Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 01, 2019 (RSCNPF): Scores of students from the Washington Archibald High School recently visited the Police Forensic Lab at Tabernacle as a part of the school’s career counselling programme.
The children were given an extensive tour of the lab by the Director of the Forensics Department, Latoya Marshall-Lake.
Director Marshall-Lake said that during the tour, the children met with different staff members who gave them presentations on their areas of expertise. Presentations were made by the Forensics Technician, Exhibit Officer, Crime Scene Investigator and Firearms Examiner.
“The children were very receptive and inquisitive. I also gave them an overview on how we respond to crime scenes,” said the Director.
She said that the department is going to construct a mock crime scene and invite the children back in the near future so they can see firsthand how they respond to scenes.
The children also got a chance to visit the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) to see how fingerprints are inputted into the database.
“The children were very enthusiastic about Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) work. They asked very positive and intelligent questions. We had a very good time and they were very receptive to what we had to offer,” she stated.
Forensic Technician, Ciaran Phillip said that he showed the students various items that would be collected at crime scenes and submitted to the lab for analysis.
“I found the children to be very excited and very interested in the demonstrations that I did. This is not something that was unexpected for me because people are very interested in Forensic Science. It is easy and tangible for them to latch on to and recognize that this is a tool that we can use to enhance justice in our country,” he said.
He commended the school for engaging with the lab for the student’s visit so that they can be exposed to the world of Forensic Science.
“I commend the guidance counselling department of the Washington Archibald High School for focusing on alternative career pathways for their students and allowing us here in the Forensics Department an opportunity to demonstrate our work and get more persons interested and in future get more staff,” stated Technician Phillip.