The forensic activities of the police can be divided into different areas. Here you can read short descriptions of the work at the national forensic center and get some insight into the appropriate educational background.
Forensic field biological traces
Within biological traces, we generally work with three parts – DNA trace assurance, DNA analysis and DNA processing.
You can work as a forensic laboratory technician or forensic scientist. To work as a forensic laboratory technician, a post-secondary science education is required. The requirement for employment as a forensic scientist is a natural scientist or engineer with an academic degree at first level.
In general, the work is about securing traces of seized evidence and then performing forensic DNA analyses. In addition, we analyze a large number of DNA samples, so-called saliva swabs, from people who are suspected of crimes, and also from crime victims. The tasks vary from practical – such as securing and assessing physical material, transferring to test tubes and passing on for analysis – to administration with a focus on analysis, reporting and results.
Current places of work: Gothenburg, Halmstad, Kristianstad, Linköping, Malmö, Stockholm, Sundsvall, Umeå, Uppsala, Växjö, Örebro
Forensic area fire, environment, oil
Here, we work, among other things, with material recovered in the event of suspected arson. With the help of chemical analysis, we investigate whether there is a flammable liquid in the remains of a fire or clothes from a suspected perpetrator. We also work to compare and type-determine oil samples in order to determine the source of various types of environmental crime, both on land and at sea.
Most of the people who work in the field are forensic scientists with an educational background in chemistry and knowledge of the Environmental Code. Employees with expertise in electronics are also needed in the area, for example to investigate whether an electrical fault may have caused a fire.
Current places of work: Linköping
Forensic field drugs
When it comes to drugs, the work involves analyzing seized materials that are suspected of containing illegal substances.
You can work as a forensic laboratory technician or forensic scientist. Many employees have an educational background in chemistry or other natural science education.
The tasks are largely about carrying out forensic examinations of drugs with the aim of investigating whether the material in question contains any illegal substance. It is also about comparing drugs and providing answers to questions in the field of chemistry linked to different drugs. There is also work with chemical instrument analyses. The work is largely practical with tasks ranging from registering and handling selection of materials for chemical analysis to compiling and reporting analysis results.
Current places of work: Linköping
Forensic field fingerprints
The fingerprint area has two parts – developing and then identifying fingerprints. At all locations we work with development, while the work with identification is only done in the three big cities and in Linköping.
Most of the employees have an educational background in chemistry or another natural science orientation. When it comes to fingerprint identification, there is also a social science background, for example, some employees are trained in criminology.
We develop fingerprints from crime scenes on a variety of materials using chemical and physical methods. The developed prints are submitted for forensic photography, after which work on identification takes place.
There are many practical and routine tasks, such as registering and handling selection of material for analysis and compiling and reporting results. The work with fingerprint identification is essentially about comparing fingerprints. The comparison takes place entirely with digital material and involves image comparison on a computer screen. Perfect letter, number and detail vision is required here.
Current places of work: Gothenburg, Halmstad, Kristianstad, Linköping, Malmö, Stockholm, Sundsvall, Umeå, Uppsala, Växjö, Örebro
Forensic field chemistry
In the field of chemistry, it involves conducting forensic examinations of, among other things, explosive substances, igniter particles, tear gas, paint and glass.
Most of the people who work in the field are forensic scientists and have an academic degree at advanced level, usually in the field of chemistry.
All examinations include evaluating and documenting the results in writing.
Current places of work: Linköping
Forensic area traces
In the area of traces, we examine and analyze traces from crime scenes such as shoe prints, tool traces, tapes, bags and traces on textiles.
You can work as a forensic laboratory technician or forensic scientist. The educational background of the employees varies, but the majority have academic degrees at basic level or advanced level in fields such as chemistry, biology, physics, mechanical engineering, archaeology, biomedicine or the textile field. In addition to academic education, the work requires you to have adequate color, number and letter vision as well as well-developed detail vision.
The tasks as a laboratory technician are largely about registering and handling seized materials and preparing for forensic examinations. As a forensic scientist, you work with comparative investigations, evaluate and calculate the probability of results and write reports.
Current places of work: Gothenburg, Linköping, Malmö, Stockholm
Forensic field weapon
Forensic weapons investigations involve everything from identifying, assessing and performing function checks on weapons to making selections, reviewing and comparing traces on bullets and casings as well as carrying out shooting distance assessments and assessments based on the Weapons Act on films and images.
The employees who work in this area have a varied educational background and work in one of the functions of forensic technician, forensic laboratory technician or forensic scientist.
Current places of work: Gothenburg, Linköping, Malmö, Stockholm, Umeå