Visit to Ohio Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab Provides Hands-On Learning Opportunity
Some 20 criminal justice students gained insight into forensic science when their class visited the Ohio Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab in London, Ohio, this month.
PICTURED: WC's criminal justice students participating on the field trip are pictured at the Ohio Bureau of Investigation Crime Lab.
Students in Dr. Sonya Goshe’s course, Drugs, Juvenile Justice and Corrections, learned about such tools of the trade as the scientific analysis of DNA, forensic biology (testing of bodily fluids, rape kits, etc.), drug testing, polygraph, handwriting analysis, fingerprints and identifying such materials as fibers, glass and paint found at crime scenes.
Goshe noted that, in addition to all the science and technological equipment that goes into analyzing evidence, her students also learned how that evidence is processed and used to solve crimes as part of criminal investigations.
“Many students are fascinated with forensic science and want to know how to pursue this line of work,” she said, adding that their visit to the crime lab gave them a sense for the massive amount of scientific analysis going on behind-the-scenes coupled with the sheer volume of evidence that is processed by the Ohio Bureau of Investigation.
“Students were also advised on the types of training and opportunities they can pursue if they want a career as a forensic scientist at the facility,” Goshe said. “This kind of hands-on learning experience allows students to see criminal justice being done on the ground, and how the ‘real world’ of forensic science operates in Ohio.”
