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Forensics Students Go to Albany Crime Lab and New York State Police Academy
Paul J. Kutner

    On February 9, 2000, a selected group of students had the opportunity to see what a real crime laboratory was like when Forensics teacher Ms. Mary Villani took forty-eight of her students to the Albany Crime Lab and New York State Police Academy in New York's capital.

     The day started out early in the morning when Ms. Villani and her group of students met in front of the Bronx High School of Science early on the cold February morning. The students, some more punctual than others, left for the three-hour ride to Albany at 8:00 A.M. and were greeted at the State Police Academy with a slide show about profile sketching. The Students were able to get a first hand recount, by New York's finest sketcher, Dr. Herbert Buckley, as to how the drawings and how successful law enforcement can be done even when they do not have much of a description. Dr. Buckley described how every detail, whether big or small, can help make a sketch. He also described how the sketchers "age" the wanted and even change the hairstyle with the change of times.

     Following Dr. Buckley's presentation, the chief forensic pathologist of the State of New York, Dr. Michael Baden, gave a presentation on the autopsy. He started by talking about the history of murder starting with Cain and Abel. After the quick recount of the world's murder record, he focused on the exhumation of civil rights activist Medgar Evers and how the autopsy done twenty-eight years after his murder helped put his killer behind bars. Items that were mentioned included how Evers' body, because embalmed, remained in perfect condition and was unparalleled evidence to find the defendant guilty.

     After the two presentations, the students went down to the cafeteria to have lunch in the company of the cadets. Though no formal presentation was made, the students observed how the cadets had to conduct themselves, especially by the block walk.

     The next activity on the visit was a tour of the Academy, which was given by Major Tim McAuliffe, a long-time veteran of the State Police. The tour included the Academy Museum, the living quarters of the cadets (which had a distinct stench of fish), and a brief description of what one had to undergo to become a state trooper.

     The final stop for the Bronx Science students was a tour of the Crime Lab, which included the fingerprint, DNA, and ballistic examination labs. Within these labs, the students got to see for themselves how the very experiments that they performed in class, were carried out in the real world. The students even got to see different procedures actually being done (though through a window to comply with state and federal contamination of evidence laws).

     All in all, it was a very interesting day for the forty-odd forensic biology students that went on this trip. From the first boarding of the bus until the drop off outside Bronx Science well past 8 P.M., these future investigators experienced something unique to our institution. And what was the big lesson of the day? That crime does not pay!