Day in the Life - Forensic Technician Sarah Finch

Summary

This video script narrates the journey of an individual passionate about forensics since childhood, inspired by TV shows like 'Forensic Files.' They interned at a state crime lab, exploring forensic biology and serology, before deciding to pursue fieldwork. The script details their role in responding to various crime scenes, documenting evidence through photography and collecting DNA and fingerprints. It highlights the importance of teamwork and the gratification of helping others, emphasizing the individual's commitment to contributing to the investigative process and the community's safety.

Takeaways

• 🕵️‍♂️ The speaker's interest in forensics began in elementary school and was influenced by popular media such as TV shows.
• 👩‍🔬 They interned with a state crime lab to explore forensic biology and serology, which involves processing evidence.
• 🔍 The speaker decided to pursue fieldwork, which involves responding to various crime scenes, from property crimes to homicides and assaults.
• 📸 At crime scenes, they document what they see through notes, photography, fingerprint processing, and DNA analysis, depending on the scene's circumstances.
• 👮‍♂️ They are dispatched to a personal robbery and are expected to collect DNA and fingerprints from potential evidence handled by the suspect.
• 🧬 They use swabs to collect DNA samples from the evidence and take a DNA standard from the victim for comparison, to isolate any suspect DNA.
• 🔒 The collected DNA swabs and photographic evidence are secured and submitted for further analysis or as part of the investigation.
• 🤝 Although they often work alone, they have a squad that can provide support both on and off the scene, which is appreciated for camaraderie and assistance.
• 👥 The speaker values the sense of community and support from their unit, which helps them cope with the challenges of processing crime scenes.
• 🌟 The most gratifying aspect of their job is the ability to help people, no matter how big or small the contribution, and knowing they made a difference at the end of the day.

Q & A

What sparked the individual's interest in forensics?

The individual's interest in forensics was sparked in late elementary school, further fueled by exposure to popular media like TV shows such as Forensic Files.

What did the individual decide to intern with after learning about forensics?

After learning about forensics, the individual decided to intern with the state crime lab to explore forensic biology and understand the work of serologists.

What change in career focus did the individual experience after interning?

After interning and learning about the work of serologists, the individual decided to shift their focus from lab work to field work.

What is the range of crimes the individual responds to in their job?

The individual responds to a wide range of crimes, from property crimes like burglaries to serious offenses such as homicides, assaults, and robberies.

What are the typical tasks performed at a crime scene?

At a crime scene, the individual typically documents what they see through notes and photography, processes for fingerprints and DNA, and may sketch or measure the scene depending on the circumstances.

What specific task was the individual asked to perform at a personal robbery scene?

At a personal robbery scene, the individual was asked to collect DNA and fingerprints from a potential item of evidence that the suspect handled.

How does the individual ensure they can isolate suspect DNA from evidence?

To isolate suspect DNA, the individual collects elimination DNA from the victim, which helps to differentiate between the victim's DNA and any potential suspect DNA on the evidence.

What is done with the DNA swabs and photographs taken at a scene?

The DNA swabs are turned into evidence, and the photographs are transferred onto a CD-ROM or DVD by a photo video tech for future reference.

How does the individual handle working alone at crime scenes?

While the individual is expected to work alone at crime scenes, they have a squad that can provide support both on and off the scene, which provides a sense of camaraderie and assistance when needed.

What does the individual find most gratifying about their job?

The most gratifying aspect of the individual's job is the ability to help people in any way they can, knowing that they have made a difference by the end of the day.

Outlines

00:00

🔍 Forensics and Crime Scene Investigation

The speaker recounts their interest in forensics, sparked by TV shows during middle school. They pursued an internship at a state crime lab to understand the field better, focusing on forensic biology and serology. Their job involves responding to various crime scenes, from property crimes to homicides, documenting and processing evidence including fingerprints and DNA. The speaker highlights the importance of the investigative process and the tools they use, such as photography and DNA swabbing, to aid law enforcement. They also discuss the support system within their squad and the gratification of helping people through their work.

Keywords

💡Forensics

Forensics refers to the application of a broad spectrum of sciences to answer questions of interest to the legal system. This includes the examination of physical evidence related to crime. In the video, the speaker's interest in forensics began in their youth and was influenced by popular media. The term is central to the video's theme as it sets the stage for the speaker's career choice and involvement in crime scene investigation.

💡Serologist

A serologist is a specialist who studies and analyzes serum, particularly in the context of forensics, they often deal with blood and other bodily fluids to identify individuals or substances. The video mentions serologists in the context of processing evidence, highlighting the scientific aspect of forensic work and its importance in solving crimes.

💡Crime Scene Investigation

Crime scene investigation is the process of recognizing, collecting, preserving, and analyzing physical evidence at a crime scene. The video's speaker discusses their role in responding to various types of crime scenes, emphasizing the dynamic and varied nature of their work. This concept is central to the video as it illustrates the practical application of forensics in law enforcement.

💡Evidence

Evidence in a legal context refers to any object, statement, or document that is presented to prove or disprove a fact or claim. The video script frequently mentions evidence, such as fingerprints and DNA, which are crucial for solving crimes. The speaker's job involves collecting and processing this evidence, which is integral to the investigative process.

💡Fingerprints

Fingerprints are the patterns of ridges and valleys on the skin of a person's fingertips. In forensics, they are used for identification purposes. The video describes the speaker's potential task of processing for fingerprints at a crime scene, showcasing one of the key methods used to link suspects to crime scenes.

