Forensic science is the study and application of science to the law. A large amount of handling evidence and substances concerning court is left to forensic scientists. They follow strict guidelines and very uniform sequences to ensure the complete accuracy of the evidence being presented. They must be familiar with the chemistry of drugs and unusual patterns/blanks that appear in routine assessments. Years of work in this force help saturate the scientist in this field.
Forensic scientists serve in multiple agencies and scenarios such as:
Dept. of public safety
sheriffs dept.
police dept.
attorney general
defense attorneys
district attorneys
federal law enforcement
game&fish
The extent of what forensic scientists service contains; drug chemistry, toxicology, forensic biology, firearm and tool marks, latent/fingerprints, crime scenes, and death investigations.
Dealing with evidence
evidence must be shipped completely sealed with assurance that there is no possibility of tampered evidence without obvious speculation. The evidence must be delivered to the correct discipline of the laboratory or personnel. Each case has a unique number and a chain of custody is created at the time that evidence comes into the lab. evidence is inspected and analyzed thoroughly by scientists whom then generate a report which is sent to the police agency and district attorney.
Drug chemistry
The analyzation of seized drugs submitted by the law enforcement is the responsibility of drug chemists. They generate a report and testify in court. They deal with solid material, needles, powder material, residues, liquids, tablets, plant material, paraphernalia, and many more. Forensic toxicologists concern blood, urine, vitreous, tissues, and gastric contents.
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