Decatur detective completes National Forensics Academy
Decatur Police Department announced on Nov. 16 that Det. Timothy Hutchings graduated from the National Forensics Academy in Oak Ridge, Tenn.
Hutchings works in the Criminal Investigation Division as a Crime Scene Investigator and serves as the first National Accredited Crime Scene Investigator for Decatur Police Department.
The National Forensic Academy is an intensive 10-week training program funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and is designed to meet the needs of law enforcement agencies in evidence identification, collection and preservation. The NFA is offered in-residence, utilizing curriculum developed by leading forensic practitioners from across the United States.
Participants are challenged in the various disciplines through classroom instruction, lab activities and field practicums in the specialized courses, and must complete written and in-class competency exams to demonstrate mastery of the subject areas.
The goal of the Academy is to prepare crime scene investigators to recognize key elements and improve the process of evidence recovery and submission.
NFA curriculum is composed of 400 hours of training per session with 170 hours in-class and 230 hours in the field.
During the course of the 10 weeks, students are responsible for several educational objectives including, quizzes, tests, case files, research papers and other hands-on experiences.
At the end of the course, students must complete a written post-test and a comprehensive practical final.