Richmond officers become crime scene investigators

RICHMOND, Ind. (AP) - Don't believe everything you see on TV or in Hollywood productions regarding the critical work at crime scenes, say two local law enforcement officers recently attending Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) training and now certified crime scene investigators.

Evidence gathering is neither quick nor simple, unlike the 30-minute or hour-long segments cut for television productions or even the movies that might run a couple hours or more.

"There's no secret tools in CSI," said Wayne County Sheriff's Department Det. Mike Lieberman, who attended CSI training along with Richmond Police Department Det. Gerard Longnecker.

So instead of using a bag of tricks to conjure evidence, Lieberman and Longnecker were trained in a variety of techniques during their four-week CSI training session at the Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Plainfield.

"A lot of the CSI disciplines are things that have been used and in place for some time and they are things you learn when you are in the academy," said Lieberman told the Palladium-Item . "But at the CSI school, we got more in-depth training. When you go through the academy you just scratch the surface."

Even with the extra training and tips from CSI experts who made presentations, gathering evidence that can be used to prosecute a crime is not a guarantee.

"We learned a lot of techniques and we have some new gadgets that are used to collect evidence, but it is just not that easy. I wish it was," Longnecker said. "I have been doing this for years and have done a lot of fingerprints and had a lot of them rejected. Getting a fingerprint that is perfect - I have done that maybe four times."

The local officers were provided training in collecting fingerprints and DNA, and they also received extensive training in photographing and diagramming a crime scene.

"They train you on the procedures that (the Indiana State Police) crime lab uses for analysis," Lieberman said. "They want to make sure you know what you are doing for that purpose.

"It is a 4-week class, 140 hours total. We were shown things like blood splatter interpretation. There was a forensic anthropologist and a forensic entomologist. The instructors are fantastic. And I know four weeks sounds like a long time, but it could have easily been extended and we would have been kept very busy."

Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Shipman, in remarks before the two attended CSI school, said that enhanced evidence aids his office in the filing of charges and the trying of cases.

Shipman said juries expect more evidence now than ever. Longnecker adds that providing that evidence in a consistent manner is a key priority.

"I know the hope is to get detectives on the same page in how we collect evidence," Longnecker said. "They want to have everybody do it the same way so that when we collect evidence for court, the prosecutor's office knows exactly what they are getting every time."

Additionally, the training now allows both the Wayne County Sheriff's Department and the Richmond Police Department to share some resources in investigating crimes.

Soon after the officers returned from training, Lieberman assisted Richmond police in the investigation of a man found dead of a knife wound. After investigation, Mark Mikesell was arrested and charged with murder in the death of Patrick Perkins.

"He has helped us on two major cases already," Longnecker said of Lieberman. "And as time goes on, you will see more and more of that - we are still in the baby stages of what is happening."

Wayne County Sheriff Jeff Cappa and Richmond Police Chief Kris Wolski say they are pleased with the early results of having two trained and certified crime scene investigators. They say other departments in the county will also be able to use the investigators for crimes they are working.

"The most important thing about the CSI guys is having the right tools and equipment and then having the proper training to use those tools," said Wolski. "We knew going into it that you have what Mike Shipman calls the 'CSI effect' - juries see things on TV and they expect the same things in court.

Some of it is possible and really exists, some of it is skewed a little bit, and some of it just isn't possible. But we are happy to narrow the gap so that we get less and less questioning as to why we don't have evidence."