This term Rooms 1, 4 & 5 have been interviewing different people with jobs related to our "CSI @ SIS" inquiry topic. We finished off these interviews with Dr Anna Sandiford- a forensic scientist!

This term, we have interviewed an international journalist, nurses, our principal, and now a forensic scientist to learn all about how they use investigation in their careers. 

We have been learning all about what makes a good interview question, as well as how to be good interviewers ourselves. 

Anna came in to answer some of our questions about her job as a forensic scientist- we had a lot, before she came, we didn't really know what a forensic scientist did! 

If there had been blood at a crime scene but it got cleaned up, how would you figure it out?

Anna said, "They spray a crime scene with a chemical solution called Luminol, which makes the blood glow, even if it has been cleaned. There are things that can cause a false positive with the Luminol like oil from a car."

How long does it take to solve a crime?

It can take years to solve a crime sometimes, Anna worked on a case in 1970 that still remains unsolved to this day. 

Is it frustrating when cases aren’t solved?

"Yes!"

What was your first case?

Anna’s first case was looking at crushed up ants found in a sugar bag- and looking at them closely to see where in the manufacturing process the ants got in.

How many people do you work with to solve a crime?

She has a team of around 200 that she can work with when looking at cases, sometimes she works with 2, sometimes it might be 20.

What is the average number of crimes that you have been involved in over a year?

She has worked on thousands in her career, usually around 250 a year.