Class Location:
California Criminalistics Institute / Sacramento or Los Angeles
Class Description:
This 5-day (36-hour) course is designed to provide basic steps in clothing examination in the crime laboratory. The course will cover the following topics: 1) techniques for examining stains and deposits on clothing items, and 2) examining and describing deposits and stains.
Instructor:
Chesterene Cwiklik, Pacific Coast Forensic Science Institute
Teaching Methods:
Classroom lectures, discussions, demonstrations, and laboratory exercises.
Objectives:
The student will learn the basic steps in clothing examination. The student will learn to describe the nature and manner of deposit of body fluids and be able to recognize and describe other commonly encountered materials. The student will learn to provide a good record that is defensible in court. Laboratory practice will include practice describing the following type of stains: contact, spatter, smears and transfer and whether stains are deposited from inside or outside a garment. In addition, students will be introduced to and asked to examine and describe the following: residues from firearm discharge; and description of damage to clothing with emphasis on cuts, tears and stab slits.
Prerequisites:
Experience with documentation of scientific testing. This class is suitable for the new examiner, and for examiners whose experience in clothing examination is limited to sampling of body fluid stains. Preference will be given to applicants with six months of experience in either forensic serology or forensic DNA analysis
Materials Fee:
$75.00 Materials fee will be charged to all non-BFS students. This charge is due at the beginning of the class. Make check(s) payable to the California Department of Justice.
Tuition:
POST-certified; no cost to California public crime laboratory personnel. A $600.00 tuition fee will be required of all other public agency, private sector, or out-of-state applicants.
