Chapter 2
Getting to Know the Forensics Team
IN THIS CHAPTER
Checking out the duties of criminalists
Looking at forensic science specialties
Understanding the medical examiner’s duties
Getting to know the forensic investigator
Offering expert testimony in court
TV forensics teams have it good: There’s a specialist for every possible field of study and a fancy piece of equipment for analyzing whatever evidence comes in. Unfortunately, that’s not the case even in larger, more sophisticated jurisdictions, much less in smaller ones where law enforcement officers or a single or very small number of criminalists perform all the required duties.
More often than not, this is due to funding shortfalls. The truth is that most crime labs are severely underfunded. This fact led author Jan Burke to create the Crime Lab Project (https://crimelabproject.wordpress.com), a site that helps raise public awareness of this national problem.
Police typically are the first officials to arrive at any crime ...
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