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Tatiana Zaragosa

Adjunct Professor Mitchell Loman shares details of the mock crime scene to his students.

California Lutheran University students got hands-on forensics experience Wednesday, Oct. 8, processing a mock crime in their Applied Principles in Forensic Science class.

Mitchell Loman, an adjunct professor in the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department, said the purpose of this exercise was to give students a “practical application” in using techniques students have learned in the course thus far.

Loman said he is a retired investigator with 35 years of experience in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, with a majority of his career working in the Homicide Bureau. 

“Both my classes are practical applications, so I’m more hands on than actual book work. So we do a lot of different exercises,” Loman said. “So [the students] get a little bit of experiential learning rather than just a lecturer.”

Students were given a brief overview of the crime scene case and had to ask questions based on the information Loman provided before starting the exercise. Students had to then observe, sketch and take notes on the objects surrounding the dummy to see what led to the crime scene.  

Loman said he aspires for his students to realize how forensic science plays a key role in crime scenes, and wants his students to be able to see the full multi-step process that goes into a crime scene. 

“I hope that they gain an understanding of the complexity and the importance of not only organizing the information, but the importance of observation and how forensic evidence is so crucial to a criminal case,” Loman said. “I’m hoping they learned how to actually process the crime scene and show the value from the beginning until the end. And then ultimately, when we talk about how evidence is then analyzed.”

Loman said he invited Cal Lutheran alumnus Michael West ’05, a senior criminalist at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, to help organize the mock crime scene. 

“Mike graciously donates his time to come in,” Loman said. “He’s an actual forensic scientist that I had worked with out in the field and he’s the one that collects forensic evidence like blood [and] DNA. He also is an expert in collecting arson investigations, material like fires and explosive scenes, things like that.”

Loman said he and West helped guide students throughout the exercise.

“He comes in and sort of gives [insight on] what it’s like working the job and the degree,” Loman said. “We kind of work and put together this mock crime scene together and have, like, an interaction with the class so [students] can ask questions as they go, and we can kind of guide them as they work.” 

West graduated from Cal Lutheran with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. He said this exercise was a “nice” way to give back to the university. 

“This feels more real and feels like it would directly benefit students, so I enjoy that,” West said.

Students were able to figure out what led to the crime scene when the “coroners” flipped over the dummy’s body and found out it was holding a knife – leading to the dummy most likely being the one to instigate the scene. 

Maddie Greig, a senior majoring in criminology and criminal justice, said the exercise will help her prepare for a future career in law enforcement.

“I know that I’m going to have to deal with a lot of crime scenes in the future, especially with the job field that I’m going into,” Greig said. “So I’m glad that it’ll not only mentally prepare me for it, but help me understand, like, why teachers might teach this or, like, why it might affect people in the future.”

Gwen Love, a junior majoring in criminology and criminal justice, said taking this class has helped her explore her career options.

“I really want to learn about every aspect of criminology, criminal justice, all that,” Love said. “This [class] specifically, it just offers a lot more hands-on [experience], which I really enjoy, and it can kind of help me figure out, you know, do I want to do crime scene investigation in the future? And I think that’s really important to be able to have those opportunities to help you figure out what you want to do.”

Rocio Pineda, a senior majoring in psychology with law and criminal behavior applications emphasis, said the exercise also helped her navigate her career goals. 

“I want to be a forensics psychologist. So in that sense, I would be looking at a lot of crime scene photos and a lot of evidence in order to make assessments for current offenders or potential suspects. So it really does align with what I would like to do,” Pineda said. 

Pineda said she recommends students take this class and other classes Loman teaches. 

“I really think Professor Loman is a fantastic professor, and I do suggest to anyone that has the opportunity to take this class, take his other class that he has, because you learn a lot from it,” Pineda said. “Even if this isn’t your major, or if it’s just like something on the side you like to do. I really do think that you should take the class. It’s awesome.”