Daily Pioneer News

PLATTEVILLE - Dozens of students from the University of Wisconsin-Platteville Crime Scene Processing Techniques class had their hands full as they attempted to process two crime scenes at the UWP farm in early April and May. Not only did they go through the meticulous tasks of measuring, marking, photographing, sketching, logging, sifting and sorting - they also had to deal with unruly media types making inquiries into the rumored crimes.

Well, not real media, nor real crime scenes, for that matter. The mock set up was part of the final training that Aric Dutelle, a lecturer in the UWP Department of Criminal Justice, arranged so that his students could practice the skills they've been learning in class and UWP's indoor forensics lab. The students spent the duration at a remote site on the Pioneer Farm, excavating the bodies of a cow and a pig which had been buried there last winter (the animals died of natural causes and the Grant County Health Department approved the project).

The students arrived on the scene ("tipped off" by an anonymous phone call), searched the area, sealed it off with police tape, then spent the day in the laborious process of finding evidence which might be later used to solve and prosecute the crime. "It's important that students get this kind of experience because otherwise, their first experience will probably be an actual crime scene, possibly a homicide. This way, they can experience the real sights and sounds of crime scene processing, which they can't get in our cadaver lab. They find out what it's like to take a shower in dirt and wear the biohazard suits, not to mention dealing with body fluids, chemicals, disease and so forth. I didn't get my first experience like this until I was on the job," Dutelle explained. Dutelle is a former police officer and crime scene technician with the Loveland Police Department in Loveland, Colorado.

To add to the pressure, Dutelle arranged for media representatives from the UWP Television Services and Public Relations offices to arrive on the scene and perform the roles of inquiring reporters. The public information officer had to set boundaries and deal with some persistent questioners as the other crime scene professionals went about their work under the sometimes uncomfortable scrutiny of the restless press.

Greg Urquhart, a junior majoring in criminal justice, said the experience was very valuable. He played the role of sketch artist, whose drawings will be used in conjunction with photographs and a measurement/data log kept by other technicians, to preserve the crime scene as close to the original condition as possible. "It is great to get out and actually apply all the things we've been learning in class. From finding the body to the actual excavation, there's been a lot to observe and record all day. I mean, we started from scratch and had to process everything from candy wrappers to a bullet casing. Everyone has learned a lot," Urquhart said.

Contact: Aric Dutelle, lecturer, UWP Department of Criminal Justice, (608) 342-1596,dutelle@uwplatt.edu

Prepared By: Evelyn Martens, UWP Office of Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,martense@uwplatt.edu