A Marion County investigator, Silas Gibson, recently graduated from the 25th session of the Crime Scene Technician Certificate Program of the Criminal Justice Institute, a division of the University of Arkansas.
Marion Sheriff Gregg Alexander praised Gibson’s completion of the training while still supervising the Criminal Investigation Division and managing his other assigned duties. Gibson is the second of two Marion County Investigators who have completed the program, but the first person to complete the program while working for the Sheriff’s Office. Gibson is a 17 year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office.
The program is a series of six fundamental courses that introduce vital components of crime scene investigation. Participants are required to attend and successfully pass all courses during the six-month, 135-hour program to receive their certificate. Upon completion of the program, participants will have exceeded the minimum requirements necessary to apply for national crime scene certification. The training was conducted at the Criminal Justice Institute campus in Little Rock and courses included extensive training in crime scene management, crime scene photography, crime scene sketching, note taking, report writing, latent print processing, impression evidence, biological and trace evidence, and crime scene investigation.
The Crime Scene Technician Certificate Program was designed to increase the value of forensic evidence in a criminal investigation by emphasizing evidence recognition and appropriate documentation, collection, preservation, and storage of physical evidence recovered from a crime scene. To accomplish this goal, program participants receive in class and skills oriented basic instruction in all key components of crime scene investigation. Skills competency and written examinations are given at the end of each six components. Successful completion of the program requires the participant to pass all examinations and demonstrate competence in documenting and processing indoor and outdoor crime scenes as well as vehicles.
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