It was a case of Murder FE Wrote at South Essex College recently as a group of BTEC Extended Diploma in Forensic Science students came together to gather evidence from the scene of a serious crime.
It was of course all purely mocked up for educational purposes, and whilst the body may not have been real, the methods used to crack this fictional case, complete with standard issue white scene of crime suits and face masks, were very real indeed.
As the students hovered over the fictitious crime scene they meticulously photographed, measured, recorded and gathered evidence that wouldn't look out of place in Waking The Dead, CSI or any modern-day procedural crime show you could care to mention.
Matthew Scott, 17, from Canvey was photographing the scene as part of a team investigating. He said: “I took photos of everything from blood and hair, to objects that were possible murder weapons. It was great to be able to put some of the theory into practice as a team.”
Natasha Head, also 17, from Rochford was in charge of that initial investigation team. She added: “I had to make sure that that everyone was doing their job properly, whether that that was people taking notes, evidence, measurements or images, making sure they were all coordinated. This will be really useful for me as I’m off to study Crime Scene Investigations at university next year.” )
Each group seemed to uncover something fresh and exciting, but gathering the evidence was, as it is in real life, just the beginning. Students had to bag and tag the evidence appropriately and then unpick it looking for vital clues as they looked for fingerprints and other evidence.
As well as discovering prints and hair fibres students also tried to dissect what made the person who committed the crime tick by attempting to profile them from the clues they had discovered with Psychology Lecturer, John Ramsey.
Jennie Armstrong, Forensics Science Lecturer at the College, who headed up the day’s events, said: “Students experienced how a crime scene is processed from beginning to end, from a hot and stuffy crime scene walk-through complete with ‘dead body’, to examining what they collected, which gave them a real hands on experience of the sorts of things they would have to do in a real working lab.”
Although it was fun to take part in, students took the procedural and profiling aspects very seriously and really got engaged in debate and team work. It wasn't just about 'who done it?' but also what, why, where and when but one thing was for sure, with some an epic and detailed investigation students had the crime of their life. The course is available at both the Basildon and Southend Campuses of the College.
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