New Delhi: The study of forensic science is also known as criminalistics which is used everywhere around the world to enforce criminal laws and regulations to protect public health and resolve civil disputes.
India has 29 states and 7 Union Territories in which there are only 7 Central Forensic Science Laboratories, 29 Fingerprint Bureaus, several Regional Forensic Science Laboratories and District Mobile Forensic units.
India has an advanced Centre for DNA Fingerprinting and Diagnostics (CDFD) and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) which facilitates DNA Profiling and testing.
There are several branches in the Forensic Science if chosen as a career option, like the Lie Detector Examiner, Forensic DNA Analyst, Crime Scene Investigator (CSI), Digital Forensic Expert and Forensic Ballistics Expert.
First comes the Lie Detector Examiner; Students willing to pursue a career as a polygraph examiner should have a degree in psychology, law enforcement or criminal justice. The work of a lie detector examiner includes conducting lie detector examinations, working with investigators, testifying in court and many more. Students interested in criminology can also pursue a career in this field.
The second is the Forensic DNA Analyst; A DNA analyst plays a crucial role in the field of Forensic Science. The work of the DNA analyst is to examine the samples of victims, suspects, and various people as it helps in identifying whether the given person was present at the crime scene or not; DNA results are more accurate than fingerprint testing.
A career in this field should be taken by students who are passionate and determined. Students should have at least a 4-Year degree as educational qualification in one of the streams. The fields that one can gain qualification in order to become a DNA Analyst is biology, Criminalistics, Biochemistry, Genetics, Chemistry and others.
Third is the Crime Scene Investigator (CSI); candidates wanting to have a career in this field should at least have a bachelor’s degree, mostly a master’s degree is preferable. One should have a degree in the field of science and criminal justice. The role of a Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) is to conduct analysis, help in investigating crime scenes, work with body parts and many more. A CSI should be active on holidays, weekends and should be able to work on long shifts.
Fourth Comes the Digital Forensic Expert; to become a digital forensics expert, students should have a bachelor’s degree in one of these courses like computer engineering, applied mathematics, cybersecurity information technology, and many others.
To have a superior position in this field a master’s degree is required. Due to an increase in cases in cybercrimes, there is a great demand for digital forensics experts. The work of the digital forensics includes analysing information in investigations and solving crimes related to computers. Their profile also includes tracing sources of computer attacks, recovering lost or stolen data and other works.
Forensic Ballistics Expert comes at five; A ballistic expert is basically a firearm examiner who is trained in criminal justice. The duty of a ballistic expert is to collect and analyse evidence on live ammunition, bullet fragments, firearms and other tools associated with it. Another work of a ballistic expert is finding out the point of origin of fire rounds, examining if a gun was fired recently, identifying the type of bullet and more. Students wanting to pursue a career in this field should hold a bachelor degree in forensic science and should have knowledge in Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry. Apart from this, having a background in human anatomy and biology is a compulsory necessity.
As a career scope criminalistics or Forensic studies is vast, the students can get employed in Hospitals, Academic Institutions, Forensic Laboratories, Pharmaceutical MNC’s, Detective Offices, Nursing Homes and many other Government and Private agencies. Both Government and Private sectors offer a lot of opportunities because of the increasing number of criminals and the crime rate in the country and in the world even.
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