A Career As A Forensic Analyst

“We can all see, but can you observe?” This is a quote by A.D. Garrett, the writer of the crime novel ‘Everyone Lies’ Most of you have probably heard the term “forensic science” at least once. Forensics is a very important area of science, mostly dealing with crime scene analyzation to figure out the basic questions of “who did it?” and “how did they do it?” I personally plan on being a forensic analyst in the future, so I was very excited at the prospect of writing this speech in order to do much research on one of my favourite subjects.

Arguably one of the most important factors in forensic science is the chemistry behind it. “A highly trained forensic chemist can determine the composition and nature of materials and predict the source
“Paleopathology is the study of the evidence of trauma, disease, and congenital defects in human remains.” (Ed. K. Lee Lerner and Brenda Wilmoth Lerner. Paleopathology. Vol. 4. 3rd ed. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Cengage Learning) There are many jobs in forensics, and forensic anthropology (paleopathology or biology) is often what someone going into forensics will want to deal in. Paleopathology can be used to determine a body’s age, sex, stature, and the cause of death, and is one of the most common forms of forensic science. Forensic anthropology is used very often in cases, and nowadays there are multiple things a forensic anthropologist can find just by examining the remains. “If an intrepid group of forensic anthropologists got their probing hands on your skeleton and examined your distinctive marks, all sorts of deductions could be made about how you spent your days, nights and weekends. In fact, the toll that nearly 150 hobbies and occupations have taken on the human body is neatly catalogued in the Atlas of Occupational Markers on Human Remains (Edigrafital SpA-S. Atto, Teramo, Italy, 1999) by Luigi Capasso and Kenneth A.R. Kennedy.” (McNinch, Elaine. "Skeletons in the closet." Medical Post. 22 Jun. 1999 eLibrary. Web. 07 Dec.
Forensic analysts have to have a strong background in many if not all areas of science and math, and most forms of forensic analysis. The basis of forensic analysm is to find, collect, and look at the evidence from the crime scene (and yes, occasionally do an autopsy-- also known as post-mortem examination) and piece everything together with a combination of deduction and working with advanced equipment in order to bring a basis of what you learned to court to either convict or save someone (or occasionally both). Many people have read the classic novels of “Sherlock Holmes” the famous detective who could deduce someone’s entire life from the smallest of details his keen eyes could notice. This is somewhat of an idea of what a forensic analyst does. The science of deduction is based upon noticing specific details and studying the psychology of humans in order to piece together possible conclusions of what might’ve happened. While deduction is useful, it is most often better to have solid evidence to show before the court. A good example of this was a man named James Marsh. A man named John Bodle had been accused of poisoning his grandfather with arsenic-laced coffee. Marsh performed the standard chemical test by mixing a suspected sample of arsenic with hydrogen sulfide and hydrochloric acid. Though he was able to detect arsenic as yellow arsenic trisulfide, when it came to show it to the jury it had