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Blood, bones and crime: Oak Ridge academy trains the best in forensics

David Ball # State
oak_ridge_academy

OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) -- Solving a crime is no easy task, but the students at the National Forensics Academy in Oak Ridge are getting the upper hand.

Three times a year, a class of only 28 participants undergoes 10 weeks of intensive forensic training. However, these aren't your average students: They're highly trained professionals looking to reach the top of their field.

"We do some photography here, some latent print impressions, we learn how to find scattered remains, identify certain bones in the body, the whole gamut, we learn it,"
US Army CID Special Agent Fiona Decaudin said.

Decaudin is joined at the academy by members of local law enforcement, state officials and even Texas Rangers, like Brian Burnie.

"Great hands-on training, in-depth training, we may not have access to in our state,"
Burnie said.

The students at the academy cover a wide variety of topics, including everything from shooting reconstruction to shoe print evidence, skeletal remains and blood stain pattern analysis.

Dan Anselment, NFA Training Consultant, said this top training came to the academy thanks to the University of Tennessee and Dr. Bill Bass, the founder of "The Body Farm" and still a frequent teacher. Anselment said Tennessee is leading the way for crime scene investigations.

"It takes up to 10 years to get this level of training you're getting in 10 weeks,"
Anselment explained.

Anselment said graduates of the academy are sought out for the most detailed cases, including the most recent: The shooting at an Antioch Waffle House that killed four people. Six graduates of the Oak Ridge program worked that case, and, as Anselment said, "[...] it was appreciated the skills they picked up here."

Instructors say the work done at the academy goes beyond getting a case to trial -- getting it right can make a difference in countless lives.

"Being a victim of crime, whether a loved one's been murdered or something has happened, it's important that each one of these officers is properly trained so that they can bring justice and closure for that victim and family."


To find more information about the NFA, visit the website here.