CSI Challenge Winners
Tags: February 2023, Vol. 3, Issue 2
The Mount St. Mary’s Criminal Justice Association’s Officers, and the Frederick Police Department in the state of Maryland, worked hard to provide a realistic and stimulating crime scene investigation that tests students’ abilities at critical thinking, teamwork, crime scene proficiency, forensic knowledge, and collegiality. On February 25, 2023, 18 teams competed in the Robert Fram CSI Challenge. Each team had to proceed to the ‘Briefing Room’.
In the ‘Briefing Room’, each team received an evidence kit for use in collecting, preserving, and identifying evidence. Additional bags and envelopes for collecting evidence were provided. Teams received a packet of instructions with dispatch information and location concerning the call to service they were investigating. This was followed by an oral briefing in which additional questions could be asked and answered. All teams were dispatched to their respective crime-scenes simultaneously and from the time they arrived, they had 50 minutes to process the crime scene and interview witnesses. Judges (Frederick Police Department Crime Scene Investigators) were located at the crime scene and outside the crime scene to observe and grade the actions of the team.
When the time has elapsed at the crime scene, teams had to leave their scenes, and transport all written materials, designated evidence, photos, sketches, etc. to adjacent rooms marked ‘Squad Room’ for completing the final phase of the challenge. In the Squad Room, each team had to complete a final report of their crime scene investigation and submit it for judging. Teams also submitted a crime scene rough and final sketch, evidence collected, and show the judge photographs taken, explaining how and why they were taken. Teams had 50 minutes to complete this phase of the investigation.
Upon completion of all teams, scores were tallied and the final marking was completed. The Humber College Forensic Identification (FI) graduate program had two teams enter in the competition.
Of the 18 teams competing, Humber College placed 1st and 2nd.
Team names:
T.O. TRIO – 1st place
Nick Popov, Cora Pouliot and Romina Saramout
InvestaGators – 2nd place
Victoria Purnwasi, Ryan Trenton and Megan MacNeil
Victoria T Purnwasi
“The Robert Fram CSI Challenge was an amazing opportunity to further develop the foundational skill set that the Forensic Identification Program offers. Weekly training and practice with the faculty and the team was not only informative and constructive, but also a lot of fun! Now I have more confidence in my abilities and have gained great experience in team building and application of knowledge. Accomplishing our goal and measuring up against schools across North America leaves me with no doubt that this program and this extra-curricular opportunity has set me up for future success in the field of Forensics.”
Cora Pouliot
“Participating in Mount St. Mary’s University CSI challenge has been an unforgettable experience. Not only has this opportunity, expanded my knowledge and passion for the field of Forensics, but with it, I was able to form great friendships and memories that will last a lifetime. Aside from our successful outcome, the opportunity to challenge ourselves and utilize our learned knowledge in such a unique situation felt especially rewarding. All six of us worked exceptionally hard both in training and in competition, and our success was well-earned. However, we could not have succeeded without the profound support and guidance from our program’s faculty and professors.”
