If a visitor were to enter Ms. Sewell’s Forensics class at Bob Jones High School at about 10 in the morning on August 27th, they might find themselves walking in on a classroom of students with faces distorted in obvious horror, hands clamped over their mouths in attempt to hold down their rising breakfast, or maybe even a student bulldozing them over in hectic attempt to escape the grotesque sight on the SmartBoard. Through the midst of it all is Sergeant Drew Westrope, casually looking upon images of severed heads and burnt carcasses as if scrolling through his email.
Mr. Westope is Sergeant over an Investigation Unit where he visits active crime scenes and supervises, making sure all investigations run smoothly and all reports are accurate. So is actual crime scene investigation anything like popular shows like CSI, Law and Order, or Dexter? “Vaguely,” answered Sergeant Westrope. “Hollywood has a way of glamourizing things to give the appearance of two partners cracking a case almost completely solo, but there are many phases and teams involved with investigations. The First 48 is going to be your best bet for more realistic cases, because its actual real life investigations.” When asked if he had ever been placed in a dangerous situation like the ones on T.V., he replied, “Not really, the only thing I’ve ever worried about is if the offender will come back.”
What college degree does such a career require? Actually, Mr. Westrope’s degree has absolutely nothing to do with Forensic Sciences and was instead a B.S. in Business Administration, or International Business, though he has attended numerous law enforcement schools and graduated third in his class at the Alabama Police Academy in Selma, Alabama. Sergeant Westrope has been in the game for 25 years, and when asked if his career has changed him as a person, he says, “Of course, you become hardened from the scenes you have to walk in on, jaded from all the bad people in society you have to deal with. I’ve always sympathized for children and their cases the most, sometimes struggling to sleep from some of the things I’ve had to investigate regarding a child. Some of the hardest cases to crack are child abuse situations where it’s his or her word against there’s.” The field of forensics and crime scene investigation can be a tough job, but the members of these Madison teams are ready for anything, even all those body parts.
