This course is designed for law enforcement personnel, medico-legal investigators, first responders, and attorneys who wish to learn, or be refreshed on, the fundamentals of crime scene investigation.  Specifically, attendees will be introduced to the theory and practice in approaching, processing and documenting crime scenes.  Attention will be given to noting and preserving those details and conditions which are often overlooked by those who first get to the scene.  Through lecture, table-top exercises, demonstrations, and practical exercises in mock scenes, attendees will learn how potential evidence, and most importantly its context, is recognized, preserved, and recorded.  Attendees will understand that to do so ensures the evidence can be best used by investigators, or experts, interpreting and reconstructing crime events, and ultimately presenting the physical evidence in court with confidence.

 

Whether or not evidence remains viable throughout an investigation begins with the manner in which it is identified and collected.  This short course emphasizes its recognition and documentation so that it can be best used to reconstruct and interpret the incident in the context of related events.  Attendees will be exposed to a twelve-step process of crime scene investigation beginning with preparation and ending with the release of the scene.  Throughout the short course, a foundation is laid toward the objective and unbiased recording of scene features and evidence, through narrative, photography, and 2D/3D mapping.

 

La Roche University’s Crime Scene Investigation facilities are located on the University’s campus approximately 10 miles north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.  In addition to being near Pittsburgh and its amenities, the campus has free parking and is within walking distance, or a short drive, of restaurants, fast food, gas, motel, and stores on McKnight Road and Babcock Boulevard.