FSC239Y5 Lecture Notes - Party Tonight, Professional Responsibility
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FSC239 Introduction to Forensic Science
Ethical/Professional Scenarios
1) Congratulations! You have been hired as the lead for your first case. While
conducting your analysis, a law enforcement officer, and your supervisor ask for
your opinion on a matter. You are not sure about the results but think the results
are positive. You do not want to say, “I don’t know” but what is the ethical
response when asked for an opinion you are not sure about?
2) While working on a case, you have discovered that a piece of evidence was
collected improperly. You bring the matter up to your supervisor, but they ignore
your concerns. What is the next ethical step?
3) You are friends with a colleague at your lab, and you notice that they have posted
some questionable material online unrelated to a case (e.g. publicly available
crime scene photos with deceased individuals present). How would you handle
the situation? Do you have an ethical responsibility to report your friend? What
about a professional responsibility?
4) You are asked by a supervisor to perform a task for a case that you have seen
but have never actually performed. What are your ethical and professional
responsibilities?
5) You are asked by an investigator to perform a task which may circumvent the law
(e.g. perform analysis on material obtained without a warrant), what should you
do?
6) You have been assigned a case which has been sensationalized in the press. A
close friend of yours has asked for information “because they are curious about
what you do.” What can, and can you not ethically tell them? What are some of
the risks of discussing the case with your friend?
find more resources at oneclass.com
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Document Summary
You have been hired as the lead for your first case. While conducting your analysis, a law enforcement officer, and your supervisor ask for your opinion on a matter. You are not sure about the results but think the results are positive. You bring the matter up to your supervisor, but they ignore your concerns. What about a professional responsibility: you are asked by a supervisor to perform a task for a case that you have seen but have never actually performed. Page 1 of 2: an item has been submitted to you for examination in an urgent case, however the machine in question has just undergone some significant repairs. After completing the analysis you discover an anomaly which may indicate a minor problem with the machine. Pressure is on you to complete the report as soon as possible but there is no fast way of repairing the equipment in time.
