Students at Cotelands PRU got the chance to discover what it’s like to work in the police by taking part in an interactive Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) workshop.

Cotelands PRU applied for a Leader Award Grant from the Jack Petchey Foundation to hold a workshop all about forensic science and CSI, which encouraged the young people to explore the many skills needed to carry out this job and what it involves. The workshop was very hands-on, so the young people got the opportunity to get real experience of what it’s like working in this industry and how they investigate crimes.

The full day workshop explored hair, footprint and fibre analysis, as well as DNA and fingerprint recovery. The young people got a detailed look into the ways in which forensic scientists use these methods to help solve crimes and catch criminals.

Students got into groups, put on their protective clothing and were instructed to work in teams to analyse and solve their own ‘crime scenes’. This involved identifying the cause of death and working out who the suspects included. It was brilliant hands-on experience and encouraged the young people to take a lead role in learning about the subject. This activity was successful in raising awareness of forensic science for those with little knowledge but also developed an understanding of the field for those with an existing interest.

One student said: “It was very exciting, and I liked how I got to use all the techniques and processes learnt during the day to solve our own crime scene. I was interested in Forensic Science before but now I would definitely like to pursue this as a career.”

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