MPD’s Crime Scene Unit highlighted during National Forensic Science Week

MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) - National Forensic Science Week was created to bring recognition to those in the forensic science community, highlighting how critical they are for investigations.

“A couple recent cases where we had blood evidence that connected the suspect to the crime scene or suspect to the victim,” said Midland Police Department Crime Scene Unit Supervisor Rhiannon Fry.

Forensics are used on almost any call and scene ranging from a burglary to assault or homicide.

“We carry cameras, finger processing kits, we have tools that some people may have in their own sheds like hammers saws and were currently in the process of getting a 3D scanner that way we can scan our scenes and essentially we can have judges, juries, attorneys, basically do a walk through of the scenes and get an idea of what we see,” said MPD Crime Scene Investigator Selena Barrera.

MPD’s Crime Scene Unit is a team, with a required minimum of 800 hours of training, utilizing their knowledge in forensics to solve cases.

“Everyone in the Crime Scene Unit is actually a civilian so none of the individuals in the Crime Scene Unit are sworn, we don’t carry guns, so we are just regular people I guess,” said Fry.

Processing evidence can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, days or sometimes months if it’s sent off to a lab.

“There’s really no set limit as to what you’re looking for, anything that you can possibly find that could link a suspect to a case it’s all just as important,” said Barrera.

The unit is continuously undergoing classes such as fingerprint classes, bloodstain pattern analysis, shooting reconstruction, and more to keep their skills up.

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