The Marblehead Police Department had some new investigators on the case this summer — and these junior crime scene investigators came ready to hunt for clues.
Twenty kids spent three days learning how police solve crimes, from fingerprints and DNA to drones and K-9s, before putting their new skills to work processing a mock crime scene.
“This is our third class. They did a great job. Twenty students signed up,” Police Chief Dennis King said.
The department’s youth police camp gives kids a behind-the-scenes look at crime scene investigation and forensic science while letting them try their hand at some of the techniques officers use on the job.
The first lesson: Don’t jump to conclusions.
“A good investigator does not guess. A good investigator observes, records, preserves and tests,” the students’ forensic science packet explains.
Campers learned how investigators protect a crime scene from contamination, photograph evidence before anything is moved and create sketches showing where important items were found. They also learned how evidence is collected, packaged, labeled and tracked through the chain of custody.
Then came the fun part: solving a crime themselves.
Police set up a mock crime scene, giving the newly minted investigators a chance to process the scene, examine the evidence, conduct an investigation and ultimately write a report about what they believed happened.
The camp also introduced the kids to some of the department’s high-tech — and four-legged — crime-fighting tools.
Officer Sam Rizos of the department’s Drone Unit demonstrated how police use drones to assist in investigations, while members of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department brought their K-9s for a presentation. The campers learned how police dogs can track people and help officers locate evidence.
The camp wasn’t all fingerprints and evidence bags, however.
After three days of investigation, the junior CSIs faced one final challenge: an obstacle course that King said is always a favorite.
The campers finished the program with T-shirts and certificates recognizing that they had completed the requirements to become junior crime scene investigators.
King said the group embraced everything the officers threw at them.
“Great class of youth that really participated all three days in the various activities,” he said.
Case closed.
