Youths turn sleuths at Slippery Rock library event
SLIPPERY ROCK — Criminology students of Slippery Rock University took third- through fifth-grade students beyond the police tape into the world of investigation Wednesday afternoon at Slippery Rock Community Library.
Last fall, library director Tiffany Frampton started the Detective Club for younger students to explore the field of police work. Professor Jeffrey Roth of the criminology and criminal justice department at SRU decided the club would be a good opportunity for his students to give back sharing their knowledge.
“I heard about it and the amount of work it took and thought I could solicit student volunteers,” he said. “They’re doing it out of the goodness of their hearts. It’s not for credit. It’s just community.”
The goal of the club is to introduce the younger generation to investigative strategy.
“Overall, it’s to get kids interested and engaged with kinds of thinking detectives might do. I’ve given students a wide latitude in deciding how they want to do it,” Roth said.
The college students set up stations where children tried fingerprinting, foot printing and collecting evidence at a marked crime scene. Eager to step past the police tape, the young detectives received a notebook to write down clues they found important in the case of a missing student I.D.
Senior criminology major Jenah Kauffman said she and her classmates have been preparing the activities since January.
“I think this has taught us creativity by taking what we’ve learned and making it something kids can understand,” she said. “There’s a lot of little clues in the crime scene. In today’s world, people think crimes are solved over night. This will give them a better understanding of the field.”
Kauffman said she’s excited to see the students reaction’s to the event.
“As a criminology student, this excites me,” she said. “I remember the first time I fingerprinted, I was excited.”
Roth said his students use similar activities in their college-level classes.
“They’re making use of their knowledge of proper procedures in investigating. Some have taken (these) classes because they want to work with minors in the justice system,” he said.
Parent Shelley Courtney said she appreciated her two children learning about critical thinking during the activities.
“They have a lot of fun with it and learn a lot of cool things,” she said. “It’s also a great way to support the library.”
Frampton said she loves seeing life in the library through different activities like the Detective Club.
“The college students are showing a different type of science that’s not usually talked about, and it’s a very important kind the kids can use in the future,” she said. “(The college student’s) enthusiasm is contagious. What I thought would be a six week program turned into part of every semester.”
