September 30, 2003

East Lansing - Two Michigan State Police forensic scientists recently returned from a trip to Africa where they provided forensic science training to the Ugandan National Police Force (UPF) in Uganda. The UPF, which is the only uniformed police agency in Uganda, has 20,000 officers stationed throughout the country.

Detective Sergeant Charles Morden and Forensic Scientist David Stephens of the Bridgeport Forensic Science Laboratory conducted a two-week crime scene investigation course for the UPF at the UPF Academy in the nation’s capital of Kampala.

Morden and Stephens traveled to Uganda at the request of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) using vacation time to make the trip. The training they provided was part of a foreign aid package given by the United States government through the DOJ’s International Criminal Training Assistance Program (ICITAP) funded by the DOJ and the United States Department of State.

The forensic training they provided included lessons on crime scene security, documentation, latent prints, footwear and tire tracks, serology, bloodstain pattern analysis, ballistics and trace evidence. Thirty UPF officers responsible for crime scene investigation attended the training.

"Despite a general lack of adequate equipment and supplies, we found the officers eager to learn," said Morden. "The students often arrived at the classroom early and stayed late."

The course was taught largely at an introductory level since the class average for the pre-test was only 42 percent. Following the training, post-test average scores rose to nearly 90 percent.

"Education is highly valued in Uganda and is an important mechanism for advancing in the police force," stated Stephens. "Given that an average police officer only makes between $60 – $70 USD a month, a certificate of completion for a course such as this is an advantage when applying for promotions."

On the last day of class, a formal graduation ceremony was conducted, which was attended by several high-ranking UPF officials, United States Embassy officials and several members of the Ugandan media.

During this ceremony, Morden and Stephens presented the UPF with three crime scene kits supplied by the United States government, and valued at approximately one million Ugandan shillings. In recognition of their contributions to the UPF, Morden and Stephens were made honorary UPF officers by receiving UPF badges and berets.

This is the fifth international assist provided by Stephens, who since 1999 has also consulted and instructed for ICITAP projects in Haiti, Lebanon, Bosnia and Kosovo.