Institute of Criminal Justice Studies
Who dunnit? Portsmouth children turn crime scene investigators
Wed, Aug 19, 2009
They were taking part in a forensics and criminology workshop run by the University of Portsmouth which included the investigation of a ‘real’ crime scene.
The Who Dunnit workshop was part of a series of events running throughout the summer holidays for members of the University’s UP for it club. The club gives youngsters a taste of university life and introduces them to subjects they could study in the future.
The youngsters aged 11-16 swapped their school uniforms for the overalls usually sported by forensics investigators and spent the afternoon examining evidence at the scene of the crime, including blood spattered walls, overturned furniture and signs of a violent struggle.
A series of personal items such as credit cards and jewellery were found nearby and soon led the budding crime scene investigators to the ‘body’ of the victim.
The scene of the murder was the university’s Forensics House, usually used by university students studying criminology, forensics and forensic biology. The house includes a living area, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom which can be set up to illustrate various crimes. The children were asked to piece together evidence from clues in the house and in the surrounding land to work out how the crime was committed and what kind of person the killer might be.
They made notes on the evidence they discovered and took photographs of anything that might be relevant to the case which they then used to work out what might have happened.
“We were very careful not to make the crime scene too gruesome - the body was a foam dummy and the blood was fake - but the kids loved the gory details all of them said the crime scene investigation was the most interesting part of the workshop,” said organiser Ana Baker.
Earlier in the day the youngsters had learned how to extract DNA ‘evidence’ from strawberries and kiwi fruit and had listened to talks on criminology, such as why people commit crime and how burglars choose their properties.
The UP for it club aims to raise childrens’ aspirations and encourage pupils from all socio-economic backgrounds to see higher education as an attractive and accessible option.