SCOPE OF WORK

Before any lab work is done, the criminalist must make sure that
the workplace is clean and contamination free.
The, evidence is visually inspected and a written description
about its conditions are completed by the criminalist.
The evidence will then be photographed, weighed, and sketched.
The lab worker will have to figure out which tests are appropriate
to implement, if there even is enough evidence for a case,
properly take only what is needed for the test, and properly
prepare the materials.
Then and only then could the criminalist even begin to test.
Some tests include as many as five or six separate procedures,
each of which must be precisely performed and documented, the
evidence properly repackaged and relabeled, and once again
transported to storage. Only after this can the lab worker
interpret the findings.
Using specialized training, analytical skill and practical
experience the criminalist eliminates evidence that have little of
no value which is just as important as actually finding evidence
because there are so many times where a suspect has been
wrongly accused
Analysis is rarely a routine because all cases are so different so a
broad scientific background is necessary and the also the ability
to apply these skills in the laboratory
The most important task of the criminalist lies in interpreting the
results of the tests to help determine the fact and what actually
occurred with the crime in question
The results may help to determine the circumstances at the time
a crime occurred or to provide details supporting a witnesss
statement. Reconstructing the events of a crime can be very
difficult. It requires an understanding of the meaning of results
from the analysis of physical evidence, of the physical laws and
processes involved, and the recognition of how they interact
Finally any of the results and findings of the criminalist must be
conveyed in the criminal justice system through written reports
and expert testimony; they must express conclusions so that

technical details are understood by the non-scientist jury,

lawyers, and judges.
Also it is very important to note that the evidence has to make it
back to the police evidence room where it will be stored. The
criminalist may decide to get it back for further testing but must
act with high caution due to a risk of the evidence getting
contaminated.