UNL forensic science professors present workshops in Nigeria

Someone was murdered today. Police were crawling over the neighborhood, collecting evidence and taking statements.

The case can be solved. Investigators will deliver evidence to the lab, profile the DNA gathered at the scene and run the fingerprints through the Automated Fingerprint Identification System. There should be a match.

This could be a scene out of just about any of television's hit crime dramas. Today, forensic television is a staple of prime-time TV.

But investigating a murder can be much more difficult when there is no AFIS, no DNA database and no fancy equipment.

This may sound like a blast from some time long past, but it's not. This is the reality in places such as Nigeria, where several University of Nebraska-Lincoln graduate students and faculty traveled recently.

Their aim: to promote a better understanding of forensic science and crime scene management.

Last July, assistant professor of forensic sciences David Carter; professor of forensic science Karl Reinhard; professor of entomology Leon Higley and adjunct associate professor Sgt. Larry Barksdale of the Lincoln Police Department traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, to present workshops on various aspects of forensic science in conjunction with Lagos State University.

In Nigeria, many crimes go unsolved because of a lack of adequate equipment and training. Very rarely do police take fingerprints; there is no DNA lab, and there is only one ballistics expert in the country.

Besides inadequate equipment, lack of regular training also inhibits investigations.

"The experience was truly foreign," Carter said.

Nigerians are excited for the opportunities presented to them through the program, Carter said. At the workshop, the venue was packed with several hundred people, excited, passionate and ready to make changes.

"We were received like royalty," Carter said. "The overall atmosphere was electric … the visual experience was one of disorganization and lack of infrastructure. The human experience was one of hope and enthusiasm."

While in Lagos, Carter presented lectures on bloodstain pattern analysis, trace evidence and impression evidence.

Gary Brewer, head of the department of entomology, said UNL is hoping for a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship and exchange program with the Lagos university. The program would allow graduate students at the university's College of Medicine to travel to UNL for training in the forensic sciences.

Brewer and Carter said they are both looking forward to continuing distance courses and workshops for use at both Lagos and UNL.

"This arrangement will benefit UNL because it will allow us to grow together," Carter said. "We must approach our partnership as an opportunity to learn from one another and help one another.

"If we do that, we should be able to improve the quality of life in both societies and, hopefully, many more around the world."

ashleyburns@dailynebraskan.com