day. Or any of the above might spend all day sitting at the courthouse waiting to testify. So there really is no such thing as a typical day.
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