National Tribal Clearinghouse on Sexual Assault

A Forensic Examiner’s Role in the Sexual Assault Survivor's Story

• NTCSA • Season 1 • Episode 6

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This episode provides a brief insight on what a forensic examiner is and the service they provide in the multifaceted case of survivors.

Presenter Bio:
Lesley Hammer is a Forensic Examiner from Anchorage Alaska, currently in private practice, with experience in forensic casework, laboratory supervision and examination instruction.  She has performed analyses, reported and testified in latent print, footwear and tire track, crime scene and controlled substance disciplines, for the past decade she has focused specifically on the disciplines of footwear and tire track evidence.   Ms. Hammer has published articles, performed research and provided forensic evidence related instruction to law enforcement, crime laboratory personnel and others throughout the United States and in Canada.  She holds a BA in Environmental Science from Alaska Pacific University, an MA in Teaching from the University of Alaska, and an MSc in Forensics from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, and is a Certified Footwear Examiner with the International Association for Identification. She is the current Education Planner and a past President of the International Association for Identification and a member of the US DOJ Forensic Laboratory Needs Technical Working Group.

Interviewer Bio:
Blaze Bell is a lifelong Alaskan, Speaker, Singer, and Transformational Coach, who has turned her pain into her purpose. She is on a mission to help others heal, in the ways that she has, from trauma and addiction. Blaze has a popular podcast highlighting healing tools and a new video series interviewing leaders in the healing industry. She is the Board President of Victims for Justice and also frequently works with Standing Together Against Rape (STAR), a rape crisis intervention service in Anchorage, Alaska. As a certified holistic health coach and award-winning singer, Blaze combines her unique skill set to bring the world healing through mindfulness, health, music, and joy.

This project was supported by Grant No.2019-SA-AX-K001 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this presentation are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women or the International Association of Forensic Nurses. 

Speaker 1:

Hello. And welcome to today's episode. This podcast is brought to you by IA FNS, Isaac project funded by the office on violence against women. The international association of forensic nurses is the recognized authority on forensic nursing, promoting universal access to care for patients impacted by violence and trauma. The indigenous sexual assault and abuse clearinghouse project has a mission to offer technical assistance, training and education to providers serving sexual assault survivors in tribal communities. I am your host, Blaise bell, lifelong Alaskan dedicated to helping fellow survivors heal from trauma. Today. Episode features Leslie hammer. She is a forensic examiner in Anchorage, Alaska currently in private practice with experience and forensic case work, lab supervision and examination instruction. She is the current education planner and a past president of the international association for identification and a member of the us DOJ forensic laboratory needs technical working group today. Leslie hammer shares the role of a forensic examiner and the journey of a survivor. Let's dive in.

Speaker 2:

Welcome. I am here today with Leslie hammer, a forensic analyst, and I'm just really grateful that you're here today to share, share parts of your job, your experience with your part in the journey of a survivor. So thank you for agreeing to talk with me today. So I would love to hear, you know, what's your piece of the puzzle when it comes to someone who's been assaulted and kind of the journey they go through from forensic nurse to, uh, law enforcement, a rape crisis center, you know, there's all these different people potentially involved. And so when there is a crime scene as a part of this, where does a forensic analyst step in and what does that, what does that look look like?

Speaker 3:

Well, there can be some overlap with the forensic evidence in, in any case. So, uh, evidence might be collected by police officers, um, at the scene of a crime or a forensic analyst, specializing in evidence such as fingerprints or shoe prints or tire tracks, trace evidence like hairs and fibers, um, may be also a part of that scene evidence collection. And those are more people who are scientists that would be coming from a crime lab. So it's another type of person that might be involved in the evidence involved with a sexual assault.

Speaker 2:

Okay. And I know for me personally, with my assault, it was a home invasion. And so there definitely was a whole crime scene element after the fact. And, um, I'm curious, how do you differentiate the evidence? Um, that's taken by law enforcement versus an analyst stepping in

Speaker 3:

It's, it, it really isn't, doesn't make a difference to the evidence as long as somebody competent is collecting it. Um, all that evidence would be considered part of the case. It's just in different cases, depending on, um, different jurisdictions, really approach crime scenes differently. But, um, as long as the evidence is collected, it's packaged and preserved and then it will be, and we're talking about, again, physical evidence, like fingerprints trace, um, shoe prints, that kind of evidence will be packaged and cataloged and then sent to a crime lab for specialists to examine each type of evidence appropriately.

Speaker 2:

Okay. And so I know that your job has morphed over the years and you do different things today than maybe you've done in the past, but what did that look like? You know, when it comes to like, were you the person in the lab that it was sent to? Were you part of recording things like painted a picture?

