UNIVERSITY NEWS LAST UPDATED : 07 DECEMBER 2012
Budding crime detectives were asked to work out ‘whodunnit’ at a mock murder scene that was reconstructed at Birmingham’s NEC last month.
The mock crime scene formed part of the National Skills Show and was based on the fictional murder of four females around Birmingham between January and September 2011. Visitors were asked to analyse the crime scene evidence of the four murders to assess if any of the murders were linked in some way.
Using a reconstruction of the bedroom of the fourth victim, participants wore forensic crime scene officer clothing, walked through the reconstruction of the bedroom, and tried to understand aspects of the crime and the motives of the offender.
In an ‘incident room’ containing footage of the scene where the fourth victim’s body was deposited, as well as the other murders, participants assessed what may have happened to the victim and whether the murders were linked.
Professor Craig Jackson, Head of Psychology at Birmingham City University and creator of the mock murder scene, said: “The exercise will encourage visitors to consider psychology, criminology or forensics as a career path. We will give people the chance how to think and act like a police detective or forensic criminologist would, encouraging then to ask questions of the scene: Did the victim know the attacker? Was she killed in her room? Was the crime scene altered or staged in any way to hinder investigation?
“It proved to be a fun yet educational exercise, and we encouraged visitors to come along and have a crack at solving the crime themselves.”
The National Skills Show took place at Birmingham’s NEC, from Thursday 15 to Saturday 17 November.