Forensic Investigators - A Career in The field

(1)

Home Page Back Dictionary Thesaurus Help | Tips | Cite

Article may be transmitted to your email. Other transmissions are prohibited. Your email address: Include pictures? _g_f_e_d_c_b

Share

_|

_Share

CAREER WORLD

Feb./March 2007, Vol. 35, No. 5, pp. 16+

Scientific Sleuths

Forensic specialists figure it out!

By Carole Moore

When Leo Waters of New Bern, N.C., stepped outside prison gates in 2003, it was the first time he had been free in 21 years. Following his 1982 conviction on robbery and rape charges, Waters received two consecutive life sentences. Today, Waters is free and has been declared innocent. Another man has been charged with the crimes.

The hero in this case doesn't carry a gun or a badge; it isn't a person at all. It's science--forensic science, to be exact.

Forensic science is a blend of science and technology used to answer questions in criminal and civil cases. The results of forensic investigations can help determine the outcome of those cases. It's a field that changes constantly as technology advances.

The modern forensic technique that freed Waters is the analysis of DNA, a genetic material that is as unique as a fingerprint. DNA comparison, a process that was not used when Waters was convicted, was later conducted on old evidence to prove innocence.

Forensics is a very old science. Some of the forensics you see on TV, such as identifying people by their fingerprints, were in practice hundreds of years ago. As early as 1247, a Chinese writer reported solving the murder of a man killed with a sickle by observing that flies were attracted to the victim's blood, which was still on the murder weapon.

If you like challenges, the field of forensics could be your ticket to tomorrow. Career World talked to four pros in the field for their take on this rewarding, but very demanding, profession.

Forensic Artist

Seth Wolfson of New York City is an artist--but you won't find his creations in art galleries. Wolfson specializes in forensic sculpture and helps police put names to skeletal remains.

(2)

(See picture, "Wolfson, Seth: Forensic Artist.")

First a forensic anthropologist analyzes a skull to determine race, gender, and age; and analyzes the skeleton and clothing to determine weight and height. Wolfson then re-creates the skull and uses clay to build a sculpture showing how the person may have looked.

Few forensic artists work at their craft full-time; Wolfson has also sculpted for Madame Tussaud's wax museums, created bizarre creatures for special effects in the movies, and crafted prosthetic limbs.

Some law-enforcement agencies have officers who also double as

forensic artists, as few can afford to have full-time artists on staff. "You can be one of the only people in the entire world who can do this job," Wolfson points out. "It is also nice to know that I get paid to play with clay and paint all day."

Just the Facts: College degree not required, but knowledge of human anatomy, an, and sculpture is key. $: Wolfson charges $1,000-2,000 per job and often donates his services to solve cold cases.

Forensic Anthropologist

In her laboratory at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, Midori Albert sees dead people--a lot of them. As a forensic anthropologist, Albert helps find and recover human remains. She also assists in identifying them.

Forensic anthropologists determine individual physical characteristics that might help investigators identify a body and pinpoint the cause of death. Unlike forensic archaeologists, who work with the whole scene (body included), forensic anthropologists focus on obtaining as much information as possible from the deceased.

Forensic anthropologists work at universities, with medical examiners, and on teams, such as those traveling into the jungles of Laos and Vietnam to locate and return the remains of U.S. servicemen lost in combat more than 30 years ago.

Albert, who also teaches at the university, says forensic anthropologists must be problem solvers. She discovered her own passion for the field when she was in middle school and found a book about "bog people"--well-preserved bodies many hundreds of years old.

Albert says that she once was studying a human head (which, she notes, is heavier than one might think) when her attention suddenly focused on the hair, lashes, and half-open eyes. "Time stood still. It made me realize these are really people," she says. "Sometimes the human side gets lost."

Just the Facts: Doctoral degree required. $: Varies and depends on the job's location and duties.

Forensic Entomologist

When insects talk, Florida's Jason Byrd not only listens--he also understand them.

Byrd is a forensic entomologist.

He studies insects as part of a death investigation. By knowing the types of insects found in an area and how their life cycles work, he helps police learn how a person died, whether the body was moved before or after death, and whether the person was poisoned.

(See picture, "Byrd, Jason: Forensic Entomologist.")

Insects, such as flies, are attracted to decomposing organic material. A body

Wolfson, Seth: Forensic Artist

Forensic artists like Seth Wolfson render possible likenesses using a variety of tools and materials. (Credit: Courtesy of Seth Wolfson)

(3)

left outside serves as a place to deposit eggs. By examining how developed the larvae are, Byrd is able to tell how long a body was in the location where it was found, and whether it was moved from one place to another.

