Look, assess, and then start collecting evidence. Those are typically the first steps a forensic identification specialists takes upon arriving at a crime scene. It's their job to collect any and all things that can help investigators solve a crime and to make sure that it's properly preserved. The evidence they are able to collect and analyse may help explain what happened at a crime scene regardless of the type of crime. Each crime scene is different, it could be a break and enter into a home or business or it could be a more serious crime involving violence that ends up with a person being seriously injured or causes a death. The type and severity of the crimes may differ but the techniques and tools used by the forensic identification specialist to assist investigators are always the same. It's their ability to use science, based on the evidence they collect and see, to tell the story of what happened at a crime scene prior to police arriving.
While science is what forensic identification is all about, it is supported by stringent policies and procedures that list how and what should be done and in what way. It's this consistency that supports what forensic identification specialists do and allows them to be expert witnesses when matters come before the courts.
The process to becoming a forensic identification specialist can take between 3 to 4 years before an individual is certified. There are numerous courses to take and a certification board of peers to confirm an individual has developed the proper skill and knowledge. There is also the practical hands-on expertise that must also be evaluated. It's only upon completing and passing all of this, can an individual become a certified forensic identification specialist in the RCMP.
The ability to observe a situation, think on your feet and then approach the scene is critical when it comes to doing the job. One wrong step and potential evidence could be lost. There is no going back once evidence is disturbed.
While the investigators speak to victims and witnesses to hear their stories to understand what may have happened at a crime scene. Forensic specialists are reading what has been left behind or has been taken away. It could be a fingerprint, the impression left behind by a shoe, a bloodstain or blood splatter, it could a piece of hair that is analysed for DNA. They are trying to determine if the evidence left behind matches up with the evidence collected by the investigators.
It takes time to do their job, it requires patience to analyze a crime scene and then meticulously collect the evidence to make sure it is properly identified. They need to understand how to use specific chemicals and techniques to conduct specific testing on evidence that has been collected. They must also be able to interpret reports for items that were sent away for analysis.
While the number of television shows and movies showing the work of forensic identification specialists has increased and brought attention to the work that we do, those programs often make it look like the analytical work done by a forensic investigator happens in just a few quick minutes. While the practical application of what we do is properly represented on the small and big screens there are often situations that are not realistic. For example, examining a fingerprint is still done by the human eye, looking at each and every line of the print to see if it matches one already on file. Finding that match can take 10 minutes but it can also take up two days, depending on the quality of the fingerprint left behind.
piece of evidence must be evaluated alone and then in combination with everything else that has been collected. It means that depending on the crime, a forensic identification specialist can collect a few dozen pieces of evidence or in some cases there are several hundred pieces of evidence. Then it's the job of figuring how each piece of evidence fits together in providing a picture of what happened.
By knowing how each piece of evidence fits together and its value in explaining what took place, the forensic identification specialist is able to lend support or refute witness testimony of what transpired at a crime scene to a judge or jury in court.
While technology and techniques are ever changing to enhance the ability of the forensic identification specialist to do their job, the forensic identification specialist's keen eye and attention to detail are still at the heart of solving crime through the use of science.
Cpl. Denis Leblanc
RCMP New Brunswick
Forensic Identification Section