The Catamount sculpture, the Yerba refrigerator handle in Cat Pause, and the Grundle ice cream bowls all share one thing in common: They’re covered in UVM student fingerprints.
Fingerprinting is just one example of the many forensic technologies UVM police use to solve campus investigations, said Detective Barry North.
“We’ve been investigating thefts (on campus),” North said. “Usually this is a combination of physical evidence such as DNA or fingerprints, eyewitness testimony and electronic evidence.”
Between 2021 and 2023, there were 39 burglaries on the UVM campus. 2023 UVM Annual Safety Report.
UVM police are the first to respond to this theft with three levels of evidence processing: patrol officers, detectives and non-police crime scene technicians, North said.
“The first priority at any crime scene is to protect the crime scene and make sure that any evidence is not destroyed,” North said. “(Evidence) can be destroyed by moving it, picking it up, touching it — anything like that.”
Responding patrol officers are tasked with securing the scene and beginning initial evidence collection. Police academies teach the basic concept of crime scene training, which includes searching for shell casings or processing DNA, North said.
Depending on the crime, the second level of evidence processing may involve a detective being called to the scene to make sure everyone is allowed in and out, North said.
Then, non-police crime scene technicians may be called in to assist if the scene is likely to take several hours to process, or if a higher level of expertise is required, such as in an incident with a lot of physical evidence. North said the Burlington Police Department has two of those technicians available for those situations.
At UVM, that level of skill is generally not needed because stolen property remains the most common crime at UVM, North said. If forensic biology, which analyzes biological material on a substance, is used in this investigation, it is a separate case.
“It depends on the value of the item. A $200 bike can’t be handled,” North said. “Car thefts are much more common – we get DNA evidence.”
Between 2021 and 2023, there were twenty car thefts in Burlington. 2023 UVM Annual Safety Report.
Chittenden County saw an increase in auto theft in 2024 March 26 WCAX article.
In these cases, UVM police have a car lot at their location to conduct a more extensive search for recovered vehicles. In carjacking crimes, officers look for DNA evidence or other materials to identify the perpetrator.
When a car is moved, a police officer must monitor the entire process to make sure the evidence is admissible in court, North said.
“A big part of forensics and crime scene investigation is not just the technique of wiping a piece of DNA, but paying attention to the detail of those pieces,” North said.
Sarah George, the Chittenden County District Attorney, will focus on these details in court to ensure the veracity of any evidence presented. The chain of custody, or paper trail of any evidence, is heavily monitored to ensure the evidence is admissible in court, he said.
“If we want to use (the phone) in the trial, we have to bring in the law enforcement officer who first took the phone (from the scene) … Then (a separate person) would have to come forward to testify and say, ‘I told you.’ the phone was trashed and I found this.”
According to George, phone scrapping refers to the process by which data on a mobile device is extracted to find evidence.
When it comes to forensic biology in Chittenden County, the rise of mobile devices has caused a significant shift to the use of digital forensics. According to George, Snapchat, phone downloads, text messages and Facebook are examples of forensics used to prove cases.
“It’s very rare that we deal with DNA, certainly in large cases,” George said. “Armed robbery, murder, or sexual assault, those kinds of cases almost always involve biological forensics.”
Here at UVM, students study DNA, fingerprint identification and more. For further study of related topics, have the option to take “Introduction to Forensic Biology”. The class fulfills the American Studies and Race and Racism requirements and will be offered in the spring semester of 2025.
“During the pandemic, I watched Criminal Minds and Law & Order and always picked up some interesting evidence,” said sophomore Leah Theroux, who is currently in the class. “When I found out this class was offered, I wanted to take it.”
According to Professor Linden Higgins, since the classes have been offered there, students have shown great interest in the classes.
“This class has been capped for about four years, even when it was 120 (student enrollment),” Higgins said.
Higgins said the course covers crime scene investigation, evidence collection techniques, and fingerprint and blood spatter analysis.
Throughout the semester, errors and mistakes in these areas will be kept in the center of the classroom. Systemic issues such as racism in the justice system and wrongful convictions are the subject of many conversations, Higgins said.
“The first thing that comes up in DNA typing is the frequency with which post-conviction DNA work reveals false convictions and that they have a racial fingerprint,” Higgins said. “I dove deeper and it became clear that this was really meant to be a critical thinking lesson.”
According to Higgins, the class analyzes individual cases every week, and 50% of them involved people from historically marginalized populations.
“I want people to be able to say, ‘If I’m looking for certainty and validity and realizing that these negative attitudes are happening in my brain and in the society around me, I can find a way to change,'” Higgins said.