Re: What are some of the responsibilities of a forensic scientist?

Laura, There are many types of Forensic Scientists and they all have different responsibilities. The thing they all share in common is that they use their different skills to help solve crimes, reconstruct unwitnessed historical events, and identify unidentifed deceased persons.

Forensic scientists may, in the course of a day, examine markings on a bullet to determine its' class and individual characteristics, perform an autopsy to determine a cause of death, analyze skeletal remains to identify age, sex and characteristics of an Egyptian Mummy, interview a suspect to determine his mental state and get some insight as to his guilt or innocence, and many, many other things.

There are many different kinds of Forensic Scientists and they all have different yet fascinating duties to perform. There are:

Forensic Pathologists (Doctors who act as Medical Examiners and Coroners)
Trace Evidence Analysts
Biochemists
Firearm and Tool Experts
Forensic Psychologists
Physical Anthropologists
And a motley crew of others.

-Danny Fletcher