Lee M. Wade, PhD

lee.wade@mtsu.edu

Lance Selva, JD, PhD

Criminal Justice Administration

Discipline specific equipment

Jones Hall room 300

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The Forensic Science degree program and Criminal Justice Administration work together to prepare students for success in the emerging employment field of forensic sciences. CJA 4340 (Crime Scene Investigations) covers the outdated methods of detecting fingerprints in crime scenes. Laser illumination is now widely accepted as the best approach for capturing fluorescent images of latent prints. The CSI class has two sections of 22 students every semester with a Summer course of 12 students for an approximate total of 100 forensic science and CJA students per year. Many forensic science students transition out of the class into internships at local crime labs or into full-time jobs upon graduation. At a recent advisory board meeting for the Forensic Science program, the Director of the TBI Crime Lab stated that competitive students need comparison experience before obtaining an internship or job and the applicant market is lacking in this area. The use of the Arrowhead Tracer laser will expose students to the methods of detecting latent prints with fluorescence. Through classwork and hands-on experience, the student will be able to evaluate a latent print from mock evidence not normally detected by older methods. Furthermore, our local law enforcement agencies, besides Metro Nashville PD, do not have access to a Tracer Laser. Due to working partnerships with local police agencies, we also propose that the CJA department could assist local agencies in providing the Tracer Laser at crime scenes if needed. This could bring positive press to the CJA department and MTSU.