Challenge - Spring/Summer 2012 - Tiffin University

National Criminal Justice Honorary
The Tiffin University Alpha Epsilon Kappa Chapter of Alpha
Phi Sigma (APS) inducted 16 new members into the national
criminal justice honorary society in December.
APS recognizes academic
excellence of both undergraduate
and graduate students of
criminal justice. Its goals are to
honor and promote academic excellence, community service,
educational leadership, and unity. APS is the only criminal
justice honor society which is a certified member of The Association
of College Honor Societies and affiliated with The
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
“Tiffin University’s local chapter of APS has set their
expectations for excellence higher than the national standard.
This was a conscious decision by TU’s criminal justice students--
to bring attention to Tiffin University’s outstanding criminal
justice programs and its most scholarly students,” says Dr. Jeff
Stockner, Professor of Criminal Justice and APS Advisor.
Mock Crime Scene
Two victims were on the ground, bullet casings were scattered
around the yard, guns were nearby and yellow tape was
stretched across the scene.
It was another day in the life of Tiffin University students
learning about various situations within the criminal justice field.
Don Joseph, an Adjunct Professor of Criminal Justice
and a Sergeant at the Seneca County Sheriff’s Office, and
Scott Blough, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and
Security Studies, led students in a criminal investigations class
through an exercise in drawing sketches of the mock crime
scene in April.
“Now they’re actually putting practice to the theory—our
goal is to give students real experience and to have them turn
in a crime scene sketch,” Joseph said.
Students took measurements of the crime scene and
made rough sketches while participating in the activity, and
they were to draw nicer sketches later.
“They’ll list out the measurements,”
said Joseph.
Additionally, TU students
visited John’s Welding
& Towing to learn how to
process a vehicle involved
in a crime or accident. The
activity involved students dividing
into teams to inspect
a previously wrecked green
four-door Saturn. The car had
mud on its tires, deployed
airbags, scratches and a bent
rim. Students were asked to
examine the car, do blood
analysis and scrape some of
the paint.
TU Professor Michael
Lewis, a retired police officer,
said people assume the car had been involved in a crash
but questioned whether there was more to the story. There
are a lot of variables if there is no body or if there is no one
to talk to, he said. “Sometimes, things aren’t always as they
appear,” he said.
Lewis told students a vehicle is mobile, and investigators
need to see how it ended up at its current location. “We
have to look beyond where this is at,” he said.
This article appeared, in part, in The Advertiser-Tribune
CampusScene
The Operations Director for Franklin County Coroner’s
Office, Timothy Fassette, spoke to students about forensic toxicology
and its application in the field in March. Fassette had attendees identify
the cause of death from several toxicology reports to demonstrate how one
should not assume things and fully investigate every possibility.
He recommended that students do four things to prepare themselves for
a career in forensic toxicology. Fassette told those in attendance to, “always
check out every possible situation” when investigating a death. He also
advised them to learn as much about chemistry, pharmacology, investigations
and pathology as possible. Finally, he told students to, “never stop learning”
by going to conferences, seminars and training during their career.
SPRING / SUMMER 2012 | CHALLENGE | 25