Kori Barnum : Portland State Forensic Sciences
By Johanne Harrigan

When CSI debuted in October of 2000, few could predict the effect that the program would have on the general public and on the field of forensic science. Sure, we all sat transfixed through the much televised O.J. Simpson trials, as forensic evidence became a major focus. And we loved Quincy, M.E., following the relentless medical examiner Quincy regularly chase down murderers based on forensic evidence. But CSI ushered in a new love for things grisly, scientific, and mysterious, and it even included women in leading roles.

For women, the CSI phenomenon proved especially transforming. In record numbers, women enrolled in forensic science programs. For women inclined towards law enforcement but not inclined towards its physical demands, forensic work offered an attractive alternative.

In 2008, the Associated Press review of accredited forensic science programs in the United States found that seventy five percent of graduates were female, up from about sixty-four percent in 2000. Currently, ninety percent of forensic science students enrolled at Indiana University-Purdue University are female. Even for the younger set, forensics has taken off. The Girl Scouts now offer an “Uncovering the Evidence” badge, trimmed in pink, and featuring a silver fingerprint at its center.

Kori Barnum of the Oregon State Police Forensic Services Division recently provided her insight for women who might be interested in pursuing forensics as a career. Working from the Portland Metro Crime Lab, Kori reports seeing an increase in the number of female forensic scientists in the last five to ten years. Kori reports that in the Oregon State Police laboratory system, about half of the forensic scientists are female. Based on the trainings that she has attended across the country, this seems to be the typical gender distribution. While women are rising to the upper echelons of national organizations as well, some areas of forensics, such as firearms analysis continue to draw more male than female scientists.

Like many women in her field, Kori did not immediately set out to work in forensics. She was drawn to the field after finding a book on forensic anthropology. She had been interested in science since taking a human osteopathy course in college, and had considered the idea of medical school or a physical therapy program, but found the right fit when she settled on forensic work.

For women interested in pursuing a job like Kori’s, she stresses that a bachelor’s degree in a scientific area, such as biology, chemistry, physics, or general science is necessary. Given the nature of the laboratory work, a criminal justice or forensic science degree alone does not meet the qualifications to work in a crime lab. Any accredited laboratory system will require its scientists to have a four year college degree, as hiring requirements are standardized. She notes that there are some laboratories which do not require a degree, and some that may hire an associate’s degree holding candidate as a technician. These positions, however, typically involve performing more initial testing and field work, rather than detailed laboratory examination with instrumentation.

In addition to college course work in the sciences, Kori recommends hands on experience as early as possible, whether it be through a facility tour, a job shadow, or a formal internship. Not only will one gain first hand experience about one’s prospective field, but one can make oneself more competitive as a future job candidate. She notes that when she was beginning graduate school in anthropology, she was not sure if she wanted to focus on forensics or archaeology. “Spending time as an intern made me confident it was the right path for me.”

For an individual in the midst of a liberal arts program, a career in forensic science is still attainable. Kori credits her liberal arts background as providing her with a generalist perspective which has proven to be an asset in her work. Critically evaluating and hypothesizing about a crime scenario calls on Kori to use logical reasoning typical of liberal arts programs. “I also think coming from a totally different area of study first, and then pursuing science, makes me more mindful of the traits required for successful scientific analysis: impartiality, discipline, consistency.”

When asked whom she admires most in the field of forensics, Kori points to her coworkers. She credits the “boys” with whom she worked in the firearms section for their “generosity of spirit” in training her, a gun novice, to “become a lover of all things ballistic.” She credits her colleague Heather in her DNA section, for being such a hard worker, and a “poet at explaining allele distributions and population genetics probabilities.” Kori also notes her admiration for the nurses who perform sexual assault exams and the officers and detectives who investigate cases and interview victims and suspects. Despite the science of her work, she does not fail to stress the strong human element.

Helping victims does not happen without taking care of oneself as well. Kori maintains that the work that she does can be grisly, and certainly laden with the darker elements of humanity. Kori runs “a lot” to relieve stress. She notes that keeping a sense of humor where possible in the workplace helps her and her coworkers cope with the oftentimes terrible things that they see. “If you can’t laugh, you’d be crying,” she observes.

At home, she enjoys watching screen versions of herself and coworkers on shows like NCIS. Her kitchen is decorated with a “Day of the Dead” theme. Her husband offers a figurative ear to her numerous work stories. She notes that she constantly grosses him out with the mortifying cases that she finds fascinating.

Unlike television portrayals, Kori stresses that the evidence she encounters is usually “smellier, nastier, and more challenging” than that seen on television. The analysis is not without its repetition. “It’s never boring, but you have to think about the fact that you may process more than a thousand sexual assault kits in your career. Can you maintain the same focus on the 999th one that you brought to the first one?”

For those interested in a career like Kori’s, more information can be found at Oregon.gov/OSP. While Kori’s typical day may not be as exciting as television’s Las Vegas inspired crime lab’s, the work can be gratifying and challenging for the right individual, male or female. Kori notes, “I have the best job in the world, and every day when I leave work, I feel like I’ve made a positive contribution. It was worth all the hard work and education to get here.”