FIS – Final Exam Study Guide and Practice Questions
What does forensic mean? - ANS✔✔ -Application of science to matters involving the criminal
and civil justice systems and court
-Public
-Forum
What are forensic scientist responsibilities? - ANS✔✔ -Duties include performing scientific
analysis of evidence and offering expert testimony in legal proceedings -Forensic scientist are
the ones that analyze, examine, identify evidence.
-Understand methods and requirements of good science
-Must have knowledge of specific techniques used in particular disciplines
-Be familiar with the rules of evidence and court procedures
-Knowledge, skills, and aptitudes are gained through education, training and experience
How do you become a forensic scientist? - ANS✔✔ -Bachelor's degree in science is required
-Programs focus on the application of science to forensic work and aspects of law, criminal
investigation, and the criminal justice process
-Research component is also required
-Educational programs are not designed to directly prepare graduates for immediate work on
cases -Even after you have graduated, there is still more training on how the forensic lab
operates. All labs are different. You may also be trained in a specific area of forensics through an
apprenticeship program. For example, to become a firearms examiner you would need to study
with an experienced firearm examiner for 2-3 years before working on real case work.
What services are available in a public forensic lab? - ANS✔✔ -Photography
-Biology/DNA
-Chemistry/Illicit Drugs
,-Firearms, Toolmarks, Footwear and Tire Treads
-Friction Ridge Analysis
-Questioned Documents,
-Toxicology
-Trace Evidence
What is a private forensic lab? - ANS✔✔ -Independently owned and operated
-Perform only one or two types of services
-Private consultant
-Service to the public
What happens at a crime scene? - ANS✔✔ -Discover the scene: Hot vs. Cold Search
-First responder
-Crime scene investigative team arrives:Planning, Preliminary Survey, Systematic Search,
Documentation of Scene, Collection and Preservation of Evidence, Final Survey, Submission of
Evidence to the Lab, Reconstructing the Crime Scene
What is the chain of custody? - ANS✔✔ -Documents the movement of evidence from the time
it is obtained to the time it is presented in court.
-This proves the evidence's location and who worked with the evidence and when.
-A break in the chain of custody can eliminate evidence in a trail.
What are the ethical issues that forensic scientists deal with? - ANS✔✔ -Laboratory Analytical
Procedures: Standard operating procedures, Laboratory Reports
-Professional Credentials
:Expertise: training, education and maintaining currency in field, For example: Claiming a degree
without earning it, license, certificate
-Reporting and Interpretation: Terminology used in conclusions, Association Levels
, What is quality control ? - ANS✔✔ A set of processes that can evaluate a laboratory and its
personnel to determine if they are achieving or maintaining a given level of quality
Examples: Quality manuals, Written procedures, Quality control officer
What is quality assurance? - ANS✔✔ A set of processes and procedures put in place in a
laboratory to be followed by personnel so that a desired level of quality can be achieved
Examples: Accreditation of Laboratories-voluntary
ASCLD Lab
What is ASCLD? - ANS✔✔ -American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD)
-Accredits crime laboratories
What is ABC? - ANS✔✔ -American Board of Criminalists (ABC)
-Accredits forensic scientists
What is OSAC? - ANS✔✔ -Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC)
-Develops and endorses a forensic science consensus documentary standards and guidelines,
and to ensure that a sufficient scientific basis exists for each discipline
What is demonstrative evidence? - ANS✔✔ Evidence created to help explain or clarify real
evidence- 3-D scale, drawing, charts from analytical instrument.
Some evidence is created to augment or explain real evidence.
What is Locard's principle? - ANS✔✔ -When two things come into contact, the material is
exchanged.
What does forensic mean? - ANS✔✔ -Application of science to matters involving the criminal
and civil justice systems and court
-Public
-Forum
What are forensic scientist responsibilities? - ANS✔✔ -Duties include performing scientific
analysis of evidence and offering expert testimony in legal proceedings -Forensic scientist are
the ones that analyze, examine, identify evidence.
-Understand methods and requirements of good science
-Must have knowledge of specific techniques used in particular disciplines
-Be familiar with the rules of evidence and court procedures
-Knowledge, skills, and aptitudes are gained through education, training and experience
How do you become a forensic scientist? - ANS✔✔ -Bachelor's degree in science is required
-Programs focus on the application of science to forensic work and aspects of law, criminal
investigation, and the criminal justice process
-Research component is also required
-Educational programs are not designed to directly prepare graduates for immediate work on
cases -Even after you have graduated, there is still more training on how the forensic lab
operates. All labs are different. You may also be trained in a specific area of forensics through an
apprenticeship program. For example, to become a firearms examiner you would need to study
with an experienced firearm examiner for 2-3 years before working on real case work.
What services are available in a public forensic lab? - ANS✔✔ -Photography
-Biology/DNA
-Chemistry/Illicit Drugs
,-Firearms, Toolmarks, Footwear and Tire Treads
-Friction Ridge Analysis
-Questioned Documents,
-Toxicology
-Trace Evidence
What is a private forensic lab? - ANS✔✔ -Independently owned and operated
-Perform only one or two types of services
-Private consultant
-Service to the public
What happens at a crime scene? - ANS✔✔ -Discover the scene: Hot vs. Cold Search
-First responder
-Crime scene investigative team arrives:Planning, Preliminary Survey, Systematic Search,
Documentation of Scene, Collection and Preservation of Evidence, Final Survey, Submission of
Evidence to the Lab, Reconstructing the Crime Scene
What is the chain of custody? - ANS✔✔ -Documents the movement of evidence from the time
it is obtained to the time it is presented in court.
-This proves the evidence's location and who worked with the evidence and when.
-A break in the chain of custody can eliminate evidence in a trail.
What are the ethical issues that forensic scientists deal with? - ANS✔✔ -Laboratory Analytical
Procedures: Standard operating procedures, Laboratory Reports
-Professional Credentials
:Expertise: training, education and maintaining currency in field, For example: Claiming a degree
without earning it, license, certificate
-Reporting and Interpretation: Terminology used in conclusions, Association Levels
, What is quality control ? - ANS✔✔ A set of processes that can evaluate a laboratory and its
personnel to determine if they are achieving or maintaining a given level of quality
Examples: Quality manuals, Written procedures, Quality control officer
What is quality assurance? - ANS✔✔ A set of processes and procedures put in place in a
laboratory to be followed by personnel so that a desired level of quality can be achieved
Examples: Accreditation of Laboratories-voluntary
ASCLD Lab
What is ASCLD? - ANS✔✔ -American Society of Crime Laboratory Directors (ASCLD)
-Accredits crime laboratories
What is ABC? - ANS✔✔ -American Board of Criminalists (ABC)
-Accredits forensic scientists
What is OSAC? - ANS✔✔ -Organization of Scientific Area Committees (OSAC)
-Develops and endorses a forensic science consensus documentary standards and guidelines,
and to ensure that a sufficient scientific basis exists for each discipline
What is demonstrative evidence? - ANS✔✔ Evidence created to help explain or clarify real
evidence- 3-D scale, drawing, charts from analytical instrument.
Some evidence is created to augment or explain real evidence.
What is Locard's principle? - ANS✔✔ -When two things come into contact, the material is
exchanged.
