Crime scene training offers real-world experience for students

Sep. 15—North Central Missouri College was the site of a mock crime scene training on Wednesday morning, allowing students to work with regional first responders.

Rex Ross, Trenton, Missouri's, chief of police, said the training aims to give students a hands-on experience to help them understand how law enforcement examines and works through a crime scene.

"We try and help out with the criminal justice program here at North Central as much as possible," Ross said. "Like today, when they come up with ideas of activities they want to do outside of the classroom, law enforcement will supervise and assist them with any of the resources they need."

The crime scene hosted by North Central was called "A Drug Deal Gone Wrong," which was precisely planned by the students using props to reenact the step-by-step duties of a professional investigator.

Jozlyn Perez, a freshman studying criminal justice, said the mock crime scene training is purposely held around campus visit day so potential future students can get a glimpse into what the program offers.

"Our goal was to set up the crime scene to look as if a true crime actually happened," Perez said. "We have 'dead' people lying around, there's blood splattered everywhere and props that investigators use when working to solve a crime scene."

Local law enforcement and professors wanted the students to engage in a learning activity that would be fun but also useful for the long term.

"It's a really good activity for us as most of us are going to go on to do criminal justice and law enforcement stuff," she said. This is something we will likely see in the future."

This course is typically held for incoming freshmen entering the criminal justice program at North Central and will continue to be an activity that is held each year.