BALTIMORE — The summer months can be a slow time for teenagers. One group of high schooler's are getting first-hand experience in the forensic science field. Thanks to the Baltimore Police Department and Loyola University Maryland, these kids gain experience at no cost.
"It's super great getting into these programs and getting to learn these things so early on," said Flynn Harrington, an upcoming 12th grader.
She is one of 16 teens at this year's forensic science camp.
For the first time ever, BPD is partnering with the university exposing these eager minds to the forensic science world.
"I was happy because I know that forensics is the thing that I wanna do when I'm in college and later in my life. So, I believe that me being here will improve my skills when I get there," says Malachi Smith, an incoming junior.
Both Smith and Harrington are relishing the opportunity to develop skills that teach how to observe a crime scene, work a death investigation, and get an up-close look into DNA typing, fingerprinting and ballistics.
"Me and my forensic science teacher geeked out over it cause he knows this is what I want to do in the future," says Harrington. "Hopefully it'll give me an advantage in the future when I'm actually doing this stuff."
This camp has also cleared up many misconceptions about forensic science these teens might've had before coming here.
"I think what they portray on TV is sort of accurate and sort of not accurate. Their timing is really off in my opinion. Just in general because sometimes they get results really quickly, but in reality it takes a lot longer," says Smith.
That is a one of the biggest takeaways forensic scientist Teri Labbe wants these children to walk away with once camps ends this week.
"Our goal is we hope that they love this field. But, our goal is also showing them realistically what it is. So, if it's not what they thought it's going to be, they don't spend $80,000 on a college degree doing something that they thought they wanted to do in reality they didn't want to do it," says Labbe.
Maybe the best thing about this camp for the kids involved, all of this comes at no cost.
"These camps do typically cost between $1,000 and $4,000 for students to come, but that was not our goal. We wanted the kids to actually experience this," says Labbe.
BPD and Loyola University hope to continue this camp for kids well into the future.
If you would like to learn how you can sign your kid up for this camp next summer, email Labbe at 4nc.outreach@baltimorepolice.org.