For example, an entomologist received maggots taken from a dead man found in a field during the summer months. The medical examiner wanted to determine when the person died. A body in a cool environment decomposes and attracts parasitic insects at a slower rate than a body in a hot temperature. Temperature also affects insects' development; blowflies in particular develop quickly in warm temperatures. By knowing the temperatures in which the body has decomposed and comparing it with the rate of the insects' development, the forensic entomologist can establish a minimum time of death. In this case, the entomologist reported the blowfly eggs were laid from 68 to 72 hours prior to their collection by investigators. Because flies would have laid their eggs almost immediately, it was relatively simple to pinpoint the time of death.

Byrd says he found high school boring, but when he discovered entomology, things turned around. "It's amazing how interesting education can be when you find something you enjoy," he says.

Just the Facts: Doctoral degree required. $: $50,000-$150,000.

Forensic Document Examiner

Linton Mohammed not only can see the handwriting on the wall, he can tell you who wrote it. Mohammed, a forensic document examiner (FDE) who lives in San Diego, examines and compares signatures, handwriting, typewriting, machine-printed documents, inks, paper, and writing instruments. For example, he and other FDEs look at handwritten notes, such as those left at some crime scenes, to determine who wrote them. FDEs can also tell when someone has changed a document.

(See picture, "Mohammed, Linton: Forensic Document Examiner.")

Mohammed recalls a case in which three wealthy sisters presented different wills each claimed had been written by their father. When he examined the wills, he says, "All three were forged."

Just the Facts: Minimum of a four-year degree, preferably in a science-related field, plus a two- to three-year apprenticeship with an FDE. $: The salary range for FDEs--and most other forensic technicians--is $30,000-$75,000.

Hot Link

Interested in a forensics career? Check out American Academy of Forensic Sciences www.aafs.org (go to the Resources menu, and select Choosing a Career).

Investigate Forensic Specialties

There are dozens of avenues in the forensic disciplines, each focusing on a very specific aspect of

crime solving and answer finding. Is one right for you?

Forensic accountants examine financial documents and records to identify crimes.

Forensic architects find out what went wrong in the building process when construction problems surface.

Byrd, Jason: Forensic Entomologist Jason Byrd looks to insects for key clues. (Credit: Courtesy of Jason Byrd)

Mohammed, Linton: Forensic Document

Examiner Is the signature real? Who really wrote it, and when? Ask a forensic document examiner, like Linton Mohammed. (Credit: Courtesy of Linton Mohammad)

(4)

Forensic engineers study buildings, bridges, airplanes, and other structures that have failed or fallen.

Forensic firearms examiners (or ballistics experts) study bullets, casings, and guns to figure out how and if those items were involved in a particular crime. Some also examine related tools and weapons used in break-ins or assaults.

Forensic nurses apply nursing science to cases involving traumas and/or deaths, including issues involving health-care delivery and diagnoses; they often provide expert court testimony in related cases.

Forensic odontologists (or forensic dentists) identify human remains based on dental evidence and conduct analysis of bite marks.

Forensic pathologists perform autopsies to determine what caused a person's death. They may also help police investigate the circumstances of a death.

Forensic photographers take and analyze photographs of crime scenes and victims.

Forensic toxicologists determine whether drugs, alcohol, or other chemical substances played a role in a person's death.

Forensic wildlife experts investigate the causes of death of animals in the wild to determine illegal killings. (Sometimes they will find that the culprit is, in fact, another animal.)

Discuss

• What is forensic science?

• Which forensic specialty described in the article is most appealing to you? Why?

• How can you best prepare for a career in forensic science?

Do

Have each student research one forensic specialty and write a short story in which the main character is a specialist in that area. The student can incorporate an investigation and a discovery in the story--just be sure he or she accurately depicts a real investigation.

Encourage students to share their stories with the class. Visually oriented students might choose to tell their stories graphically.

Resources

The American Academy of Forensic Sciences has a career page at www.aafs.org. Click on the

Resources menu, and select Choosing a Career.

The FBI has a site for teens interested in crime-solving careers such as forensics:

www.fbi.gov/kids/6th12th/6th12th.htm.

The Career Prospects in Virginia Web site offers a complete overview of the forensics field. Visit

www.careerprospects.org/briefs/P-S/SummaryForensics.shtml.

Looking for straight talk about forensics careers? Check out "Advice About a Career in Forensic Science," written by Dale Nute, a forensics instructor at Florida State University:

(5)

Citation :

You can copy and paste this information into your own documents.

Moore, Carole. "Scientific Sleuths." Career World (Vol. 35, No. 5). Feb./March 2007: 16+.

SIRS Discoverer. Web. 19 Mar 2013.

Educator Resources | Privacy | Accessibility | License | Contact