James Coburn
The Edmond Sun
EDMOND —
Enrollment at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Forensic Science Institute has nearly doubled during the past year.
“We now have over 250 undergraduate majors and I think that number may go higher,” said Dwight Adams, FSI director.
The Institute provides continuing education in forensic science for professionals and UCO’s graduate and undergraduate forensic science programs. Doors opened in March for classes to begin.
“We’ve put on over 40 different programs for professionals around the country right here in Edmond over the last three years,” Adams said Tuesday at the Edmond Area Chamber of Commerce Luncheon at UCO.
Adams said UCO was fortunate to receive a $1 million grant from AT&T to establish the AT&T Digital Evidence Cyber Security Laboratory. This active law enforcement laboratory is devoted to solving crimes in Oklahoma related to digital evidence, Adams said.
“When the crime occurs and the evidence comes across the street to the OSBI laboratory, it’s given to the DNA people and the fingerprint people,” Adams explained. “But if it’s digital, it comes across the street to the AT&T laboratory where we have representatives from OSBI, Oklahoma City Police Department and our own Edmond Police Department who work full-time in this facility.”
The AT&T laboratory has some of the best equipment in the world for law enforcement training, said Adams, former director of the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, Va.
Mayor Patrice Douglas recognized six Republican lawmakers from Edmond who were key in changing the law to allow the Office of Chief Medical Examiner to eventually move to the UCO campus. Recognition was given to state Sen. Clark Jolley, state Sen. Todd Lamb, state Rep. Randy McDaniel, state Rep. Lewis Moore, state Rep. Marian Cooksey and state Rep. Ken Miller.
“I’m a former law enforcement guy and we’ve got to be very smart on crime and put bad people away,” Lamb said. “The studies being conducted here, the investigations taking place here will help do that.”
Lamb will face state Sen. Kenneth Corn, D-Poteau, in the Nov. 2 statewide election for lieutenant governor.
Senate Bill 1337 agrees to place the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in close proximity of the University of Central Oklahoma and the OSBI crimes lab. The ME’s office will remain on the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center campus at 901 N. Stonewall until lawmakers find a way to pay for the facility, which could result in a $30 million bond.
“It took leaders to fight this battle, to work with all of the parties involved, to explain how it’s going benefit Oklahoma,” Douglas said.
TO LEARN MORE about the UCO Forensic Science Institute, visit www.uco.edu/forensics.
jcoburn@edmondsun.com | 341-2121, ext. 114
