Forensic Week Day 3

On the third day of forensic week, Sheriff Russel came to teach us about three main parts of investigating: finding fingerprints, looking at DNA that is seemingly not there, and how to properly bag DNA evidence. I was placed in group one and was the first group to go through the fingerprinting process. This process involved placing our hands on a card, essentially leaving our fingerprints, using the magnetic powder to uncover the fingerprints, and then using tape to effectively lift the fingerprints from the surface of the paper.

The second station my group was taken to was the DNA search. In this station we were taught how to find unseen DNA evidence at a crime scene. The process is mainly used to uncover a lie, like attempting to clean a crime and destroy evidence. We started at a table with a white board placed on top, from there the lights were turned off and a spray bottle containing Ethidium Bromide was used. This specific liquid makes the DNA glow in the dark, effectively providing more evidence of DNA.

The final station was the DNA evidence bagging, our teacher first demonstrated how to properly swab a suspects mouth, a buccal swab, and then how to properly write up the evidence bag and seal it. We were then partnered up with another person in my group and then told to perform the process ourselves. The whole process took a total of five minutes.