CRIME LAB INTERN HAS SKILLS!​
Cedar City, Utah, March 23, 2017 – During the summer of 2016 from May to August, an undergraduate at Southern Utah University (SUU) named Preston Akagi took time to do an internship at the Utah state crime lab that is on-campus. Through this internship, he learned the skills of a forensic chemist from the senior forensic scientist at the crime lab. Those skills may help Preston to obtain a career as a forensic chemist and continue to help protect society.
Preston learned that there are many important skills that a forensic chemist needs to have. Proper documentation of evidence received and which tests were done is key. After receiving evidence, one needs to know which test to use with what type of evidence. A forensic chemist needs to have good interactions with police officers when evidence is transferred between the police department and the crime lab. Going to court and testifying about what you did in the lab is important too.
These documentation, chemical, and interpersonal skills are key to the judicial system. Accurate analysis of chemical evidence can help a jury to decide if someone is guilty or not guilty. That helps us in society to be more protected from guilty criminals. Also innocent people are more likely to not to be wrongfully condemned.
This internship was an EDGE project. EDGE is a program at SUU to help its students develop themselves to reach their goals by planning, doing, and reporting on a hands-on project of their own.
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Preston Akagi
801-867-9124