KALAMAZOO COUNTY, Mich. — Students at Western Michigan University (WMU) studying law enforcement are able to get hands-on experience through the school's first-of-its-kind Cold Case Program.
On Monday, the students getting that unique educational experience were visited by Michigan State Police (MSP) Director, Col. James F. Grady II.
Students in the program are able to look through old, unsolved cases to study real crimes and get real investigative experience. Twice now, the students have even helped solve cold cases, working alongside detectives.
"Learning from detectives about law enforcement has been transformative," said a former student, now working as a cadet with MSP. "We've gained practical insights into criminal investigation techniques by visiting crime labs, MSP recruit school, correctional facilities and crime scenes."
"This experience is invaluable, and many of us chose WMU because of it," continued the former student. "We've learned directly from detectives how to assist in providing closure for victims' families. After observing detective family interactions in a case I was assigned to, I was motivated to pursue a career in law enforcement."
The Cold Case Program is directed by Dr. Ashlyn Kuersten, a criminal justice professor at WMU.
It was after a friend in law enforcement complained about too many cold cases and not enough people to solve them that the professor thought, “I have all these really bright students and I’m always searching for a real-world research project.”
In time, the Western Michigan University Cold Case Program was born.
"It's a great program," said Col. Grady during his speech to the students. "I applaud the efforts of everybody that's been involved."
Grady's speech emphasized how the students in the program would be the future of law enforcement, and how inspiring that was to see.
"The future in many aspects, especially in this profession of public safety services, is very important right?" Grady said. "Keep up the wonderful work, and whether you come to MSP or go somewhere else, because there's a lot of great local agencies across this state as well, we're all hiring."
Grady said that lately it's been a challenge to get youth interested in a career in law enforcement, whereas earlier in his 26-year-career, it was a more competitive field.
Now, in hopes of getting more students interested in law enforcement, Grady said Monday that they hope to use the Cold Case Program as inspiration for other Michigan universities such as Northern Michigan University or Grand Valley State University.
"This could also serve as a pipeline," Grady said. "We're going to continue to support you. MSP has excellent investigators, you'll learn from them and they'll learn from you."
And the detectives do learn from the students, as Grady explained. When a case is just sitting for years, it can be incredibly helpful when the students come in as a fresh set of eyes.
"Having these, you know, the youth in this room, having fresh minds, thinking a little bit different, having a different perspective, in conjunction and collaboration with seasoned investigators that have had the exposure, had the experience, that's a great combination," he said.