Students Gain Real-World Experience with ScenePD

Rande Repp retired from the police force after 25 years of service and pivoted his career towards teaching criminal justice students at Bethany College. As the Department Chair for the Criminal Justice Department, he teaches some of the upper-level courses, like CJ379, Forensic Mapping. This course is designed to be an introduction to the techniques and skills used by forensic professionals, and it has been enhanced with the integration of Trancite’s ScenePD software.

Students enrolled in CJ379, Forensic Mapping at Bethany College

When thinking of improvements for this course, Repp started looking for an easy-to-learn diagramming and field reporting tool that would also have the added benefit of being a marketable skill his students could add to their resumes. He remembered using ScenePD during his days with the Salina, Kansas Police. It was simple, easy to pick up and immediately start using, intuitive, and created quick and accurate diagrams. ScenePD was the perfect solution.

Now, his students not only learn how to manually sketch crime and accident scenes using graphing paper and protractors, but they can also quickly accomplish the same tasks using ScenePD. Every week, a new scene is created for class, and his students get to work – diagramming, reporting, and collecting evidence for their final scene reports.

Some of their favorite features include the image overlays, drag-and-drop symbols, and the ease of use. Image overlays have been incredibly helpful when teaching the class how to trace curblines for their “old school” diagramming lessons. While these pen and paper methods aren’t frequently used in the field, it’s a necessary skill that is still utilized during court proceedings, so an officer can back up their software drawing and prove it is legitimate.

Bethany College students "work the scene" collecting and processing data and evidence

With only a few classes under their belt this semester, ScenePD has already helped the student’s diagram and report on fictional outdoor situations, like an out-of-control car in a parking lot that impacts a light pole and indoor situations like an assault at a party.

“These are real skills and situations that they will encounter when they start their careers. I also like that they can put ScenePD on their resume as a skill they already know and are trained on.” States Repp.

With a teacher that has so much real-world experience, and a course that provides hands-on learning, it’s no wonder this is a popular and highly attended course at Bethany College. With the integration of ScenePD, these criminal justice students will have a leg up on their peers when they enter the workforce.