It’s not everyday that high school students get a crash course in crime scene investigations. Luckily for Woodland students, they recently received a real-life lesson in forensic science from the Waterbury Police Crime Lab Unit.  

On March 25th, civilian officers from the Waterbury Police Crime Lab Unit came to Woodland prepared with a presentation discussing the roles and duties that they deal with while working, and surrounding their work environment. They discussed the processing of a crime scene, forensic photography, and how they use multiple ways to document a crime scene. They also touched on the difference between civilian and police officers, and how to major in college regarding the general field of study.  

Thomas Feige’s 1A forensics class and past forensics students were invited to observe the presentation.

 “I hoped my students would see and understand real world experiences, and understand the connections made to my forensics class. In class, we had studied the processing and documenting of a crime scene,” said Feige. 

During the presentation, the presenters discussed college and the requirements for what classes you would take in college in order to work for law enforcement. 

“I also had hoped my students would note the college options and requirements to go into anything forensics related after high school,” said Feige. 

Other topics talked about in the presentation that had been related to Feige’s forensics class is photography and sketching of a crime scene, which are both documentation methods. 

This presentation was not only inspired by Feige’s forensics class, but done with the help of Mr. John Napiello, who works at the Waterbury Police Department. 

“Without this opportunity given to me by Mr. Napiello, it wouldn’t have been possible,” said Feige. 

Overall, this presentation was a very valuable experience for students interested in forensics or law enforcement. Students had walked away with a better understanding of forensic documenting, and crime scene evaluation.