Class Location:
California Criminalistics Institute / Sacramento
Class Description:
This one-week (38-hour) course will provide students with a basic understanding of hair analysis. This class will cover the identification and comparison of human and animal hairs. Topics will include the evaluation of hair as evidence, microscopical identification features of human and animal hair and the evaluation of hair as DNA evidence. This course is intended for criminalists who identify hair and microscopically compare hairs to suspected sources and those who microscopically screen hairs for evidential value prior to DNA analysis. Each class is limited to 12 students. This course may be POST reimbursable, Plan IV - please call to confirm POST status.
Instructor:
Faye Springer, Sacramento District Attorney's Forensic Science Laboratory and Skip Palenik, President and Senior Research Microscopist, Microtrace, Elgin, IL
Teaching Methods:
Classroom lectures, PowerPoint presentations, video recordings, and practical workshops.
Objectives:
Students will be required to examine known and unknown hairs and document various properties, as well as pass a written test.
Prerequisites:
Recommended: Forensic Microscopy (M101) and familiarity with the polarizing microscope.
Preparation:
Pre-course reading material may be assigned.
Materials Fee:
$35.00 Materials fee will be charged to all non-BFS students. This charge is due at the beginning of the class. Make check(s) payable to the California Department of Justice.
Tuition:
Pending POST Certification, no cost to POST supported or State of California based Law Enforcement agencies. A $600.00 tuition fee will be required of all other public agency, private sector, or out-of-state applicants.
