On June 8, a group of students gathered at Santan Valley’s Poston Butte High School for an unusual demonstration of a staged school shooting aimed at learning about the criminal justice process and the various professionals involved in it. was broken
Students kept their distance when a man in a ski mask fled into the school atrium and pretended to fire a fake gun. Four volunteers playing gunshot victims were covered in fake blood. The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office cleaned the room and a team of paramedics responded.
Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer said, “There are huge resources coming together that really benefit the children.”
A youth CSI summer camp held by the Pinal County Attorney’s Office gave some 50 high school students an up-close look at a law enforcement career. Over three days, attendees from across the county learned many aspects of criminal investigations.
Volkmer said the program’s goal is for students to “understand how the justice system really works” and spark interest in a law enforcement career.
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The program, now in its second year, evolved from Poston Butte’s School of Forensic Medicine, founded by teacher Kayla Curry.
Curry, who has a background in law enforcement, said his course will be a “hands-on” experience for students interested in crime scene investigations. Many of our summer camp attendees take Kully’s classes. Youth CSI Summer Camp expands opportunities for students in Pinal County outside of Poston Butte to learn about forensics.
Summer camp kicked off Wednesday with classes teaching students the basics of forensic medicine.Thursday, they gathered evidence around the school after staged shootings. A sheriff’s deputy then arrested and questioned the suspect. On the last day of camp, a moot court was held at the Pinal County Superior Court, with some students serving as attorneys and jurors.
Professor Volkmer said such cases typically take 18 months to three years to reach trial, but students only had to wait a day to see witnesses take the stand. A quick timeline helps participants understand the many responsibilities in a law enforcement career.
“I want my kids to walk away with an understanding of what it entails before they decide to take up such a career,” Curry said.
Cody Dare, a young cadet with the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office, is back for this year’s summer program. This has given him a different perspective on how law enforcement works, he said. One day, he said, he too might become a kindergarten-to-high school police officer.
This is the first time a school shooting has occurred at the camp. Last year, the show tackled a scenario involving post-drug-dealing gun violence. Curry said the school shooting scenario makes sense for students who regularly participate in active shooting drills.
“Having a shooter inside a school building is very dangerous,” Curry said. “But that’s the reality of 2023.”
While gathering forensic evidence for their trial, the students were able to discuss what they had just seen and felt with licensed counselor Laura Wood. There are many ways a traumatic event can affect a person’s daily life, she says.
“You don’t have to be shot to be traumatized,” Wood said.
On the final day of the program, a jury of students found the defendant guilty of all four charges.
Contact information for reporters is: serena.lin@gannett.com and helen.rummel@gannettt.com.
