ATHENS, W.Va. (Hinton News) – Concord University is collaborating with the West Virginia State Police to offer college and high school students the opportunity to learn about crime scene investigation.
The West Virginia State Police Mobile Crime Scene Unit will be at Concord University on Tuesday, November 1 beginning at 10 a.m. The unit will park in front of the Jean and Jerry Beasley Student Center to offer student tours and answer questions.
At 11 a.m. in the State Room, Dave Castle, WVSP forensic trainer and latent fingerprint expert, will offer a “Crime Scene Basics and Protocols” training for students. At 1 p.m., Mr. Castle will provide an “Introduction to Fingerprints” training and fingerprinting class in the ballroom. The latter will allow a practical exercise in fingerprint identification, teach techniques to lift the prints from a variety of surfaces and convey how important testimony connecting a suspect to a print can be in court.
In addition to Concord University students, we are excited to welcome a group from Mount View High School. Nadia Johnson, the Communities in Schools site facilitator for MVHS, coordinated with CU Criminology Instructor Lori Pace to provide this opportunity for her students.
“Community partnerships like this with the West Virginia State Police provide unique opportunities for our students and local high school students to combat the ‘CSI Effect’ and understand the true nature of policing, crime scene investigations, forensic analysis, and protecting the chain of custody for evidence to provide for successful prosecutions,” said Lori Pace. “The students will remember these practical experiences and voices from those in the Criminal Justice System as they begin considering possible careers.”
Concord University offers a minor in criminology through the Department of Social Work and Sociology. For more information, visit the university website at https://www.concord.edu/academics/college-of-professional-and-liberal-studies/department-of-social-work-and-sociology.
