San Diego County Sheriff’s Office crime lab recruiting student workers

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The San Diego County Sheriff’s Office is working to inspire the next generation during International Forensic Science Week, which began Sunday and concludes Saturday.

SDSO’s forensic toxicology lab plays a key role in analyzing evidence from crime scenes to detect the presence of alcohol or other controlled substances in people.

“Forensic toxicology specifically is dedicated to analyzing bodily fluids such as blood and urine,” said Marcela Velasco, a criminalist with SDSO.

“…Then we interpret those results and relate to how could that have impacted or affected a person’s behavior and relate that to a crime,” Velasco added.

Crimes like DUIs and drug-facilitated sexual assaults are two of the most common they see in the lab. Velasco says the job involves a lot of testimony presenting evidence to a jury.

“It is a great opportunity for us to educate our community, specifically our jurors which are eventually the individuals who have a very tough decision to make,” she said.

Across the hall, David Martinez, another criminalist with the sheriff’s office, analyzes prints.

“I look at link prints pretty much all day and do side-by-side comparisons with known print records,” Martinez said.

Two to four student worker positions are available for college or graduate students who are interested in forensic science and are willing to dedicate two years to the program. The application can be found online and there is no deadline to apply.

“It’s a paid internship and they’re specifically recruited for the toxicology unit to help us with some research projects,” Velasco said.

Though student workers will not work directly with evidence, the position will give them enough real-world experience to break into the field.

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