Forensic Scientist

Forensic Scientist

LIsa Black

Cape Coral, FL

Female, 49

I spent the five happiest years of my life in a morgue. As a forensic scientist in the Cleveland coroner’s office I analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes. Now I'm a certified latent print examiner and CSI for a police department in Florida. I also write a series of forensic suspense novels, turning the day job into fiction. My books have been translated into six languages.

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Last Answer on July 21, 2022

Best Rated

Where you ever shocked by a crime scene?

Asked by Denise_ot5 about 6 years ago

They’re all shocking, in their way, But there hasn’t been one in particular that bowled me over.

I bought a pair of buckskin-colored work gloves and just after one day of warring the gloves for work I put them away. Twenty years later would my DNA still be detected from inside of the pair of gloves

Asked by Hank Saxena almost 6 years ago

Possibly, I suppose. If they were swabbed thoroughly and the swabs picked up a few skin cells, then it would be within the realm of possibility.

Hi Lisa, have you ever thought about going through the process of becoming a sworn officer?

Asked by Scott about 5 years ago

No, thank you. I would never want to be a cop--I don' t know how they do what they do. I would hate having to deal with stressed-out people all day long.

Why do some think that these forms are chat rooms?

Asked by Donaldsonerson over 5 years ago

I don’t know what you mean by that.

Hello! How easy is it to collect finger prints, scan them and identify a match (I imagine its very hard) but out of say 100 cases how many could actually be solved using fingerprint analysis?

Asked by Eliza over 5 years ago

Generally about a 6 to 10% identified rate is good. Many prints that are collected at scenes by officers are ‘not of value for comparison ‘ (smudges or only have a few ridges) and many that are good belong to the victim or their friends, family, employees etc.

How stressful can working as a forensics scientist be?

Asked by Denisse Parada about 6 years ago

That all depends on where you work, what the caseload is, and what your job duties are. If you work someplace with a huge backlog and more work than you have personnel for, it could be stressful. When I was at the coroner’s office it was exhausting, we had a ton of work, not much staff, were underpaid, and my boss was a little crazy, but i loved it so much I didn’t care. At the police department now we have just enough people to manage the work, so even though it gets busy at times we stay on a pretty even keel. Good supervisory management is key (in any field). Best of luck!

Your take on Gorge Floyd

Asked by DeeDee about 5 years ago

You know as much as I do.