|
|
From left, Gregg R. Stanton, H. Dale Nute, Thomas B. Kelley and Michael A. Zinszer. Photo: Vida Volkert |
FSU alumna Brandie McCabe. Photo: Courtesy of School of Criminology and Criminal Justice |
McCabe and Derek Prouse at an accident site where a construction worker drowned. Photo: Courtesy of School of Criminology and Criminal Justice |
| The following are scenes from the FSU Headlines-TV video (links at top of column). |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The day Thomas Kelley and Gregg Stanton met at a fish fry two years ago, they sat down over hot oil and cooked up a lot more than fish. Kelley, a criminologist, educator and diver, and Stanton, a biologist with underwater archaeology experience, came up with an idea that would eventually change the way underwater crime scene investigations are conducted.
The two FSU graduates, Kelley (BS '73, MS '97, Ph.D. '00) and Stanton (MS '79), transformed the conventional underwater investigation process into a new science that is now taught at their alma mater.
"They put together a new concept that expanded far beyond to a whole new mentality," said Michael Zinszer, a diving safety officer with the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at the FSU Panama City Campus.
Known as Underwater Crime Scene Investigation, this scientific program is the first in the United States at the bachelor's level, Kelley said.
The program, part of the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, consists of five classes that teach students everything from the basics of diving to thinking critically while investigating crime or accident scenes underwater, he said.
And in July, the UCSI produced its first class of graduates. UCSI Forensic Scientist Dale Nute said the graduates are a very select group of professionals.
While those in other fields are competing for jobs that are in high demand, the UCSI graduates are in demand because they are one of a kind.
No other university in the United States offers this type of program. And opportunities are numerous in areas such as law enforcement, marine insurance, construction and engineering, to name a few. "Insurance adjusters are settling claims because they have no idea what happened underwater," Nute said, referring to marine accident sites. "But if they have somebody who can not only adjust the claim, but can also go down there and collect evidence, the company can save a lot of money."
Zinszer said that one of his recently graduated students has already been offered a position with an engineering firm, doing forensic analysis of accident areas.
The offer took place at the new Panama City North Bay bridge, when the graduate showed up with other UCSI students to offer professional assistance to investigate the site where a construction worker had fallen and drowned.
According to Zinszer, the firm was looking for somebody who could think using the scientific method.
"And more so than diving, that's what we teach here," Zinszer said. "We are teaching people to think beyond basic steps. We are teaching the scientific method so they can analyze problems and come up with solutions."
Before the UCSI was created, underwater investigations were usually conducted by commercial divers or law enforcement agents trained to dive.
Stanton said people don't realize the conditions in which divers have to do their investigations. It is not like diving for pleasure in clear waters, surrounded by coral reefs and colorful fish.
Many crime or accident sites, like plane crashes, are in deep water with no sunlight or darkened by silt that the crash has stirred up. There is often poor to zero visibility, and divers have to confront currents, pressure and sometimes even very cold temperatures.
And on top of these challenges, the divers have to somehow figure out where the evidence, including human remains, may be located. In the past, divers would go into shallow water and, using their hands, feel around and pull out whatever evidence they could. The procedure was very primitive.
Stanton said it would be like going into a crime scene, stepping through the evidence, finding a body, grabbing it by the ankle and dragging it out of the scene.
"That was the concept that was being used in the industry, and that was what was taught even in public safety diving courses," he said. But he and Kelley put together a plan that works following scientific approaches.
They recruited a team of experts in the fields of criminology, forensics, biology, archaeology and diving, and took the underwater investigation concept to a more sophisticated and intelligent level. They treated the investigation like those conducted on land.
The program counts on the support of the U.S. Air Force, and students have access to sophisticated military equipment such as sonar, robots and new tools that are being developed.
Zinszer said he has found that most of his students want to be crime scene investigators because they are looking for careers that will allow them to do exciting work.
"The two things some of them love the most are criminology and diving, and this is a program that puts the two together," he said.
|
Play Video