💡DNA

DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecule that contains the genetic instructions for the growth, development, functioning, and reproduction of all known living organisms. In the video, DNA is highlighted as a tool for identifying individuals and distinguishing between the victim's and suspect's genetic material. The speaker discusses collecting DNA samples, which is a critical aspect of forensic biology.

💡Elimination DNA

Elimination DNA refers to the process of collecting DNA samples from individuals who are expected to be present at a crime scene, such as the victim, to exclude their DNA from the evidence. This helps isolate any foreign DNA that might belong to a suspect. The video script mentions the speaker collecting a DNA standard from the victim for elimination purposes.

💡Documentation

Documentation in a forensic context involves recording observations and findings in a systematic and detailed manner. This can include notes, photographs, sketches, and measurements. The video script mentions the importance of documentation as a part of the crime scene investigation process, emphasizing the need for thorough and accurate record-keeping.

💡Camaraderie

Camaraderie refers to the spirit of good-natured friendship and trust among a group of people. In the video, the speaker appreciates the sense of camaraderie within their squad, which provides support and a sense of belonging. This concept is important as it highlights the team aspect of law enforcement and the emotional support that colleagues can offer one another.

💡Gratification

Gratification in this context refers to the sense of satisfaction or fulfillment one gets from their work. The speaker mentions that the most gratifying aspect of their job is the ability to help people, which underscores the personal motivation and reward derived from their career in forensics.

Highlights

Interest in forensics sparked by popular media during elementary and middle school.

Interned at a state crime lab to explore forensic biology and serology.

Decided to pursue fieldwork after understanding the roles in forensics.

Aims to help people and has been passionate about it since childhood.

Job involves going out to see what's happening in the city and being part of the investigative process.

Responds to a variety of crime scenes, from property crimes to homicides and assaults.

Crime scenes are documented with notes, photography, and potential fingerprint and DNA processing.

The specific tasks at a crime scene depend on the circumstances.

Called to a personal robbery scene to collect DNA and fingerprints from an item of evidence.

Uses swabs to collect DNA from evidence and from victims for elimination purposes.

Photographs are taken and stored as evidence, with SD cards submitted to a photo video tech.

Works mostly alone but has a squad for support when needed.

Appreciates the camaraderie and support from the squad and unit.

The most gratifying part of the job is helping people in any way possible.

Ends the day knowing that they have made a difference by helping others.

Transcripts

[Music]

I found out that I had an interest in

forensics since about late elementary

school in middle school learned about it

in the form of popular media in the form

of TV shows and the first 48 Forensic

Files all that stuff but after looking

more into the field and figuring out

exactly what they're about I decided to

intern with the state crime lab go into

forensic biology see what serologist do

when they're helping process evidence

and decided I actually wanted to go into

field work but I've know what I wanted

to do this and help people since since I

was a kid pretty much and it's all I've

wanted to do since then the most

interesting thing about my job is

probably the fact that I get to actually

go out and see what's happening in my

city good or bad and that I get to be a

part of the investigative process that

our law enforcement officers conduct we

respond from anything from property

crimes so if your car your house gets

broken into all the way to homicides

assaults robberies it really just

depends on the circumstances of the

scene as to what we respond to as well

as what we do any crime scene we're

gonna document what we see in the form

of notes sometimes in the form of

photography we have the capability to

process for fingerprints we have the

capability to process for DNA if we need

to sketch or measure a crime scene we

can do that but again it it all really

depends on the circumstances of the

scene so we've been dispatched to a

personal robbery

the detective hasn't briefed me on the

specifics on the scene yet but from my

basic understanding I'll probably be

taking photographs potentially

processing for fingerprints and DNA but

we'll we'll see what we got when we get

there so detective jion's requested that

I collect DNA and fingerprints from a

potential item of evidence that the

suspect handled during the incident

so what I'm getting I have detective

Yount carrying my latent kit that I

showed you earlier

and what I have here are swaps to

collect a sample of DNA

from the item of evidence and then to

get a DNA standard from our victim

because seeing is how the property

belongs to her her DNA should be on it

so what we do is we get elimination DNA

to take her DNA off of it in a way of

saying so that way we can isolate any

suspect DNA so for this particular case

really the most I could do was

photograph the surface that the

detective had me look at wasn't exactly

conducive for fingerprinting but it was

conducive for swabbing for DNA so what I

did was I swab the item in question and

then also took a DNA standard from our

victim in order to get that elimination

sample the DNA swabs I'm actually going

to turn into evidence and then the SD

card containing my photographs that'll

get dropped into a lockbox and be

submitted to our photo video tech and

what she's gonna do is she's going to

transfer those photos and put them on a

cd-rom or a DVD some kind of disk so

that way if somebody needs to look at

the photos down the line we will have a

hard copy of them we do work most of our

job alone we're expected to respond to

scenes so lowers expected to process

scenes alone however we do have a squad

that can assist us if we need they can

provide a support either on scene or off

scene and it's that sense of camaraderie

I really appreciate that that if I'm

having a problem either processing a

scene or if I need to talk about

something that I saw on scene it's nice

to know that I have a squad and an

entire unit to come back to that will

help me through that most gratifying

thing about my job is just the fact that

I get to help people however I can

big or small at the end of the day I get

to go home knowing that I've I've helped

somebody

[Music]

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