CSI Comes to Central County Occupational Center

Cool heads prevail even though the crime scene is gruesome. Blood is splattered across the walls and floor and a chalk outline of a body marks the spot where the victim died. Team Echo grabs their physical evidence recovery kits (PERK) and begins to meticulously document the crime scene by taking photographs, sketching the scene and bagging every bit of evidence they can find trying to solve the puzzle. But this isn’t a scene from CBS’s crime show CSI but an exercise in Central County Occupational Center’s new Forensic Investigation class.

The class is one of the latest additions to Central County Occupational Center’s wide variety of career-technical education programs for high school students. Instructor Gordon Sanford brings more than 30 years experience and teaches the basics of what Forensic Investigation is all about through plenty of hands-on experience during his two three-hour classes each day.

“I feel like I’m a fisherman using different bait to get the student’s attention,” Sanford said. He uses a combination of lectures, hands-on activities, guest speakers and field trips to teach students’ the nuts and bolts of Forensic Investigation.

During the first semester, students will learn the fine details of Crime Scene Processing which will prepare them for the second semester where they learn about Criminology (evidence/laboratory processing). Sanford said many of the students do not realize that forensic investigation is heavily based in chemistry, math, and science concepts. Students also have the advantage of utilizing the same technology used in the field, such as state-of-the art fingerprinting software.

The demand for trained Forensic Investigation Technical Assistants is high, Sanford said, especially from insurance companies who need to investigate claims for fraud and police departments who would rather use a CSI than a detective.

Due to the demand for CSIs and crime scene shows such as CSI, both sections of the class have a waiting list.