• In December 2017, the Department of Criminal Justice introduced the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) concentration within the Criminal Justice major.
• Working in partnership with the former director of the I-MCFSA, the multidisciplinary curriculum has been designed to prepare students for jobs as crime scene technicians.
• Our instructors are professionals in the field, from current and former police officers to agents with the I-MCFSA.
• The concentration serves as excellent supplemental training to anyone interested in law enforcement or it can equip graduates to seek positions in the growing field of civilian crime scene technicians.
• Recent CSI graduates have gotten jobs with the I-MCFSA, the Marion County Coroner’s Office, and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
• Students have also completed successful internships with the above agencies.

• In 2018, the Department of Criminal Justice opened the Criminal Justice Education Lab, the first university-run crime house of its kind in the state of Indiana.
• In 2022, the lab moved to its new location at 1514 Castle Avenue, an entire house dedicated to hands-on training in crime scene investigations. The Education lab is used in two of the criminal justice courses, CRIM 210 Criminal Investigation and CRIM 320 Criminalistics.
• The Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency (I-MCFSA) also uses the lab to train and test new agents, offering our students a unique opportunity to see real agents in action.

• UIndy Criminal Justice Students Get Hands-on Forensic Science Training (CBS 4)
  UIndy criminal justice students get hands-on forensic science training.
• Training future forensic scientists at UIndy's crime scene house (WRTV)
  Students here learn to find and collect evidence just as the would if they land a job in host of forensic science fields.
• Criminal justice brings new facility, faculty to campus (UIndy 360)
  Criminal justice is a growing, in-demand field and the University of Indianapolis is preparing students to meet those needs.
• CSI UIndy: School to use vacant house for forensic studies lab (Indianapolis Business Journal)
  Students enrolled in UIndy’s criminal justice program will benefit as well, by experiencing mock crime scenes in a realistic setting instead of a classroom.
• UIndy looking to turn vacant home into mock crime scene lab for students (CBS4 Indy)
  “We are always trying to create new experiential hands-on learning experiences for our students,” said Dr. Kevin Whiteacre, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Criminal Justice.
• UIndy looking to turn vacant home into mock crime scene lab for students (FOX59 Indy)
  Criminal justice students at the University of Indianapolis may soon get some hands-on experience that most colleges can’t offer.
• Crime Lab Benefits Multiple Agencies, Page 5 (UIndy Portico, Winter/Spring 2019)
  The Criminal Justice Education Lab, launched in 2017, is a dedicated facility for simulating crime scene investigations while serving as a training ground for local professionals through the Indianapolis-Marion County Forensic Services Agency (IMCFSA).
• Student Interns helping IMCFSA with cold cases (UIndy 360)
  UIndy Criminal Justice students have been working with the Marion County Forensic Services Agency surveying cold case homicides that have National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) criteria evidence which has not yet been entered into NIBIN (criteria evidence would include fired cartridge cases and test fires from firearm of certain calibers).

With a Master of Science in Human Biology from UIndy, you can enter with broad interests in human variation and discover the specialization that is right for you. The UIndy program is one of only a few of its kind in the United States, combining elements of forensic science and biological anthropology to prepare you to work in forensic laboratories, death investigation, anatomy instruction or biomedical research and allowing you to hone your skills in the classroom and out in the field. As a part of our program, you will receive training to assist in fieldwork and laboratory analyses through our Human Identification Center, conduct hands-on research and obtain valuable teaching experience. With this solid foundation, you can transition directly into the workforce or move on to doctoral work in anthropology or anatomy.

The primary mission of the Human Identification Center is to provide expert forensic anthropology consulting services for local, state, national, and private medicolegal agencies, in order to identify unknown decomposed or skeletonized descendants and to discern the circumstances of their death. We provide rigorous forensic anthropology training to Human Biology students at the graduate level, thereby investing in the future of the discipline. Another mission of the Human Identification Center is to study the longevity and transfer of DNA and to elucidate the conditions under which DNA can and cannot be used for inclusionary or exclusionary purposes in forensic contexts. The umbrella under which we execute our mission goals is known in sum as the Forensic Outreach Program. The Forensic Outreach Program and mission activities are consistent with and reinforce the University of Indianapolis’ motto of “Education for Service”.

Students interested in forensic anthropology, death investigation or pursuing the route of autopsy technician receive training from board certified forensic anthropologists and experts in their fields. Courses and extracurricular opportunities prepare students for crime scene processing using forensic archeological techniques, skeletal analysis using best practices in the field of forensic anthropology and human dissection.  Trained students get the opportunity to assist in forensic casework and outreach activities through the Human Identification Center. Coursework and training are aimed at preparing students for board certification in the field of forensic anthropology or working in a related field surrounding death investigation.  Check out some of the following news stories highlighting the forensic anthropology work done by the Human Identification Center.

Students interested in forensic DNA and forensic science benchwork receive training from experts in the field of forensic DNA. Courses and extracurricular activities prepare students for evidence handling, following chain of custody procedures, trial testimony, DNA extraction from hard tissues and swabs, and DNA profile interpretation. Trained students get the opportunity to assist in forensic casework and outreach activities through the Human Identification Center. Coursework and training are aimed at preparing students for careers in forensic biology laboratories or research laboratory settings.

• CSI UIndy: Study Shows Secondary DNA Can Wind Up At Crime Scenes (Indianapolis Star)
  If a person’s DNA is found at a crime scene, that person had to have been in that room, jurors might assume. But that assumption might well be false, a recent University of Indianapolis study that started as a class project indicates.
• Meet Dr. Krista Latham, Forensic Anthropologist (Beyond Borders)
  UIndy has a forensic anthropology program housed within a biology department. This allows the Human Biology Graduate Faculty to emphasize an anthropological approach while utilizing the scientific method.
• Forensics professor helps ID migrants (USA Today)
  For University of Indianapolis professor Krista Latham, the field of forensics isn't just science. It's also human rights. The anthropologist and four of her graduate students recently spent a week at a rural Texas cemetery, helping exhume the bodies of unidentified migrants buried there.
• Immigration: A Journey of Death (NUVO)
  In the deep south of Brooks County, Texas, forensic anthropologist Dr. Krista Latham and her team of students from the University of Indianapolis organized and led students from Baylor University on an excavation dig. UIndy’s team taught their college volunteers about the basics of forensic digging techniques to ensure the preservation of their projects.
• Dozens of Bodies Found in Mass Grave Near South Texas Border Crossing (Washington Post)
  “To me it’s just as shocking as the mass grave that you would picture in your head, and it’s just as disrespectful,” University of Indianapolis forensic anthropologist Krista Latham told the Caller-Times. Latham and Baylor University anthropologist Lori Baker led a team that exhumed the bodies this month as part of a project aimed at identifying those who died.
• University of Indianapolis Human Identification Center Announces Partnership with Fishers Police Department to Interpret DNA Testing Results (UIndy 360)
  The University of Indianapolis, in conjunction with the Human Identification Center, announced today a partnership with the police department of the City of Fishers to provide rapid DNA testing result interpretation to help the agency more quickly identify victims of crimes or provide investigative direction.
• Missing in Brooks County Documentary Trailer
  Aired on PBS World Oct. 7 & 8