Central Penn College Discover Forensics camp to teach CSI hopefuls

SUMMERDALE, Pa. - July 21, 2014 - PRLog -- Central Penn College will host a two-day interactive Discover Forensics camp on July 24 and 25 to help high school students get in touch with their inner crime scene investigators and decide if they want to pursue this career field upon graduation.

“The demonstrations and mock crime scene investigations will show high school students the difference between what is portrayed about forensics in popular media and what actually occurs at a true crime scene,” says Sam Morgan, program chair of the criminal justice and homeland security management programs at Central Penn College. “We want to show attendees that it takes dedication and expertise to conduct crime scene investigations, and not simply taking your sunglasses off.”

Cumberland County District Attorney David Freed will deliver the keynote address to kick off the Discover Forensic camp activities. The camp will feature hands-on exercises, interactive lectures and displays of public safety equipment from: Cumberland County Forensic Services and the county 911 communications center; East Pennsboro Police, EMS and fire departments; Pennsylvania State Police; the Cumberland County Sheriff’s office; and the U.S. Army. Students will experience what it is like to do footwear impressions, blood stain pattern analysis, latent fingerprinting and alternate light source examination.

Students will also have the opportunity to participate in a series of hands-on mock crime scene investigations with professionals who are currently employed in, or teaching, criminal justice, public safety or forensic science. The scenarios include a murder, robbery, car chase, gunfight and crash. The students will deconstruct each scene, learning about blood spatter, bullet trajectory analysis and other investigation methods.

These scenarios, led by the Cumberland County Forensic Services team, will take place in Central Penn’s Collaborative Learning Center, which includes a mock convenience store. Local law enforcement often uses this facility for internal trainings.

The camp, which is full, was capped at 30 attendees to ensure each student receives personalized, one-on-one attention. Additionally, students will learn from several other Central Penn academic programs which will be demonstrating forensic applications in their fields. The physical therapist assistant program will show bullet extraction through a dissection and the information technology program will discuss computer forensics.

Criminal justice administration is Central Penn’s most popular bachelor’s degree program, and the college’s criminal justice professors offer real-world experience on the federal, state and local levels:

Professor Jeffrey Goble – FBI veteran and civil rights expert
Professor John Contino – Former executive director of the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission and legal counsel
Professor Sam Morgan – Former Lower Allen Township police officer, and corrections officer

“Central Penn College aims to graduate model law enforcement and homeland security professionals,” says Morgan. “Just like fingerprints, we leave our ethics and morality wherever we go. The faculty at Central Penn strive to not only provide students with applicable knowledge in their chosen fields, but also to instill in them that a career in criminal justice or homeland security is a calling—a calling that requires professional and compassionate men and women."

At the end of the Discover Forensics camp, students will attend an awards banquet where they will receive recognition from Central Penn College President Dr. Karen M. Scolforo for their participation.