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Asked by predator to Anna, Craig, Richard, Shane, Sue on 13 Jun 2011. This question was also asked by meandt.
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Richard Case answered on 13 Jun 2011:
I know it sounds corny, but it is making sure that justice has been done or you have got a good result…
In fingerprints, it could be when you’ve found out who committed a burglary and the police have managed to recover the stolen property when they go to arrest them… or when I’ve identified a dead body, so I know that the family can then bury their loved one… or when you’ve been able to put somebody very dangerous behind bars for a long while.
I also like meeting other people with the same (or similar) interests to me… thats why “I’m a scientist” is so great! 🙂
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Craig McKenzie answered on 13 Jun 2011:
Hi Predator,
For me it’s about doing my job to the best of my ability. As someone who teaches forensic and analytical science I love seeing students developing into real scientists who question everything and approach problems in the right way.
As a forensic scientist I love putting all the pieces of information I receive together, thinking about what is being asked (sometimes asking the right question is the hardest bit!) and looking at ways I can use my scientific knowledge to answer the question. Sometimes we have to come up with new ways (methods) of doing things and that is one of my favourite things.
I like going to court to give evidence where my evidence is questioned thoroughly and I prove that I have carried out my work properly and explain the meaning of my results to the jury who very often do not have a lot of scientific knowledge. It can be scary but afterwards you normally feel satisfied.
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Sue Carney answered on 13 Jun 2011:
For me, the best thing is explaining the science. In fact, communication is one of the most important roles of a forensic scientist.
This might involve giving evidence in court, when it’s very important to explain all of the results and what they mean in a case. In court, the forensic scientist is usually asked questions by the barristers and sometimes by the judge too. The barrister for the prosecution, who argues that the accused person is guilty, asks questions first. This is called ‘evidence in chief.’ After the evidence in chief, the defence barrister, who argues that the accused person is not guilty, asks questions. This is called cross examination. It’s very important to answer all the questions in a way that the jury members and the rest of the court can understand, without being confused by the scientific bits. It’s a really good feeling when I know that I’ve done a good job and the members of the jury understand what I’ve explained. It’s also a big responsibility being the person in court who is an expert witness, and knowing that the court place a lot of emphasis on your answers. It’s very important to answer the questions correctly!
Communication might also involve training other scientists or police officers, which I do a lot. This is much more interactive than giving evidence in court because my audience can tell me when they don’t understand what I’m talking about! Luckily, that doesn’t happen very often, but I really enjoy the interaction of training, where the audience have lots of questions and we have a discussion about the answers, rather than them just listening to me talk.
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Shane Pennington-Cooper answered on 13 Jun 2011:
Hi Predator (nice name is that from the film or from the football boots)
😛I would say for me it would be about making sure that I giving 100% when I teach students about forensic science. Nothing is better for me than answering any forensic science questions that students may have, it keeps me on my toes and reinforces my scientific knowledge.
Another reason why I enjoy being a Forensic science mentor is the communication of science, I make science fun and exciting and help students at the same time.
Forensic science is like a big jigsaw and I love the fact that each department works on a specific part of the jigsaw, individually they may not amount up to hard evidence, but bring all these pieces together to create the whole picture is a wonderous process and as Richard said it is a good feeling to help keep justice in society.
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Anna Williams answered on 13 Jun 2011:
Hi Predator,
I love so many parts of my job, it is hard to pick a favourite. I really love coming up with methods and experiments that answer the questions that forensic scientists have been pondering for ages, and getting the inklings of ideas that could ultimately change how crime is investigated forever.
I also love the exciting feeling of going to a crime scene, and the buzz of knowing that I’m doing something very important that will (hopefully) lead to the identification of an unknown body, which will allow the family to grieve properly for the person they’ve lost, and (hopefully) lead to the conviction of a guilty person.
I also love the teaching – when I managed to explain a complicated concept to students, and they get it, or I tell them one of my ways of remembering names of bones or anatomy, and they really respond – that fills me with excitement and joy. As Sue said, and as you may have gathered, I also love talking about it. I love that people always ask me about my job, and if I’m at a party, it’s usually one of the coolest jobs in the room!
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