LIsa Black
Cape Coral, FL
Female, 49
I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.
We don't have any particular code words so that only we know what we're talking about. Police departments have all sorts of codes for types of crime--such as, where I live, a signal 23 is a burglary. Signal 4 is a traffic accident. 10-8 means you're on duty and available. 10-6 means you're on duty but busy. If we're somewhere, like a crime scene, and we don't want other people to overhear us we're just careful to move away and out of earshot. Hope that helps!
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I used to analyze dried paint with an FTIR, which I believe would detect lead, but as to what would be better I really don’t know. Sorry I can’t be more help.
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I don't believe so (in fact I believe I address this question during an autopsy scene in my book Perish) but you'd have to ask a pathologist. Sorry I can't help.
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No, I've never regretted it. And your job title is whatever your agency says it is, so 'forensic scientist' and 'csi' can mean different things in different agencies, so you can certainly be both. the first implies you work mostly in the lab and the second implies you work mostly in the field, but depending on the size of the agency and any specialization you have, you might do both equally or they might be completely separate.
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Inner City English Teacher
What was the saddest student journal entry you've read?
Certified Nurse Aide
Have you ever seen any 'senior abuse' in your nursing home?
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Do you occasionally get a little turned off by wine snobbery?
I think that's what I'm doing most of the time when I answer questions on this site. If you look over the previous Q&As you'll probably see a lot of homework questions.
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For homework interview questions, please email me at lisa-black@live.com.
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I don’t know that game.
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