Speaker 3:

Yes. Um, in, in my history, my 25 years of being a forensic analyst, I have crime scene responder. So I have collected evidence at crime scenes. I've been a fingerprint analyst. So compared to fingerprints, I've been a controlled substances, an substance analyst. So, um, drug analysis, um, shoe prints, tire tracks, comparisons, and, and now privately, I'm really focused on that area. That's where I've done research and published articles. And so as a, as a private examiner, now I, um, focus on shoe print tire, track evidence specifically.

Speaker 2:

Wow. Can you dive into that a little bit? Uh, it might not be directly related to what we're talking about, but it could be, um, as far as the shoe print and tire tracks. So what do you look for in that case? And I mean, if you've written papers and talked about this, there must be a lot to it. So how, how do you see that work playing into solving crimes?

Speaker 3:

It's, it's a really interesting type of evidence because if you think about it just philosophically there's, it's hard to imagine a crime where isn't a shoe print or a tire track somebody had to get there and somebody had to walk around through the scene. Um, unfortunately it's an evidence that doesn't get collected enough. It's it's on the floor. Um, if there's an emergency first responder response, of course, um, they have to pay an, to saving life and property. And so, right. You know, it's, it's unfortunately in a difficult spot, um, to print evidence and, and sometimes tire tracks are right in the driveway. So, but, uh, there's still a lot of, um, you know, a lot of good reason to still look for them. They can be very hard to spot. They can be in dust. Some of the best, uh, shoe print impressions are in dust. And you know, how when the sun comes through your window and all of a sudden, you know, at an angle and all of a sudden you can see all kinds of dust on your table. That's pretty much how shoe prints, um, in dust pop out, we look at'em with a, with a flashlight, with O bleep light. So you might not even know they're there and then they're, they can be really, really good quality.

Speaker 2:

Oh, that is pretty interesting. Yeah. Wow. So I would love to hear if you have, have this information and it could be different from place to place, but, um, I know one thing that comes up a lot with survivors is wanting to have an understanding of the timeframe of things like evidence and, um, you know, analyzing those things. And I know for myself, I was very impressed and I found it very fascinating, like all the things they found, um, and were able to determine that I would've never even thought to look for. So what kind of time goes into a case from, from your point of view?

Speaker 3:

Uh, well, the, the crime scene can be extremely time consuming. Um, just to be th everything needs to be documented. There's methods of documentation, uh, just photography, for example, there's taking the overall photographs for context and then closer photographs. And then each piece of evidence, um, is photographed close up before it's even collected. Um, looking for fingerprints at a crime scene can, is very painstaking. There's the whole, just so we're talking about with shoe prints, uh, fingerprints, there's the visual search with, with light forensic light source or white light or, um, different wavelengths of light that can be painstakingly, you know, take a, a long time to beat, um, look very thoroughly for fingerprints or shoe prints, and then determining the best way to collect them, to enhance them, lift them, cast them. It just depends. Um, on the, you know, the nature of the piece of evidence, um, other types of evidence are just collected, uh, like for example, tape uplifts to collect, uh, hairs or fibers. So there's, there's lot of different methods. Of course I could launch into a two hour talk about that, but, um, they, in, in reality, just that, that painstaking process where everything has to be thoroughly documented, not just picked up but recorded where exactly it came from, where, what it was located on and where it was in the crime scene, that in itself takes a lot of time. Then of course, having all that packaged and cataloged evidence, getting to a crime lab and unfortunately waiting its turn often, um, to be worked. And that just depends on the, the lab or the sections backlog. And so that wait time, unfortunately can, can, um, vary from very short to very long. And then once an analyst just working on a particular case, um, you know, that can really vary too, from a few hours to actually weeks working on, on, um, a particular piece of evidence in a case, just, just depending on how extensive it is.

Speaker 2:

Wow. I think a that's really interesting cuz there's just so much that goes on behind the scenes and there's so many different elements to a criminal investigation. And so kind of a little more insight into what's going on, I think helps too. And it's hard as a survivor to necessarily have an understanding of that. And if you're just thinking, solve my case, you know, or, and I mean, that's nothing really compared to the court system and the how long that journey takes on its own. So, um, thank you for sharing that. So have you had to testify in court a lot?

Speaker 3:

Uh, yes. Yeah. Every type of evidence I've mentioned I've testified in court certainly doesn't happen with every case. Um, but yes, I've done my share of testimony.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. I would imagine, I would imagine. And I would, I would think too that it probably feels quite rewarding if the hard work you've put in helps to solve these different crimes, which I'm sure it does.

Speaker 3:

Yes, it is. You know, as a forensic analyst, um, the focus isn't, it, it is on solving the crime it's on, it's on making sure the work is done so that evidence can show the truth of right. Of whatever that happened. So, um, of, you know, of that piece of evidence, that's really the focus of a forensic analyst. And, uh, I think that helps stay objective. Um, you know, I mean our focus is just the objective rather than be focused on the crime, but certainly, you know, the I and, and other professional forensic professionals are, are very, uh, understanding of the importance of the, the work that they do.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. Yes. That makes perfect sense. And, you know, I, I normally ask about trauma informed care though. I would imagine with your role, there's not a lot of I'm sure interaction with any of the individuals involved the victims or the perpetrators. It's probably very, just more in the lab scientific behind the scenes. Is that fair?

