Students participate in mock crime scene
Students in Whitney Swinney’s forensic science class at PCHS participated in a mock crime scene last Friday conducted by Cpl. Rodney Knight and Sgt. Kent Donaldson with the ABI.
PHIL CAMPBELL – With crime scene shows on every channel these days, it’s little wonder why so many teenagers and young adults have become interested in CSI-type careers.
In order to accommodate these expanding interests, Phil Campbell High School offers a forensic science class as an elective for their students so they can get a feel for what a job in this kind of career field will entail.
Last week, representatives with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation (ABI) came to the school to conduct a hands-on mock crime scene where forensics students were able to test the skills they have learned over the past year.
Whitney Swinney, who is the instructor for the class, said students have studied a wide range of topics, from bullet comparisons to blood analysis.
“The whole class focuses on what takes place at a crime scene and what has to be done in order to collect the evidence properly,” Swinney said.
“We have learned what to look for, what to collect, what to test and what has to be done in the lab. We’ve also learned things like how to compare bullet marks, how to analyze handwriting, how to do blood analysis, and other things.”
Swinney said overall her students did well with the mock crime scene.
“I had several students who really got into it and did a fantastic job,” she said. “They remembered a lot from the year and had good questions for the officers.”
PCHS junior Kaylie Ayers, 17, said she enjoyed the mock crime scene.
“We learned a lot in class, but seeing it all put together in the crime scene was really interesting,” she said.
“I took the class because I thought I would enjoy it, but it’s definitely a lot different that what you see on the TV shows. There are some things I like about it, but I really don’t like all the blood. If I did forensics, I think it would have to be something that didn’t have to do with blood, like fingerprint analysis. I really liked that part of the class.”
Cpl. Rodney Knight and Sgt. Kent Donaldson with the ABI conducted the mock crime scene and said some of the students showed a lot of promise.
“TV can really glamorize these types of careers, but we want the students to see what all goes into a crime scene investigation,” Knight said.
“We tried to make it as realistic as possible, and the kids did well and seemed to be very engaged and interested in what we were telling them.
“We think that it’s great that Phil Campbell is offering this type of a class and getting these students interested in this field, and we were glad to do what we could to help them.”
Swinney said she appreciated the officers taking time out of their schedules to help her students.
“Cpl. Knight’s wife, Carla, works at the board of education and she got me in contact with him and he was glad to help us out,” she said.
“I just appreciate their willingness to give back to these students and to help invest in their futures.”
