Year 13 Criminology / Unit 3 / AC1.1
AC 1.1 Role: Pathologists
Brief outline of the role: Medical doctors who specialise in studying disease and death- conduct examination of dead bodies and body tissues in
postmortem examinations (autopsies)
- They examine external body to find signs of foul play and may also examine internal organs and take tissue samples for lab analysis.
- Could also advise police on how to recover body from scene in the best way.
- Pathologist produces report for coroner and a witness statement for police.
- May be asked to advise police and prosecutors through investigation and give evidence in court.
Area STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS Relevant Case Study
Cost -Highly trained so they're very well paid and can be
an expensive part of the investigation
-Basic salary of £80,693 to £91,584
Expertise -Can provide conclusive evidence to cause and -Emotionally demanding role and for some may be Richard Shephard – after
time of death – may prove decisive in guilt or too much 27yrs working as forensic
innocence of suspect pathologist. Diagnosed w/
-Demands close attention to detail. Mistakes can PTSD from suppressing strong
-Highly specialised role involving seven years cause miscarriages in judgement emotions from work
further training after first qualifying as a doctor
- Dependancy of the quality of the samples – quality
- Scientific objectivity - conclusions based on and preservation can degrade over time, or if picked
scientific evidence up from scene badly -Amanda Knox- Autopsy
found cause of
death=stabbing. Further
injuries implied Kerchner
being restrained and resisting.
AC 1.1 Role: Pathologists
Brief outline of the role: Medical doctors who specialise in studying disease and death- conduct examination of dead bodies and body tissues in
postmortem examinations (autopsies)
- They examine external body to find signs of foul play and may also examine internal organs and take tissue samples for lab analysis.
- Could also advise police on how to recover body from scene in the best way.
- Pathologist produces report for coroner and a witness statement for police.
- May be asked to advise police and prosecutors through investigation and give evidence in court.
Area STRENGTHS LIMITATIONS Relevant Case Study
Cost -Highly trained so they're very well paid and can be
an expensive part of the investigation
-Basic salary of £80,693 to £91,584
Expertise -Can provide conclusive evidence to cause and -Emotionally demanding role and for some may be Richard Shephard – after
time of death – may prove decisive in guilt or too much 27yrs working as forensic
innocence of suspect pathologist. Diagnosed w/
-Demands close attention to detail. Mistakes can PTSD from suppressing strong
-Highly specialised role involving seven years cause miscarriages in judgement emotions from work
further training after first qualifying as a doctor
- Dependancy of the quality of the samples – quality
- Scientific objectivity - conclusions based on and preservation can degrade over time, or if picked
scientific evidence up from scene badly -Amanda Knox- Autopsy
found cause of
death=stabbing. Further
injuries implied Kerchner
being restrained and resisting.