Speaker 3:

That's right. Yeah.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. And then do you have much crossover, like again, you know, there's this whole lineup of different care providers, um, in these cases, which of those care providers do you often cross paths with or is your scope just pretty narrow?

Speaker 3:

Uh, and if I'm not understanding that you know, who, who is qualified as a care provider, but what is an investigator in that, that role? Yeah,

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. Basically any professional that enters the survivor's life on their journey, you know, would be, yeah.

Speaker 3:

So, uh, we, the forensic analysts do have contact with invest investigators because it's how, um, decisions about what type of evidence, what needs to be worked first, for example, or, um, you know, more quickly for investigative reasons, possibly. Um, if there has to be a kind of hierarchy decided about when evidence is worked, there's a, there's some, there's some, uh, interaction with investigators. Um, or if, if, um, more evidence needs to be collected or say here's a shoe print, that's the kind of shoe you are gonna be looking out for, you know, the, we can interact with them that way. And then forensic analysts of course, interact with attorneys. Um, I, in, in, um, getting ready to test, to testify in, um, also some of those evidence decisions.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. Yeah. That makes sense. Very interesting. Well, thank you for sharing all of this. I know that it's a specific scope of work that you do. And just on a more personal note, can you share a little bit about the work you've done in the past and where, what kind of work you do today and kind of what, what your career maybe has sort of looked like over the years and how it's morphed into where you are now?

Speaker 3:

Yes, it's been a very interesting journey. I actually started my, I get professional, no life being a high school chemistry teacher. Hmm. And then moved into forensics, um, about 25 years ago. And when I first went in, I was a fingerprint analyst and crime scene responder. And then, uh, because of my chemistry background also added drug analysis to, to that, um, the type of casework that I do and then just really getting, got involved in, uh, footwear tire track evidence, um, was able to do some research projects in that. And, uh, I was, I took a sabbatical about 15 in and got a master's degree in forensics in Scotland, in Glasgow, Scotland. Oh, fun was able to do some, some projects with the RCMP in Canada or one project in particular on barefoot evidence. So basically I've had a wide variety of what we refer to as pattern, evidence, um, comparing things, um, comparing things that make impressions with the thing that made the impression. And it's although the, the chemistry work is, is interesting. The instrumented is interesting. This pattern evidence comparison is just a fascinating line of work and that's what I've ended up focusing on.

Speaker 2:

Wow. It sounds like you've had a really interesting life.

Speaker 3:

Thanks blaze.

Speaker 2:

Well, what, what is it that you do today? I know, I think you're in more of a consultant real, I know you are part of an organiz organization and do travel with that. So yeah. What is it today that you're doing

Speaker 3:

So well today? The, yeah, the type of evidence I'm a focused on is, but we're entire track, but I do a lot of teaching, a lot of, of training, training, other examiners, um, training people to collect it. I do, um, a lot of national, I have a lot of national involvement in standard setting for the work that we do. So there's, uh, several organizations that, um, and committees gov, uh, federal government committees, um, that work on setting standards for the work that we do. And I do quite a bit of volunteer work with that. And then I'm involved in a professional organization, um, called the international association for identification, which is the largest international organization for pattern, evidence and crime scene. Um, people, I organize all their workshops and lecture currently for our annual conference, which is a big job and, uh, was a president a few years ago. So definitely a lot of professional involvement. I really think it's important to ensure that what we do is reliable. Um, and through those professional it's, uh, you know, that's definitely something I see as very important, the, the research, the standards, the, you know, having a, a high bar for the accuracy of what we do.

Speaker 2:

Wow. Well, they are lucky to have you. I think that's it all just to me, that's just very fun, fascinating work. And I'm you and I met because we are on a board together called for a group called victims for justice. And so through that, I've been able to see just your professionalism, how thorough you are, the questions you ask, you know, I just, I can only imagine how you are in your field. And I think that's really incredible. So thank you so much, Leslie, for being here today for taking the time out to talk with us about this, and we'll include some links maybe to the group you're with now and anything else that might be of value and interest to the people listening. So thanks again. And I can't wait to talk to you more. Thank you, Blaise. You're so good at what you do. It was a pleasure. Thank you.

Speaker 1:

This podcast is made possible by funding from the office on violence against women. The opinions, findings, conclusion, and recommendations expressed in the presentation are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the department of justice, the office on violence against women or the international association of forensic nurses. If you would like to connect with an advocate after listening to this episode, please call 806 5 6 hope that's 806 5 6 4 6 7 3. To be routed to an advocate in your area, 24 7, or go to rain.org, R I N n.org for more info or live chat.