UVU opens CSI house to train students, officers
A woman takes a photograph of the fake crime scene during the ribbon cutting for the new crime scene investigation house at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, April 21, 2017. The new house, which looks normal from the outside will be used to train students and officers for crime scene investigations. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
Spectators look at the new houses features during the ribbon cutting for the new crime scene investigation house at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, April 21, 2017. The new house, which looks normal from the outside will be used to train students and officers for crime scene investigations. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
Megan Carter takes an imprint of a footprint during the ribbon cutting for the new crime scene investigation house at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, April 21, 2017. The new house, which looks normal from the outside will be used to train students and officers for crime scene investigations. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
A demonstration of inferred light is used during the ribbon cutting for the new crime scene investigation house at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, April 21, 2017. The new house, which looks normal from the outside will be used to train students and officers for crime scene investigations. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
Fake evidence is displayed during the ribbon cutting for the new crime scene investigation house at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, April 21, 2017. The new house, which looks normal from the outside will be used to train students and officers for crime scene investigations. SAMMY JO HESTER, Daily Herald
A scene from inside the crime scene investigation house at Utah Valley University in Orem. A ribbon cutting for the new learning space was held on Friday, April 21, 2017.
The home at 1138 S. 400 West in Orem has a nefarious reputation. It’s the location of break-ins, drug busts and homicides, to name a few.
Only none of it is real.
“It’s rare in a university setting that you can have a facility like this,” said Amie Houghton, an assistant professor of forensic science at Utah Valley University in Orem.
The home used to be office space for the university and is now a crime scene investigation house where forensic science students can learn how to document a crime scene. The home will also be used to train police officers and cadets.
The two-bedroom, one-bathroom house has cameras in every room so instructors can watch students process a crime scene via the video feed in the garage, which is still an office.
The official ribbon cutting and open house for the home was Friday morning, with different forensic techniques on display.
Before the use of the home, students had to document the scenes from a classroom. In the home, which has been filled with furniture and items to make it look like it’s a real domicile, they’re able to try their hands in a real-life situation.
“When we’re in a classroom, there’s nothing to search through,” Houghton said.
Now, they can rifle through drawers and boxes to find items.
The home looks lived-in, from pictures on display, to magazines by the bed, to clothes in the closet, to a chore chart in the kitchen and boxes of cereal on top of the non-functioning refrigerator.
The students will be able to investigate a variety of staged crimes there. There are even holes drilled into the walls to mimic bullet holes.
The students are excited to begin doing work in the home.
“This is what we geek out about,” said Sheree Cochran, a senior pursuing a degree in criminal justice at UVU.
For Sadie Lopez, a junior studying forensic science, it allows her learning to be more hands-on.
“I’m a very visual learner, so seeing how it works helps me,” Lopez said.
With her eye on growing the forensic science program, Houghton hopes the home will help do that.
“It is invaluable,” she said.
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