The elite investigators of military felonies comprise the Criminal Investigations Division of the Army’s Military Police branch. These soldiers train to do what no other personnel can: process and evaluate crime scenes pertaining to military personnel. For the 698th MP Detachment (CID), this means refining and perfecting those skills that enable them to safely and accurately deliver justice when the time comes.
On March 23, 2013, the detachment got such an opportunity when they engaged in two separate training scenarios that simulated full-scale crime scenes with evidence collection and step-by-step scene processing. The scenarios, held at Ellington Air Field in Houston, tested the capabilities these agents have been developing for the past year.
“This mock crime scene was not only successful, but reinforced the agents’ crime scene skills, enhancing their readiness as CID special agents,” said CW2 Rachel Devere, operations officer for the 249th MP Battalion (CID).
The scenario was an unknown cause of death homicide case for the soldiers to engage and process. The exercise was conducted twice in its entirety, with the unit broken up into teams so that each member had the chance to participate. Throughout the day, they completed sketches, notes, forms and photography to properly document the fictitious incident, in accordance with CID standards.
“We did a case review of what actually was portrayed in the scenes and went step-by-step through both crime scenes according to the MAC case,” said Sgt. 1st Class Dillon Cumpian, the readiness NCO for the 698th MP Det (CID).
“The MAC case is what is used at the school house to teach the basics of crime scene processing. It’s based off a former CID case that ended up as a “what not to do” example,” said Devere. “MAC case training established the CID standards.”
Tasks completed during the exercise included evidence gathering, submitting lab requests, compiling notes and sketches, and triangulation recording.
“This provided a realistic scenario on what to expect during a crime scene,” said Cumpian. “It’s good to see the flow and things we have learned over the past year put to use.”