CSI: Standish?

The Saint Joseph’s Criminal Justice program has kicked off a series of special educational activities for students, to be held each semester on a rotating basis. The inaugural event, held in November, featured a CSI training with Detective Keith Cook of the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department.

Ten students pored over case studies and photos during a 3-hour lecture covering crime scene management, evidence collection, and forensics. Throughout, students were invited to make deductions about the scenes and ask lots of great questions. After lunch, students lifted fingerprints and examined trace evidence under special colored lights.

Capping the day, Detective Cook gave students a ‘tour’ of the CSI truck and the various tools used by detectives. Everyone agreed that they learned a lot in such a brief time, including how much more difficult real investigation is than it looks on TV!

Content provided by Meredith Emigh-Guy, PhD, Assistant Professor & Program Director for Criminal Justice. Photos taken by Brian Berthiaume ’24 Business Communications.