PEABODY — For four days, over a dozen kids had the opportunity to be crime scene investigators at the police department.
As a part of the Peabody Police CSI Camp, 14 children between the ages of 10-13 spent their week learning about every aspect of law enforcement, with an emphasis on investigation and safety. The program, which is running for the 10th time in 12 years, shows the kids different aspects of police work with the hopes of inspiring them to pursue it as a career.
Activities included introductions to the canine unit, a tour of the police department building and its cells, firearms and explosives safety lessons, and forensic evidence collection. The program culminates in a mock crime scene where the kids are taken through the process of investigation.
“We introduce them to [three] different canines…. We’ve introduced them [to] different styles of the police department from firearm safety to the Bomb Squad to the dive team on how we gather evidence and secure chain of custody … we’re trying to teach them all that … because the stuff they see on TV is not how it really goes,” said School Resource Officer Eric Ricci.
Ryan Champigny, 10, said he was drawn to the program because he wants to become an officer in the future.
“I know a lot of people from the Peabody force and they’re very kind to me and I’m glad [about that],” Champigny said.
On Wednesday, the campers met with the State Police Bomb Squad. They learned about what a Bomb Squad does, had the chance to meet a police dog named Jager, and saw a demonstration of one of the state’s Boston Dynamics robot dogs, Roscoe. The kids also learned about bomb technician gear and what to do when they see something that may be an explosive.
The second half of the day was spent learning about forensic evidence gathering. Detectives Matt Mason, Tim Sullivan, and Dave Bettencourt showed the kids evidence containers and markers, cameras, a battering ram, and discussed chain of custody.
Afterward, Sullivan taught the campers the history and modern use of fingerprints as evidence and showed the students a video about how to collect fingerprints. The detectives brought the kids to the booking area and demonstrated how to take fingerprints with the computer system. The campers then took their own fingerprints with ink and paper and analyzed the patterns.
The Bomb Squad was a hit with the campers. Champigny said learning about bomb technicians was his favorite part.
“All their gear is pretty cool,” he said.
That sentiment was echoed by Avery Marcus, who said, “My favorite part so far was the Bomb Squad…. I thought the robot dog was cool.”
Another camper, Avery Harnois, said, “I liked that because the dogs were pretty cool.”
Ricci said that the effects of this camp go beyond just teaching kids about crime scene investigation.
“The biggest thing is the social aspect — getting the kids together, getting them talking, they’re from different parts of the city, a lot of them have different interests. We’re hoping down the road that, by this class, we’ll help them become police officers.”
“They get to see first hand what the job’s all about, we really wanna show them that police are not more about running around arresting people, it’s more of the friendly part,” he continued.
Emma Fringuelli can be reached at [email protected].
