Science Week: A note about the Document Examination Unit

It is Science Week 2020, and to celebrate we are featuring some of the staff in the Queensland Police Service (QPS) Forensic Services Group.

Our final forensic expert hails from the Document Examination Unit…

Name: Diane King

Rank: PO5 / Principal Document Examiner

Branch: Document Examination Unit, Scientific Section

Qualifications:

• Bachelor of Education
• Diploma of Forensic Investigation

Equipment: Stereo Microscope, Electro-Static Detection Apparatus (ESDA), Video Spectral Comparator (VSC8000)

Year joined QPS: 1993

What is the most interesting part of your job?

We do a tremendous variety of work: we compare handwriting and signatures for evidence of authorship; recover indentations of writing, obliterated, erased, and/or altered writing; faint/faded writing or printing; reconstruct torn or shredded documents; examine ID or official documents to determine authenticity; examine printed, photocopied and typewritten documents for evidence of source machine or alteration and sometime relatively dating the production; and other examinations pertaining to finding evidence within a document relating to a crime.

What is the most challenging part of your job?

Due to the scope of our examinations and the limited publicising of our area of Forensic Science in news and entertainment media, it can be challenging to educate investigators and the court of the services we offer and the value of our work.

When we do manage to achieve this awareness and create good relationships with clients it can be a very rewarding part of the job.

What is your most memorable moment in this role?

My most memorable and favourite part of my job is the people I have worked with, both within QPS and from other law enforcement agencies around the country and in New Zealand.

I always remember that no matter the degree of the crime there is always a victim that feels affected enough to report it, and who is looking for justice.

For me, each case is as important as the last.

Over my career I have been involved in hundreds of investigations so hopefully I have assisted these victims in finding closure.

We have had some memorable exhibits over the years, for example: a written list of how to commit arson, including the equipment and skills were considered as necessary; a similar note of how to commit a ram raid; a shopping list of supplies needed to dispose of a body, including the body dump site… We are constantly amazed at what people feel the need to record within a document!

 

This concludes our showcase of unique science-oriented roles within the QPS Forensic Services Group throughout Science Week 2020 – thank you for joining us!

For information about how to join the Queensland Police Service, visit the recruiting website: policerecruit.com.au