Students in Rothesay program get training in crime scene investigation
ROTHESAY - Near a wooded area, a body lays sprawled in front of a green Ford Escort. Blood can be clearly seen on the victim's shirt. Three of the car's doors are open, beer bottles are strewn about, and $20 bills have seemingly been thrown around the car and near the body. A trail of blood leads off into the woods.
Seconds later, an army of white-coated technicians arrive. Wearing latex gloves and carrying red tool boxes, some wearing masks, loaded with crime scene investigation tools, they listen to instructions before beginning to scour the site for clues.
"Team Vortex," barks Rothesay police Cst. Kim Bennett.
The members of the team perk up and march to the scene and begin to pore over the evidence in a frenzy of forensics.
"Start taking notes. Start taking notes," Bennett said.
Made as realistic as possible, the scene is part of Rothesay CSI - one of the week-long summer camps at Rothesay Netherwood School.
As the first team of young investigators begins to examine the evidence, they notice a windfall.
"He's got money," said the camper.
"Don't take it out, that's evidence," said Bennett.
But the 10- to 13-year-old campers quickly show they know their crime scene.
"We have a dead victim," shouts Bennett.
One of the campers is quick to correct her.
"Dead suspect," she shouts back at Bennett.
And she's right, the dead victim laying in front of the car is part of a gang that's robbed an area bank. He's got a gunshot wound in his chest.
Another camper notices that the victim's eyes are open and that the circulation of the victim's arm must have been cut off because it's pale white. More likely, both afflictions were caused because the victim is a mannequin.
Then Team Alpha is called in.
"Come on pick it up. Let's go," Bennett said, not cutting her charges any slack.
"There are at least three suspects because there are three doors open," shouts one curly-haired male camper.
Again, he's right.
Cadet Shawn Toner, one of the Rothesay officers playing the role of a bad guy, said the kids aren't playing around.
"They seem to pick it up really quick," Toner said.
Cadet Joel Foster played the other bank robber and cadets Rob Moore and Mark Roberts each lead a team. All the cadets volunteered their time.
As the car is searched for fibres and dusted for fingerprints, another team heads into the woods in search of clues. There they find more money, a knife, gun and a cash register. The group also takes a plaster cast of a footprint in the soft dirt.
Earlier in the week, the team examined dead pigs that had been placed in the woods a week before by Bennett to help them learn the techniques used by real-life CSI officers like her. By examining the flies and larvae on the body, time of death can be determined.
"They actually thought it was pretty cool," said Bennett.
After all the evidence was gathered, the team held a mock trial.
As the campers gather the last of the evidence, each piece bagged and tagged, a group begins to wrestle with the mannequin trying to undress him and uncover even more clues.
"We can undress him at the morgue," Bennett said.
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