This talk outlines an innovative way of teaching the topic of crime scene investigation within the area of forensic science, incorporating the use of Google Earth and also a newly developed app called “Crime Scene Assistant”, which was created by forensic practitioners to provide forensic awareness to first responders. This interactive resource creates an engaging experience where students can demonstrate problem solving and critical thinking skills in a virtual crime scene scenario, however this could also be utilised for other thematic areas of study. The scenario consists of an investigative narrative of how a crime scene investigator approaches and manages a crime scene, which students can follow and evaluate using the Crime Scene Assistant App. The Google Earth crime scene is a freely available online resource and the App can be purchased on the App store meaning both can be used as a teaching and learning tool accessible by teachers and students. The students that were involved in the workshop enjoyed the opportunity to learn in a different way and stated that it was a great supporting activity and tool that assisted in developing their learning and understanding of future practical elements of the Forensic Science Masters course.

Content note: While this content does not contain images of crime scenes, it may contain discussions of crimes that could be distressing.

You can explore the Google Earth Crime Scene here : https://earth.google.com/earth/d/1lYPVNAUwLrht96MJRH0uUPfElkWpK1Uc?usp=sharing