Bella Bennett traveled from Bloomington to Gary for Indiana University Northwest’s forensic investigation camp.
And as the week was close to wrapping up, she was happy with the decision she made.
“It’s so cool,” the 15-year-old said. “I mean, the fact that they’re giving you real experts in the field is so cool. It’s awesome, and I’ve loved it so much.”
Bennett was one of about 18 students who attended the forensic investigation camp, a four-day event that goes from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The camp is open to rising high school juniors and seniors, and most of the attendees were from Lake and Porter counties.
Bennett is going to be a sophomore next school year, but she received special permission to attend the camp because her dad works for IU. Participants focused on different forensic topics each day, including fingerprinting, cold case analysis and field trips to the Franciscan Center of Hope Program and the Indiana State Police Crime Lab in Lowell.
On Thursday, Gary Police Department personnel visited campers to teach about crime scene investigation and create a mock crime scene for students to solve.
Police officers created a homicide scenario where they were dispatched to the area of 35th Avenue and Jefferson Street for reports of a fight with multiple subjects and shots fired. Upon arrival, they were told that a man had been shot and was unresponsive, and a white male suspect was still on the scene.
Officers would find a male victim lying on the floor with multiple gunshot wounds, according to the mock crime scene scenario.
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Lt. Gregory Wolf, supervisor of the department’s crime scene investigations unit, said it would take students between 30 minutes and an hour to solve the scenario, but in the field, it would take officers at least three hours.
“It’s very important that you take your time with these,” said Wolf, who’s been with the department for 23 years. “We have to be meticulous, we have to be organized with all of these things. You don’t want to miss a piece of evidence, go to trial and lose the trial because we didn’t do something we were supposed to.”
Wolf said GPD officers enjoy teaching the next generation of forensic investigators about their jobs. He believes everyone needs to understand what officers do and how diligent they have to be with their jobs.
“I think it’s a good thing to give them at their age and give them a possible interest in something that they might want to do in the future, like become police,” Wolf said. “Any time you can take a profession and feed it to kids or young adults to open their minds to different things, I think it’s a good thing.”
Justin Jackson, a 17-year-old from Gary, said before the police’s homicide scenario that he was excited for the activity. He enjoyed the camp because it gave him the opportunity to talk to professionals in the forensics field, which he wants to one day work in.
“I love getting the hands-on experience,” Jackson said. “That’s how I learn. I’m a visual learner.”
Monica Solinas-Saunders, IUN associate professor of public affairs in the school of public affairs, believes it’s important to have partnership with field professionals, including Gary police. Solinas-Saunders said the school has a “long-term relationship” with the police department, and she’s grateful for the support they give.
Solinas-Saunders also said she enjoys watching the students become more excited about forensics throughout the week.
“When we see the students really so engaged and enthusiastic, we realize that all the work we put together and our passion for forensics is real,” Solinas-Saunders said. “Even if they don’t become forensic scientists, surely this is an experience that will stay with them.”