New software revolutionises student studies
Students studying Forensic at Warrington Collegiate are enjoying the benefits of the revolutionary new software specifically designed for them by Paul Johnson, Lecturer in Forensics.
Paul has recently developed a series of software packages to analyse results from potential crime scenes for the exclusive use of his students explaining that it was a simplified version of that used by the experts.
Students were enthusiastic about this new ground breaking technology and using real-life data they launched their own investigation into a local house fire.
“No other course has this software, enthused student Shauna faye Mepham, from Birchwood, this has been written specifically for the students. It really makes a difference to the course. It’s an exciting way to learn and so interesting”
Paul explained “This is a first for our students and is a great way of teaching fire Forensics Technology and Photography.
Paul was especially keen to ensure that the students were involved at every stage of this exciting, new technology, from research to testing and going live. He is busy increasing the range of technology available for Android smart phones and laptops.
Forensics student, Jess Adams, from Westy, was fascinated by the time of death calculation, explaining that it involves taking the temperature of the body and the surroundings as well as noting the condition the body was found in. Jess added, “Then we feed in the results and it tells you to within 6 hours when that person died.”
Another exciting development from Paul was the skid analysis which uses information including the condition of the car, tyres, road and the time of the crash. Students tested this using the recent M5 crash data available and found it to give results accurate to within those taken by the police.
Forensics student, Stacey Spiers, from Orford, who was involved in the design of the graphics for the android software for smartphones, explained “The great thing is that it can be downloaded onto a smart phone and used anywhere in the field.”
Students interested in a career in Forensics can come along to one of Warrington Collegiate’s Open Evenings on Tuesday 27th March 2012 or Thursday 17 May 2012 to learn about this exciting course and careers in Forensic Science.
