JVS forensics class goes ‘CSI’ with crime scene lesson

BLOOMINGDALE—Call it a case for “CSI: JVS.” Twenty juniors and seniors in Tamela Marshall’s forensics class at Jefferson County Joint Vocational School took part in a special lesson on Oct. 4, as they learned about crime scene detection from seniors in Jamie Freeman’s criminal justice program.

Three scenarios were created by Freeman and students Samantha Price and Kaylee Carpenter and included fake corpses, possible weapons, bloodstains, footprints, and fingerprints. Price, Carpenter, and Kayla White gave overviews of the scenes and explained how to put science into practice by gathering and examining evidence. Freeman said the forensics class learned about footprints, blood and DNA collection, fingerprinting, chain of custody for evidence, and taking photographs. “I think it’s fun,” Freeman added. “A lot of the scenarios are something the students pull together themselves.”

Price’s gruesome scene entailed mannequins used as bodies, and Carpenter’s display involved a “corpse” and severed hand at Halloween. Freeman’s scenario centered on cross-contamination after emergency crews responded to a 911 call, determined to be a murder. “They will see if students can determine what happened. My kids will then go back to the lab and test on it,” Marshall commented. “This goes over and reinforces what they learn in our class and how it applies here.”

Marshall said she developed the forensics class four years ago, and the students learn how science is used in real-life detection. She and Freeman conduct events three times a year to give pupils a closer look at the investigative process. “There is so much anatomy, chemistry, and physics that apply to [Freeman’s] program. The kids get to see what they go through in criminal justice,” she said.

Caption: Photo provided by Jefferson County Joint Vocational School Samantha Price, a senior criminal justice student at the Jefferson County Joint Vocational School, gives senior Harlee Barbour a lesson in fingerprinting as part of a special project between the criminal justice program and forensics class. Criminal justice students presented faux crime scenes and explained how to collect evidence as part of the investigation. Similar sessions are held three times, and the forensics class learns how science is applied to real-life scenarios.