What Are a Forensic Officer's Duties?

Crime Scene

A forensic officer may also have the title of forensic scientist, crime scene investigator, forensic engineer, or forensic DNA technician. Forensic officers may give evidence in court, and work with the police and other officials in solving crimes.

Crime Scene Investigation

Forensic officers work with the police to collect trace evidence from crime scenes for analysis. Trace evidence can include body fluids, fibers, fingerprints and chemicals.

Computer Forensics

Computer Investigations

A forensic officer specializing in cyber or computer crimes investigates fraud, hacking, Internet and email abuse, and in some cases, the deletion or transmission of classified, financial data.

Toxicology

The analysis of bodily fluids and tissues for alcohol, drugs, and toxic substances including poisons is conducted by forensic officers.

DNA

The forensic officer is responsible for extracting DNA from body fluid and hair samples from crime scene investigations to help find a criminal, discover diseases, or perform paternity testing.

Lie Detection

Forensic officers conduct and determine the validity of a polygraph tests by analyzing the results based upon blood pressure, breath and pulse rates.

Other Duties

Finger prints

Forensic officers can also be involved in fingerprinting, handwriting analysis, validating signatures, and analyzing physical evidence including blood spatter.

References

• Computer Forensics Officer
• A Career in Forensics
• Criminology Forensics Career

Resources

• Forensic Sciences Education
• Forensic Training Network
• Forensics Training