Johanne Egeland, Guest CJRC Undergraduate Writer
My tour of the Ohio’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) in London, Ohio, was a wonderful experience. As a criminology major, I have multiple peers who have had internships through the BCI, so I have always been interested in visiting. It is located in what seems to be the middle of nowhere, and I thought I was lost until I finally saw the building. Once we got in the building, we had to sign in, show our IDs and then we received visitors badges and waited for one of the BCI employees to escort us through the tour.
Throughout the tour, we visted two sections of the BCI. First, we saw where they test DNA and other substances from crime scenes or evidence. Luckily, because I have a minor in forensic science, I was able to see some of the different tests I learned about in class. After seeing some of the labs, we toured the section where they test firearms, handwriting and different drugs. In the drug lab, the scientists need to wear masks most of the time because they may not know what they are dealing with.
During the second half of our tour, we saw where BCI staff compare fingerprints. The employees demonstrated for us, step by step, what they do on their computers, and I was able to learn about the different types of fingerprint ridges and how the employees figure out if a fingerprint is a match or not. After showing us this process, they took us to the area where they keep all of the records, and showed us how they store them.
After I graduate in the spring, I plan on going to law school. Although I’m not completely decided on what type of law I plan on practicing, I am leaning more towards criminal law, especially because of the BCI tour and the other opportunities the College of Arts and Sciences has given me.
