This article from the Winter 2011 edition of TechBeat examines curriculum developed to provide officers with hands-on opportunities for learning new techniques for collecting physical evidence.
This article discusses Essentials, a blended-learning course that provides law enforcement officers with a hands-on opportunity to learn new techniques for collecting physical evidence. The curriculum was developed through the combined efforts of a retired police officer and the National Forensic Science Technology Center Instructional Services Coordinator. The course pairs 16 hours of online course work with 24 hours of hands-on, instructor-led practical activities to provide students with training in techniques related to collecting physical evidence. The main goals of the course are to introduce students in how to properly identify, handle, and recover physical evidence. The students learn skills that will allow them to identify and collect evidence for basic auto thefts, burglaries, and assaults, and possible homicides.