1. Forensic Specialist

2. The Day to Day.
What is a forensic specialist? Forensic specialists use science-based training and experience to solve mysteries and crimes to uncover the truth through collection, analysis and testing of materials and data. They do this in varying career fields that include crime investigation, forensic accounting and computer science. Forensic specialists are those who have specialised in a certain field,this means that they spent 4 years training to become a forensic scientist and then another 4 to then specialise in their chosen field e.g. photographer, ballistic specialist.

3. Types of forensic specialist;
Crime Scene Investigator - Some forensic professionals work primarily in the field, collecting and preserving evidence for analysis. Crime scene investigators begin by walking through the scene of a crime or accident to determine what evidence to collect and how to remove it without disturbing it or the scene.
Forensic Photographer - Forensic photographers specialize in documenting a scene through photography, allowing police to recreate the crime days ,weeks even months after the event.
Forensic Analyst - After evidence is collected, it's taken back to the lab, where forensic analysts perform scientific tests on it. For example, they often test bodily fluids found at the scene of a crime to determine whether they match those of a suspect
Ballistics Expert - Like forensic technicians, ballistics experts work primarily in the lab. They specialize in firearms analysis, and may run tests on bullets or bullet fragments to determine the type of gun used in a crime

4. Agencies They Would Work With.
Who would they work with?
The other agencies that forensic specialists will work with are mainly Police Investigators, Detectives, Lawyers and Judges.
Police Investigators - Because they will need to continuously look over the evidence to piece together what would have happened at the crime scene.
Lawyers - Because prosecutors and defenders will often call upon the forensic analysts’ report as evidence to either prove innocence or guilt during the trial of the case.
Judges - As some forensic specialists will be called upon to appear as an expert witness for a case to present the facts for a judge and jury.

5. The Evidence.
The types of evidence that the forensic specialists will look for can vary depending on the type of job they have;
A Crime Scene Investigator Looks for anything left behind by the criminal such as, bodily fluids (e.g.Blood), any kind of DNA sample that may be found (like Fingerprints, Hair, etc...)
A Forensic Photographer looks to photograph the crime scene with all the evidence collected by the investigator.
A Forensic Analyst will run a different series of tests on the evidence collected to look if any it may contribute toward the case.
A Ballistic Specialist will look for any trace of ballistics to help determine what gun was used, the bullet that was used and the angle that it was fired from .

6. Specialist equipment.
The different types of forensic science would all require different equipment, for example;
A forensic lab would require evidence storage, fingerprint analysis, gas chromatography equipment, etc.
A forensic photographer would need the correct camera, telephoto lenses, supplementary light meter, white handkerchief, positioning equipment.

7. Specialist equipment continued.
Forensic accountants would need all the technology and computer security equipment.
A crime scene investigator would need protective clothing, Electrostatic lifting equipment, explosive equipment, lifting tape, chemical treatment.
Ballistics Experts would need evidence bags, cameras, protective clothing.

8. Qualifications needed and training length.
The length of the training required depends on the qualification that you are entering the job with. For example;
Bachelor’s degree in physical, biological or forensic science = four years of forensics experience with a recognized law enforcement agency, accredited forensic laboratory or institution in the areas of crime scene and/or another forensic discipline.
Non-science bachelor’s degree = five years of the aforementioned forensics experience.
high school diploma = nine years of the aforementioned forensics experience.
Master’s of Science degree in physical, biological or forensics science = one year of the required experience.

9. Evaluation.
Cost
Salaries for forensic scientists typically start at £20,000.
With experience, salaries can increase to between £25,000 and £35,000.
Salaries at senior levels can exceed £45,000
Because the specialists only get a relatively low pay wage this means that it's very easy for the police to use them as they won’t end up costing to much to use. However one expensive part of the forensic specialists will be their equipment that is all very high tech and
Expertise
Forensic specialists are all experts of the field that they have specialised in as they have spent 4 years to become a forensic scientist and then another 4 to then specialise in their chosen field e.g. photographer, ballistic specialist.
Availability
There are currently about 5000 working forensic specialists across the whole of the UK, this means that there aren’t really that many of them to be able to handle all the work they will be called for.