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High Schools Study Forensic Science

Posted on: Friday, 17 June 2005, 09:00 CDT

The television schedule these days is stuffed with crime scene investigation shows: "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,""CSI: Miami,""CSI: New York,""Cold Case" and "Without A Trace."

This interest in forensic science has spread to the classroom and influenced science courses, including an advanced chemistry course at St. Mary's High School in Lancaster and a forensics elective at Lewiston-Porter.

About half the senior class at St. Mary's last year took the "hands-on" advanced chemistry course which allows students to see what it's like to work as a forensic scientist. There are no tests or quizzes, since research and observation are the basis of the work. Students are "paid" according to their dedication and findings. "The class spends about three months on forensic science work" during the year, says chemistry teacher Ken Jakubowski. "This part of the course has been built up, due to more technology and materials available. The students use their knowledge of the chemistry Regents course to assist them in all lab work."

A forensic scientist collects and analyzes evidence from crime scenes. Much of the work is done in a lab, but the forensic scientist also offers an analysis in court. In St. Mary's forensic science class, students do research and lab work and present their findings to the class. Students do blood typing, DNA fingerprinting (using microscopes to examine hair, saliva, etc.) and use high-tech microscopes. They dust a fine powder over a fingerprint; the powder adheres to proteins from sweat.

"It is interesting to do in advanced chemistry, what the people do on television shows, like 'CSI' or 'Law and Order,' especially since I watch them," says St. Mary's student Dominic Stephens. He and the other advanced chemistry students at St. Mary's use the composite picture program, FACES, which is the same program used on "America's Most Wanted" to identify suspects. Lab work includes the analysis of DNA, poisons, hair, fiber, glass, and bone, to identify the gender, height, and nationality of a suspect. Part of the course deals with forgery, whether document or art forgery. Students study handwriting and analyze documents, paper, and ink.

All these techniques are incorporated in five crime scenes set up at St. Mary's throughout the course. Students act as the forensic scientists, and for one crime scene, as homicide detectives. Jakubowski said: "Students must find the motive, use evidence and analyze it in the lab, and then put together a theory and report. It is their job to determine the suspect(s), and how and why the crime took place." Students also research a crime case from the past, such as that of O.J. Simpson, the death of Tupac Shakur, or the historic Sacco and Vanzetti case.

At Lew-Port, science teacher Teresa Sondek offered a semester- long forensics course as an elective for the first time this year. "I'm still developing, and changing the course as I try different activities and find which work best," she says.

At Lew-Port, "a teacher is forced to volunteer as the murderer for the crime scene that is set up in the classroom at the beginning of the course," Sondek says. The crime scene usually includes "a dirty footprint, a note, blood splatters, an unknown powdery substance, objects that can hold fingerprints, and hair."

The students learn forensic science concepts and "use their new knowledge to evaluate the crime scene" and figure out who the killer is, she said.

Students learn fingerprinting techniques, chromatography and handwriting analysis and study a note left at the scene. Once students can justify their suspicions about a suspect, the person is served with a search warrant which allows for collection of a handwriting and hair sample.

One Tuesday, Sondek's class was outdoors making plaster of paris casts of footprints. "From the footprints, the students can calculate the height of the person who left the footprint. Soil analysis is done, and whether it is the left or right foot," she said.

As a lab final practical, information from suspects is processed and compared to information gathered from the crime scene, Sondek said. There is also a written final.

Sondek says her students use online resources, solving murders at Internet sites and examining an interesting Internet autopsy site.

"I liked CSI and wanted to learn more about how fingerprinting and their techniques," says Lew-Port student Matt Agnello. Sarah Kraft said: "I like science, and it seemed to be a neat way to learn about a popular topic. One of the best parts of the course so far was learning about serial killers."

Amanda Tourot is a junior at St. Mary's High School.

A forensic science course for high school students will be offered from 9 a.m. to noon July 18 to 22 at Villa Maria College, 240 Pine Ridge Road, Cheektowaga. Cost is $180. Other camps include recording studio, photography, cartooning, jazz camp and song writing. Call 961-1815 for details.

Source: Buffalo News

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