By BAYLEE MURRAY
Sheridan High School Student
Editor’s Note: The Sheridan Student Column is brought to readers by Sheridan High School’s 10th grade English class, taught by Abby Williams.
As a child, I always wanted to become a veterinarian, as every little girl does. Now, as a 16-year-old, I have considered other occupations: Criminologist and forensic scientist. Both careers are within the criminal justice system, however, both are very different.
Since researching both careers, I have started to lean toward forensic science. Forensic science is defined as any science that can be used within the legal system. The areas of forensic science are criminalistics, engineering and applied science, and psychiatry and behavioral analysis. Each one of these areas is very different but all are used together to solve a crime.
Criminalists look at the physical evidence presented to identify potential suspects. Criminalists usually work homicide cases. Ballistics, fingerprints, trace evidence and accident reconstruction are some of the techniques used in criminalistics. When a criminalist looks at the ballistics of the crime scene, if a firearm was used, the criminalist will look at the slugs that were recovered to identify the type of firearm used. The slug could be obliterated from being shot from the barrel of a gun, and the criminalist could identify the firearm used.
Criminalists take everything within the crime scene – EVERYTHING – blankets, rugs, plants, little specks of dirt and any fluids found. When they look at everything, they will dust for fingerprints. The fingerprints they collect are run against databases. These databases have been collected throughout several years; criminals incarcerated or booked into the system and anyone within the military are included in these databases. If the criminalist doesn’t get a match from the databases, then he or she will turn to other evidence.
Trace evidence is the fluids, fibers or cells left behind. Every criminal, even a seasoned one, usually leaves some type of trace evidence behind. A criminalist can match one microscopic fiber to a whole sweater, jacket, or rug.
Accident reconstruction is one of the hardest parts of the job. To reconstruct the accident, the criminalist looks at marks on the wall, where the blood falls, and how furniture or cars were positioned. He or she will recreate the conditions and positioning of everything in the crime scene. Accident reconstruction gives the detective and other police officers a clearer picture of the accident that occurred.
All of the techniques a criminalist uses aid in solving the case, but criminalists need the other areas of forensic science to help solve the case.
Engineering and applied science is an area of forensic science that is often overlooked. Forensic engineers are overlooked because most TV shows don’t show this side of the process. Engineering and applied science mainly looks at car accidents, product failures and environmental contamination. Car accidents and product failures go hand in hand at times. Forensic engineers look at environmental contamination because the innocent people living in an area may need to be moved out based on the environment. Forensic engineers will go to court in lawsuits to show that there was a product failure or a harmful chemical that caused something. Forensic engineers are the unspoken heroes of the forensic science world.
Lastly, my favorite area of forensic science is psychiatric and behavioral analysis. Forensic psychologists look at the interviews of potential suspects. Forensic psychologists determine if a suspect has a forced confession or is being truthful. They also determine if an inmate or suspect has a mental illness, based on state definitions.
Forensic psychologists and psychiatrists have been looking recently at serial killers and their way of thinking. The most recently released documentary is Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes. This series has shed light into the ways Ted Bundy captured his victims. The research was conducted by forensic psychologists. The psychologists watched and listened to the way he talked and conducted his behavior. The way people conduct their behavior is the biggest tell of what they’re thinking. Forensic psychologists are some of the most important forensic scientists because they help the detectives arrest suspects.
In conclusion, forensic science has helped solve several cases from homicides to product failures. Each area of forensic has a specific area of crimes they investigate. All of the areas of forensic science are very different but come together to solve crimes. As I continue to research each area of forensic science, I become more and more interested in the behavioral analysis side.