Australian Federal Police forensic members investigate Canberra Airport incident

As soon as the initial response call came out over the police communications network, members of the forensic team were engaged.

Firearms specialists, crime scene investigators and digital forensics among those who assisted officers on the ground.

Dr Simon Walsh, National Manager of Operational Science and Technology Command, said in such an event as a gun being fired in public, a key priority is not just what is known to have occurred, but what might unravel.

With the airport in lockdown, specialists swept the facility to determine whether there was an ongoing risk, before members of the public were allowed to reenter.

Dr Walsh said the crime scene also needed to be properly recorded and any available evidence harvested for further analysis to support the investigation.

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"There's a range of things which immediately become relevant," he said.

"You may have seen footage of members of the public, that would be available from overhead CCTV."

Dr Walsh said the role of forensics had been portrayed on television screens by shows such as CSI, some of which "are really good."

"But there's a whole bunch of things that will be going on that are not just picking up the pieces after an incident has occurred," he said.

"But actually, what else can you understand from what's occurred?"

Dr Walsh said initial work may be rushing to understand whether an incident or individual is connected to another incident or individual and what that might mean for the current situation.

"Some of those sorts of observations might come from the forensic information that we recover, the weapon and other forensic information," he said.

Around 200 staff attached to the Australian Federal Police work out of the Majura Forensics Facility, opened by former prime minster Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.

At a cost of almost $106 million, the facility was the most advanced of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere when construction was completed after five years.

Now a top-of-command scientist, Dr Walsh came into forensics just as DNA profiling was coming into the domain.

He was head of the forensic team which investigated the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17, before passing over the lead role and worked with chief forensic scientist Sarah Benson during the Bali bombings.

Dr Benson said the events on October 12, 2002, represented a major shift in technological advancement for Australian forensics.

"Taking a lab out into the fields, which enabled us to give investigators information sooner to help inform investigation decisions about the bombings, really stands out," she said.

"The evolution over the last 20 years has been significant and changes when we can inform decisions and decisions investigators make."

The AFP are offering insights into their history this week, as part of National Science Week.

In addition to sharing the history of forensic science in Australia, members will be engaging with Canberra students about what the work involves and what a science career with the federal police looks like.

Thanks to investigators on TV, the real life scientists confirm interest in the field remains strong.

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