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Getting to the Core of Evidence
By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal
Greenwood, SC – The role of a crime scene technician is critical in solving many crimes.
Whether it pertains to collecting fingerprints, gathering potential DNA evidence or simply preserving the crime scene as much as possible for investigators and others, the forensics work done by crime scene technicians is a vital portion of the criminal justice process.
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Now, the Greenwood Police Department has an officer who is nationally certified in forensics and crime scene investigation: Sgt. Kenya Griffin.
Griffin, a native of the Belton-Honea Path area, has been with the Greenwood Police Department for about 7 1/2 years. Since 2008, she has been the department's evidence and crime scene technician.
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Greenwood Police Sgt. Kenya Griffin looks through items in the department’s evidence office. Griffin recently completed a 10-week course at the National Forensics Academy. (Chris Trainor | Index-Journal)
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"I'm basically responsible for any evidence that the officers turn in, for court purposes," Griffin said. "I process whatever needs to be processed of what they turn in that has been collected from a scene. I also go out to any major crime scenes and do processing and photography for that."
The officer recently bolstered her training in forensics and scene processing, as she completed a 10-week course at the National Forensics Academy in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Greenwood Police Chief Gerald Brooks lauded Griffin’s completion of her course work at the academy and noted she is a certified crime scene investigator.
“The National Forensics Academy is a challenging and demanding program, so we are all very proud of Sgt. Griffin,” Brooks said. “Also, we are especially proud that she has achieved the status of Certified Crime Scene Investigator by the International Association for Identification. She is one of only 20 active law enforcement officers in this state to hold that certification.”
While attending the forensics academy, Griffin said she got training in photography, crime scene processing, advanced fingerprint recovery, crime scene sketching and diagramming, blood stain analysis and many other aspects of forensics.
The National Forensics Academy is often referred to among its students as the “Body Farm.” Numerous people agree to donate their bodies to the academy after death, so students there can conduct research hone their skills in forensics and crime scene processing.
“It was pretty interesting,” Griffin said of the Body Farm. “When you go to the facility, there are anthropology students who do projects there, seeing how weather decomposes a body and things of that nature. There are bodies on top of the ground, so they can study how they decompose. They also have bodies that they buried, so they could teach how to extract a body from a grave.”
As a crime scene investigator, Griffin said she often gets questions from friends and others who wonder if her job is anything like what is portrayed on popular TV shows, such as “CSI” and “CSI: Miami.”
The officer said the differences are vast.
“The biggest thing is that we don’t get instant results like they show on ‘CSI,’” Griffin said with a smile. “Also, we don’t have a lot of the fancy equipment they show on TV.”
Brooks said he is proud of Griffin and appreciates what she brings to the GPD.
“Sgt. Griffin is a quiet professional,” the chief said. “She does her work conscientiously and expertly, without fanfare. Her abilities in the field of forensics enable us to be a more efficient, effective police department as we strive to keep this community safe.
“We are fortunate to have her.”
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