Claire Forgan
Fingerprint Expert, Dundee
Having completed her Masters Degree in English Literature at the University of Dundee in 2002, Claire was working in retail management but was on the look out for a more challenging job.
I noticed the advertisement for a fingerprint officer within Tayside Police in the local press. I researched the role before I submitted my application and found it to be a varied, interesting and challenging forensic discipline which had the ability to conclusively solve any criminal act where a fingerprint was left at the scene by the perpetrator. My application was successful and in March 2003 I began my employment in the fingerprint bureau.
The role of a fingerprint officer is largely office based, with training and experience of the chemical development laboratory and scenes of crime attendance. explains Claire.
The daily activities include receiving either fingerprint lifts from the scene examiner or photographs of developed impressions from the chemical laboratory technicians for examination. A large part of the job is intelligence gathering and analytical thinking. Acknowledging the placing of the fingerprints at the scene, their relevance to the enquiry and the possible actions of the donor in placing the mark at the scene are all considered.
Claire finds the job of a fingerprint officer to be very rewarding and would be quick to recommend it to anyone with an interest in forensic science and crime investigation.
The job of fingerprint officer is a very rewarding one which produces results to conclude criminal cases and allow the police to either identify an unknown suspect or gather intelligence to warrant conviction. Attendance at court as an expert witness in some criminal cases is also a part of the job which requires confidence and an ability to explain the scientific basis of fingerprint identification and the individual factors of the particular case.
I would recommend the job to anyone who has an interest in forensic science and crime investigation. Although based in fingerprints specifically, the nature of crime investigation allows for integration of other agencies and forensic disciplines. Analytical thinking and the ability to gather intelligence is very important and can result in the identification of the perpetrator of the crime through fingerprints. As they are unique to every individual, fingerprints are a hugely important tool in crime investigation and human identification. The latest technology is being utilised for fingerprint identification and it is an exciting discipline to be part of.