SAN ANTONIO - The FBI's Citizen's Academy offers a look inside the FBI and the services they offer to the public. The 10-week program is for civic and community leaders. News 4 WOAI's Kristina De Leon was given rare access inside the bureau to learn more about processing a federal crime scene.
Click here to watch...Members of the FBI's Evidence Response Team have been to a number of high profile scenes, including the Fort Hood massacre, the death of Ice Agent Jaime Zapata and the ambush attack of Bexar County Sgt. Kenneth Vann.
"Typically, we can spend over a week," explained Greg Pratt, who leads one of the Evidence Response Teams. We processed the vehicle that the ICE agent Jaime Zapata was shot in. And we spent hundreds of man hours on that vehicle."
In our exercise local business and community leaders were given only a couple of hours to process our "fabricated scene." Agents wanted the class to learn the painstaking process they go through when they're called out.
"It's very important. You only get one chance to go to the crime scene, so you gotta do it right," added Pratt.
The group uses state of the art technology, including fluorescent lighting to spot blood and other body fluids as evidence. The group is also taught the basics, like fingerprinting and searching a scene for clues.
Susan Blumenthal, a Jewish Community Liaison, was and one of the six women in the class.
"I think it's been a very interesting opportunity," Blumenthal told News 4 WOAI. "I think it's special for the FBI to want to take the time to educate leaders in our community and members of our community in all the things that they do."
To learn more about the FBI Citizen Academies,
click here...
