Teens tune in for CSI: Wolverhampton

The students were taught how to collect forensic evidence at a mock crime scene

Move over CSI Miami and Vegas - there's a new show in town: CSI Wolverhampton.

Well, sort of. While a programme certainly bears that name it is not one that can be watched on TV. Rather, it's an initiative in which West Midlands Police offers school pupils the chance to put on forensic gloves and poke around for clues in a fictional crime case.

Participants aged between 16 and 18 tried their hand at being crime scene investigators during a work experience placement this summer.

CSI: Wolverhampton, which included fingerprinting and DNA analysis as teens probed a specially constructed "crime scene", was launched in partnership with University of Wolverhampton.

Laura Thomas, forensic technical team lead at West Midlands Police, said the force wanted to give young people interested in science-based subjects an insight into how they feed into police work.

She said: "It was a pretty intensive course but they all responded brilliantly to the tasks we set them and from the feedback we've received, they really enjoyed the experience.

"Hopefully, we've persuaded some of them that helping to solve crimes through forensic science could be a career for them."

Abi Dobbinson, police outreach careers officer, said the force was to make opportunities in policing available to all, no matter their background.

She added: "Policing isn't just about the front-line operations that the public see.

"There are lots of exciting roles behind the scenes like forensics.

"There are also different routes into these jobs, and as well as giving young people a glimpse into our work, our summer school was also about encouraging them to look into the different career options that are open to them."