Course Guide

Course Instructors:
Edmund (Ted) Silenieks
Omnium Forensics

Dr Mark Reynolds
Reynolds Forensic Training

Course Venue:
The course is offered annually in the USA, generally in late May, and as required in Canada either at the Ontario Police College, Aylmer, Ontario or at the RCMP Pacific Rim Training Centre in Chilliwack, British Columbia.

Instructors will also travel to your organisation to teach the course. Class numbers are generally capped at 12, but up to 15 can be negotiated.

Course Length:
5 days of face-to-face teaching, supplemented with a combined 40 hours of pre and post course work

Course Language:
English

General Information:

The course is an 80 hour course, with a 40 hour face to face component delivered over five consecutive days, Monday through Friday. Participants are required to be registered one month before the scheduled face to face component to allow them ample time to complete pre course assignments. Late enrollments will be accepted depending on individual circumstances.

The face to face component of the course is conducted Monday through Friday, 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Please be aware assessments are conducted on the Friday and the 4:30pm finish time is not flexible on that day, so please make travel arrangements accordingly.

Participants undertake 40 hours of structured lectures and practicals designed specifically to increase knowledge on textile construction and how this influences bloodstain appearance and bloodstain pattern analysis on clothing. The course will review the underpinning principles of BPA, fluid dynamics and, physics and apply these principles to the analysis and interpretation of bloodstains on clothing and other textiles. When examining clothing, the practitioner must be mindful of fabric influences, such as the fibre type, texture, treatments, all of which may affect the final appearance of a dried bloodstain. The primary focus of the course is to develop those skills required for the examination and interpretation of bloodstain patterns found on clothing items, including the use of microscopy to discriminate between spatter and transfer bloodstains.
Each participant is responsible for their own transportation, meals and hotel reservations.

Course Content

Prior to attending the 40 hour component, participants will be expected to complete at least 20 hours of preparatory work including selected readings, a short 1500 word written assignment and prepare a mock BPA report from an old, finalised case involving bloodstain pattern analysis, preferably involving blood stained clothing.  Participants will be required to present oral and demonstrable evidence based on this report in a moot court situation and will receive feedback on their BPA knowledge and evidence presentation skills.

The 40 hour component has a practical hands-on emphasis.  The practicals are supplemented with lectures and class discussions which will introduce the participants to principles of fluid mechanics, physics of blood, cognative bias and assist participants gain higher level interpretative pattern recognition skills.  Participants will work in small groups to complete a set of experiments, review and analyse experimental data and present findings to the class describing their results.  Participants are encouraged to draw connections between the dynamics of pattern formation and the features of the resultant static bloodstain pattern.

Following the 40 hour “face to face” component, participants will be required to complete a “case” report summarising their findings related to the examination of blood stained clothing provided during the practical assessment.  The report must be submitted within eight weeks.

Course Assessment

Participants will be assessed as follows:

  1. Written Assignment (competency based, i.e. pass / fail):
  2. Written Exam (75% pass mark):
  3. Practical Assignment (competency based, i.e. pass / fail):

Upon successful completion of the course assessment requirements, course certificates will be issued to participants.

Course Fees

Course Fee (To host a course at your agency): $USD23,500

Student Fee (To attend a course as a student): $USD1,995

Registration of interest to attend a course can be emailed to Ted Silenieks.

Registration of interest is not a confirmed position on a course.

Due to the high demand for this course, preference for positions is given to those who pay full registration fees promptly.