Crime Scene Training

New crime lab to offer internships, opportunities for collaboration

Posted: Monday, September 16, 2013 1:04 am

by Dominic Binkley

Bowling Green, Ohio - Construction for the $11.9 million Bureau of Criminal Investigation crime lab will begin October on campus at the corner of North College Drive and Leroy Avenue.

The state-funded facility will be an upgrade from the BCI’s current office on East Wooster Street and will process forensic evidence from crime scenes around the state.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the administration decided to build the lab on campus to promote interaction between students and the BCI staff, said Michael Schuessler, project manager for the Office of Design and Construction.

Students will not have classes in the building to avoid evidence contamination but Rodney Rogers, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, said having the lab on campus opens a door to new opportunities for graduate students and faculty in the science departments to collaborate with the BCI.

“We hope it will further the engagement between faculty, students and the BCI in terms of moving the science of forensics forward while also giving our students opportunities for internships and co-op experience,” Rogers said.

Senior Danielle Rice, president of the Justice Student Association, said if interns are at the lab, it could prepare them for a career.

“The possibility of interning [at the lab] would help me advance professionally and would give me the experience that I would need to go right into the workforce,” she said.

Having forensic professionals on campus will allow for University faculty research collaborations with the BCI staff and more guest lecturers to give students a real-world job perspective, Rogers said.

Steve Lab, a professor of criminal justice, said the close ties with the BCI also give students a unique opportunity to use forensic materials from closed cases in the classroom.

The attorney general wanted to make the facilities as visible as possible so visitors can observe the BCI staff’s work without contaminating evidence, said Robert Waddle, assistant vice president for Capital Planning.

Visitors will be able to view the labs and a firing range through windows along a corridor, Schuessler said.

Students can then apply what they see in the classroom, Rogers said.

“We’ve equipped a forensics lab in the biology department that is used by any of the forensic students,” Rogers said. “They’ll be able to observe what’s going on at the BCI in a real crime lab but then they’ll go back to the teaching lab and apply some of the same skills.”

The addition of the lab prompted the creation of new degree specializations in forensic investigations, forensic chemistry and forensic biology, and a new master’s degree in forensic science could be in place by next fall, Lab said.

Rogers said having the lab on campus will help prepare students for the growing demand for jobs in forensic science.

“We believe there’s going to continue to be a large growth in demand for professionals who have been educated in forensic science and therefore I think having the BCI on our campus raises the awareness of forensic science,” he said. “By having those experts living and working here in Bowling Green, it allows us to enhance our education program.”

The University is also interested in becoming the only university in the state to gain accreditation for the forensic science program, Rogers said.

Construction is expected to be completed by October 2014.

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Police and health care officials sound alarm on new drug called ‘Molly’

by Don Penven

An alarming number of deaths recently linked to a street drug known as “Molly” has generated national concern among officials. While urban and suburban communities have been infested with synthetics like K2, Spice, Bath Salts, etc., a new wave of derivatives contain an even more lethal mixture of illegal compounds.

A fairly recent addition to the “designer drug” scene is “Molly.” Molly is a purified form of MDMA which is the main ingredient in Ecstasy. Investigators and a West Virginia drug expert said the Molly found locally is being mixed with a couple of other drugs.

 “We’re seeing the term being used for a couple of hallucinogenic compounds,” said Carissa McBurney, spokeswoman for the West Virginia Poison Center. “It’s really concerning because West Virginia does not have the resources to readily test every case to determine its ingredients.”

A Greater Harrison Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force agent said the unit tested some of what was being billed as “Molly,” and it also contained cocaine and methamphetamine.

Task force investigators say that vendors add other drugs indiscriminately, and that’s why Molly is so hazardous. Persons taking this mixture suffer from confusion in their minds accompanied by anxiety, paranoia and depression.

Emergency room care-givers also note sleep problems sweats and chills that can lead to liver, kidney and even cardiovascular failure.

Dr. Mark Povroznik, chief quality officer for United Hospital Center, said what is more concerning is the fallacy that people believe they can get a purified form of MDMA off the street.

“The drug will be changed and altered and you have no clue what you are getting (from a drug dealer). You are taking advice from rumors that it is what they say it is,” Povroznik said. “People cannot rely upon history in terms of what to expect of a drug or its perceived safety. Just because MDMA has been around for years doesn’t mean what’s on the streets now is the same thing (that was here back in the ‘70s.)”

This uncontrolled mixing of these often-debilitating drugs  results from the supply issue, task force members state. “Dealers will mix whatever they have on hand to increase the delivered quantity.

The task force officer agrees. When supply becomes an issue, dealers will mix it with anything to increase the quantity.

“It’s cut with other stuff and not pure, and that makes it even more dangerous,” a drug investigator said.

Adding to the dilemma, Molly is being given credibility by rappers and singers who make it seem far less lethal than it really is. Drug task force agents state that Molly is coming out of the larger metropolitan areas along with cocaine and heroin.

Police officials state that early education, community awareness and enforcement are all necessary to attack the drug epidemic. Education must start in the elementary schools and community awareness programs can also benefit a neighborhood regardless as to where it is.

“I think we need to educate the public and the schoolchildren as to the consequences if they decide to use the drugs,” said Janet Elliott, coalition coordinator. “We talk to them about what it can do to your body, health hazards and what to look for in your friends to tell if they are abusing drugs.”

The Prevention Partnership has people educated in these programs to teach and a lot are evidence-based programs with speakers, Elliott said.

Anyone who believes they may have ingested the drug “Molly” is urged to contact the Poison Center at (800) 222-1222.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers supports the nation’s 57 poison centers in their efforts to prevent and treat poison exposures. Poison centers offer free, confidential medical advice 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the Poison Help Line at 1-800-222-1222. This service provides a primary resource for poisoning information and helps reduce costly emergency department visits through in-home treatment.

The AAPCC's mission is to actively advance the health care role and public health mission of our members through information, advocacy, education and research.

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