A good forensic scientist needs to be inquisitive, methodical and have good communication skills, says Dr Kelly Sheridan – and don’t use TV as a guide

A lot of people are confused about the role of a forensic scientist, says Dr Kelly Sheridan, forensic scientist. “There is confusion between scenes of crime officers (Soco) and forensic scientists, and if I had a pound for every time someone asked me if I cut up dead bodies …”



Although they may work together, a forensic scientist’s job is quite distinct from that of a forensic pathologist, who is responsible for carrying out autopsies. “They would usually work closely at a scene involving a dead body, and often the forensic scientist will attend the autopsy,” says Sheridan.

“The forensic pathologist then writes his or her report, which will be passed on to the forensic scientist, if necessary. In most cases the involvement of the forensic pathologist ceases at this point. So although we do work together, it’s not the way it’s portrayed on CSI or Silent Witness, say, where they play a large part of the forensic investigation team.”

Neither do forensic scientists spend their time at crime scenes looking for clues – a job done by the Socos, who, Sheridan explains, are police officers primarily involved in “visiting crime scenes, looking for any evidential links and collecting and correctly packaging any worthy exhibits”. These exhibits are then passed on to forensic scientists to examine in the laboratory.

Forensic scientists generally specialise in a certain area of research, such as body fluids or toxicology or, in the case of Sheridan, textile fibres. She became fascinated by the idea of a career in forensic science while she was still at school, and, like a lot of people, her career choice was influenced by media representations of the job.

“I guess I got it from my dad, who enjoyed watching TV programmes on criminal cases and serial killers,” she says. “And I always enjoyed science and problem solving so, for me, from a very early age it was a career choice that appealed.”

Sheridan made A-level choices designed to get her on the right track, choosing chemistry, biology and German, only to discover later that she had been “slightly misinformed” as the handful of undergraduate degrees in forensic science all required mathematics. “I had to choose a different route. I applied to do an applied chemistry degree instead. It actually worked well – it gave me a sound understanding of science and I went on to specialise with an MSc in forensic science at Strathclyde University.”

Even with a postgraduate qualification under her belt, it took two years before she was finally offered a job at a company now known as LGC Forensics, one of the key providers of forensic services in the UK (the Forensic Science Service, a government-owned body, closed in 2012).

In the meantime, Sheridan tried to build up relevant experience. “I contacted the local police force and got an attachment with them for three days, where I buddied up with a scene of crime officer. You have to go out and be speculative, send off speculative letters and emails, see if there are volunteering opportunities. It shows you are really dedicated and gives you a better understanding of what the system is.”

When she was finally successful with an application, she worked with the fibre team, so her training was specifically geared towards examinations in cases involving textile fibres.

It can be painstaking work. “The first thing that should happen when an item of clothing from a victim or suspect is submitted to a forensic laboratory is that it should be taped for fibres,” she explains.

“Essentially you have a piece of adhesive tape, and you press it continually over the surface and you remove any debris, including fibres, that may have transferred from the suspect or the victim. You secure those tapes on a clear plastic sheet, which will preserve them and enable you to search through using a microscope.”

Sheridan joined the team as an examiner, taking direction from the forensic scientist reporting on the case. Within two years, she was promoted to the role of reporter. “As you progress to forensic reporter, you start to take on your own cases and direct other people. You bring the evidence together and write the statement and deal directly with the police, and may go to court and give evidence as an expert witness,” she says.

“Because the number of people who report fibre cases is quite small, that allowed me to take on bigger cases when they came in, so I quite quickly progressed from working on small crimes such as burglary car crime to more serious crimes like murder and rape.”

Sheridan has worked on a number of high profile cases, and these bring their own challenges. “When it’s a big, high profile case the pressure filters right down through everyone involved.”

After seven years with LGC, in 2013 Sheridan began teaching on undergraduate and postgraduate courses in forensic science at Northumbria University. You don’t need a forensic scientist degree to get into the profession, but an undergraduate science degree is an important starting point, and gaining professional scientific experience is also extremely beneficial.

According to Sheridan, a good forensic scientist needs to be inquisitive, methodical and have good communication skills; the job can involve plenty of written reports as well as speaking in the witness box.

“You need to be able to ask questions and keep an open mind, or you won’t get the breakthroughs,” she says. “And you need to be methodical – some of the examinations can be laborious and time consuming. Searching one piece of clothing can take hours.”

But perhaps the most important thing is to understand the job, says Sheridan: “You need to be aware that it’s very different to the way it’s portrayed on the TV.”