We’ve all seen the CSI series which started out simply as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and advanced to specific markets like CSI: Miami, and CSI: New York, even CSI: Las Vegas. Well, at the rate that students enrolled in the Southwestern Michigan College criminal justice curriculum continue to advance and excel, we might end up with CSI: SW Michigan.
Southwestern Michigan College criminal justice students have now swept SkillsUSA’s State Leadership and Skills Conference in Grand Rapids for the third consecutive year in competition running from April 7th to the 9th.
SMC’s state-champion Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) team consisted of Nyisha Savado of Michigan City, Indiana, Skuyler Donaldson of Osceola, Indiana, and Ariel Schwemer of Burr Oak.
Criminal justice gold medalist Joseph Seidler is from St. Joseph. SMC also sent the other two medalists, silver medalist Dustin Cochran from Niles and bronze medalist Andrea Hamlett from Colorado. All six were new to state competition.
Criminal Justice Club President Joseph Herrera of Holland, a gold medalist from last year, says, “Silver and bronze were within a tenth of a point.” He adds, “It could have gone either way. Dustin and Andy are very good at what they do — Joe, too — and they’re on par with each other.”
Seidler, Cochran, Hamlett, Herrera and Program Director Donald Ricker appeared before the Dowagiac Rotary Club last week at Elks Lodge 889.
Herrera says, “I’m very grateful for what officers like Jarrid Bradford, Jeff Brown and Jim Kusa have done for the club and for me.” He tells us, “I feel very confident next year I might be able to apply to the Michigan State Police, which will be a stepping stone to where I really want to get — the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) at the federal level.”
Program Director Ricker says, “We’ve been blessed to have the cooperation of the local law-enforcement community, as well as the prosecutor,” who put “CJ” to work in 2016 on “Seeking Justice,” helping resolve cold-case homicides.
The first case SMC contributed to, a 1977 Edwardsburg shooting death originally ruled a suicide, is preparing to go to trial with the victim’s cousin as defendant.
Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz says, “This is a critical program for our community.” He notes, “Law enforcement has unfairly taken a tremendous hit. There are unethical pastors, teachers, prosecutors, right down the line. No group is perfect, including police officers. Impropriety should be addressed, but in a country of 300 million isolated incidents unfairly pilloried police officers, so we’re seeing the number of people going into law enforcement to protect us decrease dramatically. Young men and women like this deserve high accolades for what they’re doing.”
Ricker reports, “Our students who have competed come back and provide assistance to new students.” He adds, “We’ve had students hired at Cook Nuclear Plant in security. I’ve got two or three who may be going to the June academy for the Michigan State Police. Another student was hired by the Elkhart County Sheriff’s work-release program.”
Two members of SMC’s 2016 CSI team, Abbigale Tharp and Tyler Fye, help mentor.
Regarding the competition, Ricker says, “I was glad to hear they thought the scenarios were easier than our training.” He, himself is a Bay City native and 10-year Houston police officer who became SMC’s program director in 2014. He says, “I’m so proud of these young people and all of the hard work and dedication they demonstrate.”
CSI teams collect evidence, sketch their assigned scene and write a report. That total, combined with a written test, make up their final score.
Criminal justice involves individual competition around five scenarios, such as a 9-1-1 hang-up, a traffic stop, a misdemeanor arrest and a victim-witness interview.
Seidler found a simulated pre-employment interview most challenging. He says, “It was like a job interview with a chief of police who might hire you. That was the second job interview I’ve ever had — and he asked different questions than what I’ve ever been asked before. Our scenarios didn’t have time limits.” Seidler would like to be a homicide detective or SWAT team member and eventually becoming a deputy U.S. marshal. He says, “You just do what you need until you’re done.”
Dustin Cochran, from Niles, is interested in becoming a homicide detective. He says, “We had to bring resumes,” and he’s hopeful that will help.
The undecided Hamlett moved to Detroit four years ago from Denver.
Donaldson, who aspires to be a forensic scientist, said she and Schwemer (juvenile probation) and Savado (FBI agent), were confronted with a breaking-and-entering scene.
Donaldson says, “There were four chairs with a magazine draped across the back of one.” Additionally, “There was a pill near a window and a wine glass knocked down on the floor. There was a piece of candy on the right side of the room and a syringe in front. And a random piece of tape seven feet up on the wall.”
Donaldson adds, “There was a note in the magazine we did not find because we didn’t search through the magazine. There was a quarter underneath a chair we did not see because we didn’t touch the chairs. It was visible, but also looked like part of the chair. They want to see how your observing skills are. We got 30 minutes to process the scene and 30 minutes for paperwork.”
The students (shown with program director Ricker in the photo accompanying this story on Moody on the Market.com) continue their studies at SMC and hope to become productive members of the law enforcement community going forward. Stay tune.
