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Investigators get crime scene brushup By SUE WATSON
Staff Writer  | Photo by Sue Watson
Lifting prints
From
left, Major Kelly McMillen, investigator Bo Jones, investigator Tracy
Jeffries and officer Mark Beryman look at a very successfully raised
handprint on a vehicle treated as if it were part of a crime scene. |
Eight
investigators got some refresher time and new officers the basics of
crime scene investigation recently at home in the Holly Springs Police
Department conference room. The class was
taught by veteran Memphis police officer Mark Beryman, who brings 23
years in law enforcement and 10 years of crime scene investigation to
the table. The 40 hours of basic crime scene
training was paid for by the Marshall County Board of Supervisors and
hosted by the sheriff’s department, said sheriff Kenny Dickerson. He
expressed his appreciation that the training was made available at
home. Departments save on travel expenses and more investigators can
take the course when it is offered at home, he said. The
convenience of holding training at home saves travel money and more
investigators can take the training, since, if out-of-town travel is
required, some investigators would have to remain at home to cover
calls, Dickerson said. Beryman said officers
learned the basics of lifting fingerprints, securing the scene,
collecting and processing crime scene evidence, and how to document
crime scene evidence with photographs, reports and sketches. “That’s what the whole class is about,” he said. “This is the exact same training the Memphis Police Department gets.” Municipalities
like Holly Springs and Byhalia are required to provide 16 hours a year
of training for police officers while investigators at the Marshall
County Sheriff's Department far exceed that number of hours a year in
training, said major Kelly McMillen with the sheriff’s office. “We
want to thank Chief Pearson for letting us use the Holly Springs Police
Department facility,” McMillen said. “The narcotics and sheriff’s
investigators thank Sheriff Dickerson for this opportunity to continue
our education.” Chief Robert Pearson said his department was happy to provide training space. “We are just happy to share our resources; we are all on the same team,” he said. The
Holly Springs Police Department is in a new facility equipped with the
latest technology and provided with quality space for law enforcement
operations.
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