Forensic Psychology
Courtney Facca
Job Description
• Forensic psychology is often perceived as concerning
criminal investigation and profiling.
• Forensic psychologists deal with the assessment and
the treatment of offenders and victims.
• They work within the prison service, probation
service, the police, hospitals, and higher education
institutions.
• They work closely with other professional agencies.
• They use their expertise on psychological theory and
research to assess whomever needs assessment.
Work Activities
• One-on-one assessments;
• Statistical analysis for forensic client profiling;
• Preparing risk assessment and other formal written
reports;
• Research projects to evaluate the contribution of specific
service elements, policy initiatives or group programme
developments;
• Delivering training to support forensic staff in areas such
as stress management, or training on how to cope with
understanding bullying and techniques for crisis
(hostage) negotiation.
Job Details
• Forensic psychologists have a salary ranging from
$34,487 - $123,954.
• Job-share and part-time working options are
possible. Career breaks are possible depending on the
employer.
• Working hours are typically nine to five, with some
flexibility required. Evening and weekend work may
occasionally be necessary, for example if running
groups at the weekend or in the evening.
Sources
• Cherry, K. 2013. Forensic Psychology Careers. [online] Available at:
http://psychology.about.com/od/psychologycareerprofiles/a/forensic
psych.htm [Accessed: 6 Sep 2013].
• Prospects.ac.uk. 2013. Forensic psychologist: Salary and conditions |
Prospects.ac.uk. [online] Available at:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/forensic_psychologist_salary.htm
[Accessed: 6 Sep 2013].
• Prospects.ac.uk. 2013. Forensic psychologist: Job description |
Prospects.ac.uk. [online] Available at:
http://www.prospects.ac.uk/forensic_psychologist_job_description.
htm [Accessed: 6 Sep 2013].
Forensic Ballistic Analyst
Alice Li
Description
Education
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Specialty within forensic science
Examines anything to do with
firearms
Includes collecting evidence,
performing gunshot residue analysis,
identifying caliber of bullets, writing
reports, providing courtroom
testimony
Performs bulk of investigative work in
a lab
Examine crime scenes and/or analyze
evidence
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Science courses in high school
Requires at least bachelor in sciencerelated field
Acquire work experience as forensic
science technician
Complete apprenticeship and pursue
specialization as forensic ballistic analyst
Salary
Skills Required
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Average salary in US $56 000
Starting salary $20 000
Working for police agency at
federal level average pay is $95
000
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Firearms knowledge
 Be familiar with various firearm
designs, configurations and uses
Crime scene investigation skills
 Be able to determine type of gun
in crime, origination point,
whether weapon was involved in
crime, etc.
Ballistics database familiarity
 Match evidence with records,
updates records
Communication skills
 Required when communicating
with law enforcement and legal
authorities
Bobby Dawson
Firearms and ballistics expert who works dayshift in Las Vegas Crime Lab
from CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
References
Bobby Dawson - CSI. (n.d.). CSI. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from
http://csi.wikia.com/wiki/Bobby_Dawson
CSI bullet clean up with Sara Sidle and Bobby Dawson in the ballistics lab - YouTube.
(n.d.). YouTube.
Retrieved September 6, 2013, from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U12Wm3PwT0U
Hall, S. (n.d.). Forensic Ballistics Analyst Salary | eHow. eHow | How to Videos, Articles &
More - Discover the expert in you.. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from
http://www.ehow.com/info_12015942_forensic-ballistics-analyst-salary.html
Media, D. (n.d.). Forensic Ballistic Analyst Facts | Chron.com. Work - Chron.com.
Retrieved
September 6, 2013, from http://work.chron.com/forensic-ballistic-analyst19965.html
Media, D. (n.d.). How Much Does Ballistics Forensics Pay? | Chron.com. Work Chron.com.
Retrieved September 6, 2013, from http://work.chron.com/muchballistics-forensics-pay17206.html
Media, D. (n.d.). Skills Required for a Ballistics Expert | Chron.com. Work - Chron.com. Retrieved
September 6, 2013, from http://work.chron.com/skills-required-ballisticsexpert17083.html
Roufa, T. (n.d.). Forensic Ballistics Expert Career Profile. Criminal Justice and Criminology
Careers. Retrieved September 6, 2013, from
http://criminologycareers.about.com/od/Career_Profiles/a/Career-Profile-BallisticsExpert.htm
The Forensic Entomologist Career
Richelle Aikins
Definition and Examples
• Definition: The use of insects, and their
arthropod relatives that inhabit
decomposing remains to aid legal
investigations.
• Can be used to detect drugs, determine
location of incidents and find the
presence and time of the infliction of
wounds.
• 3 subfields
– Urban: pest infestations and litigation
between private parties.
– Stored-product litigation over insect
Education Requirements
• Undergraduate bachelor of science majoring
in Entomology or Forensic Science
• Good knowledge of biology, chemistry,
genetics, taxonomy, medical entomology,
biochemistry, forensic law, parasitology, and
general entomology.
Famous Cases: Danielle Van Dam
Murder Trial
• Kidnapping of 7 year old girl who’s
decomposing body was found on the side of
the road.
• David Faulkner, local forensic entomologist,
collected insects from Danielle’s remains and
determined that the maggots began growing
10 to 12 days prior to the autopsy.
• This aided in determining how she was kept
and how long she had been dead for.
Salary Range and Images
• Salary of $25,000-$75,000 averaging at
$47,740 annually
Forensic Police Officer
By: Sanjay Arunachalam
Job Description
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A forensic police officer is a really broad profession but essentially they are people who collect hard
evidence such as hair, finger prints, and blood samples from a crime scene. In addition to this there are
officers that stay in the lab and they will analyze this data themselves and try to find out if it gives them a
lead on potential a suspect. This career is definitely oriented around forensics because these officers use
scientific techniques to apply themselves during the investigation of crime.
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There are many specialized fields therefore one must have at least completed high school and they would
have to have taken forensic science throughout university to get a degree. Another way to get into the
forensic department would be to serve the police for at least 3 years and then study forensic science.
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Debra Morgan from the TV show “Dexter” works some what as a forensic police officer, she does field
work and tries to link the hard evidence found, to suspects in or out of their database.
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The Mean salary of a forensics officer is around $50 000 this includes the salary of the officers that work in
labs and on the field. The range of their salary could be from 36 000 or lower, to about 85 000 or higher.