Master of the invisible

MANIPULATING a single fibre or a human hair with a pair of forceps under a microscope is a delicate, precise and skilled operation. It has become almost second nature to Annette Forde, a forensic scientist at Garda Headquarters in the Pheonix Park, Dublin.

She sits in front of a machine and gazes deep into its lens, her fingers slowly turning a dial all the while. "We are dealing with trace evidence," she explains. "Sometimes you wouldn't see it with the naked eye. You have to get adept at manipulating things under the microscope.

This is a place where every paint flake is important, where a fibre of clothing could help to prove a case. This is the only place in the State where evidence can be sent for forensic analysis. Crimes may be solved and mysteries unravelled by the work the forensic scientists do here.

There isn't a test tube or a Bunsen burner in sight. The laboratory in the forensic science department is dominated by a selection of sophisticated-looking machines, many of which are computer-based. Every surface is gleaming, every corner spotless. It's vitally important to prevent contamination within the lab, Forde explains.

Columbo, Inspector Morse and the other detectives of the TV era would understand the importance of these surroundings. Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson would surely be lost. Forde points enthusiastically to a scanning electron micro scope with an x-ray florescence detector, which is used by the lab to pick up any of the unique firearm residue particles that are found on the hands or clothing of anyone who has fired a gun.

In another section of the lab there is a searching microscope. This, Forde explains, is used to scan and magnify various particles which may have been taken from a piece of clothing - a suspect's jumper, perhaps, or a balaclava. In yet another corner of the lab there is a powerful infra-red spectrometer. This looks at the chemical composition of tiny trace elements, and allows the scientists to compare the different compositions of these elements, side by side on a split screen.

"There is a bit of puzzle-solving to the work, but it's more trying to think things through," Forde says. "This is a really practical way of putting science to work. You see the results quite quickly.

"I have a huge variety in the work that I do. You pick up a case and you're never quite sure what's going to be in it."

She is not sure when she first become interested in forensic science. After completing her Leaving Cert at Manor House School in Dublin in 1985 she went on to an honours diploma in applied sciences at DIT Kevin Street, where she chose chemistry and maths as her two subjects.

For her fourth-year project, she looked at the chromatography of inks. The object of her research was to look at the dyes in the inks and separate them out in order to distinguish among them. After completing four years of study, she was awarded a BSc in applied sciences.

Forensic science stepped forth to take centre stage at this point in Forde's career: the British Embassy in Dublin awarded her a scholarship from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to study for a master's in forensic science at the University of Strathclyde. Between May and August 1990, she was based in Dundee's police forensic laboratory, observing lab procedure for criminal investigation.

On her return to Dublin, she applied for a job as a lab technician in the Garda Forensic Science Laboratory. Although she was over-qualified, she explains, jobs in this area are not easy to come by. "You have to try and take your chances when they come," she adds. Last year she was upgraded to the post of forensic scientist.

There is a never ending stream of cases waiting to be done, and it seems she thrives on the pressure of this daily workload. "There's always a case waiting to be done," she explains, in a calm, unhurried voice.