Criminal Justice and Legal Studies Hosts Summer Seminar on the Scientific Study of Death

Drawn by topics such as blood spatter interpretation, criminal profiling and cadaver detection, nearly 220 students flocked to the fifth annual summer series on crime, violence and criminals offered by the Department of Criminal Justice and Legal Studies.

During the weeklong program, held June 21-25, students were engrossed in discussions on homicide by expert Ronald Holmes, Jefferson County Coroner and professor of criminal justice at the University of Louisville. He began his presentation on psychological profiling by speaking in first person as convicted serial killer Manny Cortez, whose victims shared the same physical attributes - "blonde hair, blue eyes, unmistakably young, definitely female, cheerleader type."

Holmes, who has been a speaker for more than 25 years, said he hopes students learn "a better awareness about how to look at a death scene -- how physical and nonphysical evidence complement and interplay with each other."

Other speakers included Forensic Entomologist Neal Haskell, Miami-Dade Police Investigators Allen Lowry and Ron Sawal, UCF Assistant Professors of Anthropology Tosha Dupras and John Schultz and Orlando Medical Examiner Jan Garavaglia.

"The seminars expose you to a lot of information that you normally wouldn't get in the classroom," said Sgt. Jim Rhyne, a 27-year Florida Highway Patrol veteran and criminal justice graduate student. Having national and international experts is also a great benefit, he said.

Seminar organizer and Associate Professor Stephen Holmes said the seminars have become so popular that the department no longer has to advertise for them. In 1999, the series' inaugural year, there were only about 20 students who attended, he said.

However, Stephen cautions students about their expectations of the field. He said popular crime shows like "CSI" and "Law and Order" have probably helped boost interest and enrollment in the department, but those influences have created a "mistargeted interest" in some students. "Everybody wants to be a profiler or in the FBI," he said. "What they don't realize is that they have to work their way up through the ranks for 20 years or more before that happens."

Students who enjoyed this summer's topics can take other credited courses throughout the year in criminal justice and anthropology, covering such subjects as serial murder, profiling, sex offenders and forensic anthropology.

The department will partner with the Department of Sociology and Anthropology to offer an Undergraduate Certificate in Crime Scene Investigation beginning this fall. Visit the criminal justice Web site at www.cohpa.ucf.edu/crim.jus/ for updated information.

- Angie Lewis