CRIMINOLOGISTS have been screaming blue murder after stumbling across a ‘dead body’ in the grounds of their college.
The Darlington College students worked with a crime scene investigator from Durham Police to secure the scene, forensically examining and recording the evidence, after the grizzly find on the Haughton Road campus.
Dressed in CSI suits, boots, gloves and masks, around 20 second year Level 3 diploma in criminology, policing and law students took it in terms to process the crime scene under the watchful eye of Durham Police investigator Matt Walls and the college’s in-house forensic specialist Natalia Black.
As the body was found close to the boundary with the railway line the first thing they had to do was assess whether it had landed there as a result of an impact with a train or whether it had been dumped by a villain.
The gruesome mannequin showed severe injuries including a gash to the neck and students found a knife nearby indicating the body was the victim of a crime.
They also discovered drug paraphernalia, a mobile phone, a blood trail and footprints, all of which were recorded using photography and swabs for DNA, each a key clue to the crime and valuable evidence for any future court case.
Matt told them: “When you find a body the first aim is to protect the life and limb of the person but by doing this the evidence can be contaminated by those trying to help. Even as CSIs we would much rather save someone but if they are dead then it is up to us to preserve and record the evidence.”
He said care must be taken not to take the ‘common approach’, the most likely path to the body which would have been used by the killer, so not to destroy any evidence.
“The body itself is its own crime scene,” said Matt. “Then there is the knife which might contain fingerprints and DNA, the digital evidence contained on the phone and the drug paraphernalia.”
Senior lecturer in criminology Neil Parry said: “Students are covering crime scene to court room, how evidence is collected, processed and stored and how it is then used to present a case in the court room to secure a conviction.
“We are so lucky to work with Durham Police. It is an invaluable experience for the students to work with an expert in the field. They have covered all the theory and this allows them to put that into practise. They have absolutely loved it and also enjoyed talking to Matt about career pathways into the police.”
The students will prepare a crime scene report that will form part of their official course portfolio.
They will also benefit from the knowledge of future visitors including a fingerprints expert and a specialist in anatomical pathology, as well as former students who now work as lawyers, for the police and the Prison Service.
“This really does inspire them and spark an interest in the criminal justice system that becomes a passion,” said Neil.
For more information on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.