Of course its a course?

There were no prizes for guessing that this was a course photo taken at Prospect, but we wanted to know what kind of course it was, when was it held, and who is in the photo? This is an odd one! We had more discussion about the angle of the sun that about who is in the photo!

Steve Smedley is the young man top left and he kindly provided the photo of this course held in either late summer 1976 or the spring of '77. He was on the Marine Section at the time and attended this Scenes of Crime Officers course. Steve says, “the object of the exercise was to train us to assess scenes to determine the necessity for the attendance of HQ Ident services. We were taught fingerprint classification, latent print lifting, photography (including developing and printing), exhibit preservation and a variety of other techniques that we were authorised to employ at the scenes of minor incidents (thefts, prowlers, etc). When necessary, we were to call upon the REAL pros, of course! We were given all the necessary tools and equipment. I suspect that, while there may have been some successes, it was more an exercise in PR than anything else. Complainants expected the police to do something, so having us Divisional types take a few photos, and search for physical evidence, satisfied that need.”

Steve added, “I think that it was a two-week course and the knowledge that I gained was very useful to me throughout my forty-one year police career. I've occasionally wondered whether the programme itself was particularly successful.

Editors note - Many thanks to Steve for supplying both the photo and this very clear description of the course. I for one had never heard of the course so I wonder how many other classes were held. Does anyone know? We have listed the names of those present in the caption. As is often ther case, Davie Kerr came up with most of the names. Many thanks Davie.

Scenes of Crimes Course circa 1976-1977

Back from L:- Steve Smedley, Paul Davis, Lynn Hall, Steve Dean, Wayne Hodgson, Steve Sim, Jim "Big Bird" White.
Front from L:- Cherie Butler/Bean, Wayne Perinchief, Dave Parsons, John Harvey, Coralie Trott.

Don Urquhart 6 years 8 months

I completed the two week part time SOCO course in 1978, I recall a West Indian officer called Theo and Howard Cutts, also on the course, going on to full time SOCO duties. For my part, I think I went to one crime scene, I was Duty Driver at central and was flat out with 1056s and 1057s, prisoners meals and so forth.Editors note - Theo would be Theo Providence who spent quite a few years in CRO/SOCO, and Howard Cutts spent most of his career in the same department. So, these courses proved to be useful in more ways than one. Many thanks for your input Don.

Steve Smedley 6 years 8 months

I think that it was a two-week course and the knowledge that I gained was very useful to me throughout my forty-one year police career. I've occasionally wondered whether the programme itself was particularly successful - I daresay that it cut down on call-outs for HQ Ident, which will have satisfied the bean-counters. But were any of my classmates successful in identifying a suspect as a result of their crime scene examination? I certainly never did! I left Bermuda in August, 1977.Editors note - Let's see if anyone can answer your questions. Once again many thanks Steve. One thing for sure, your answers clears up the mystery of whether Steve Dean was on late shift when the photo was taken. It would appear that attendees could choose between wearing summer or mid-season uniform!

The course was held in either late summer 1976 or the spring of '77, as I was on the Marine Section at the time and was the section's representative to the Scenes of Crime Officers course. The object of the exercise was to train us to assess scenes to determine the necessity for the attendance of HQ Ident services. We were taught fingerprint classification, latent print lifting, photography (including developing and printing), exhibit preservation and a variety of other techniques that we were authorised to employ at the scenes of minor incidents (thefts, prowlers, etc). When necessary, we were to call upon the REAL pros, of course! We were given all the necessary tools and equipment. I suspect that, while there may have been some successes, it was more an exercise in PR than anything else. Complainants expected the police to do something, so having us Divisional types take a few photos, and search for physical evidence, satisfied that need.Editors note - Many thanks Steve for supplying both the photo and this very clear description of the course. I for one had neber heard of the course so I wonder how many other classes were held. Does anyone know?Apologies for the delay in providing this answer. I've been away on vacation and had very limited access to the internet. For anyone reading this can I strongly recommend that if you ever get the chance go to see "Hamilton" on Broadway. Without doubt the most brilliant show I've ever seen anywhere. Lin-Manuel Miranda is a genius!

Terry 6 years 8 months

Ok.Before I die I would like an answer to the "course".Jingus.Editors note - Apologies for the delay Terry. I was off Island and hiding away from computers and cyberspace! Steve Smedley has hopefully answered to your satisfaction.

Davie Kerr 6 years 8 months

OK, I see where Dave O's coming from with the tree, but it's possible that the said tree has had a bit of a pruning since that pic was taken 40-odd years ago!I based my comment on the angle of the sun and shadow behind Paul's head.

Dave O Meara 6 years 8 months

Sorry to shoot Davie's story down in flames but using Google Earth and playing with the time slider and other features and we agree that the photowas taken showing the rear entrance to the old training school ( ie nearest to Adm building ) then the photo must have been taken in the afternoon as the shadows from the tree ( in the same bit of garden where the flag pole was ) would have been cast by the sun in a South-SouthWestern position not in the East which would be to the right side of the photo. Steve D lived in the West end and would not have travelled with 2 sets of clothes, he dressed ready to go on late shift starting at 15.45hrs. Photo will have been taken shortly before that time. Dave OEditors note - phew! This is beyond my pay grade, but it sure sounds like the ind of issue that police "experts" enjoy discussing!

Davie Kerr 6 years 9 months

Re Dave O's comment on time of photo taken, sorry Dave, but that photo would be taken about 1000: that building faced near enough south, and the angle of the shadow shows the sun coming from the right of the photo, which would therefore be to the east.Editors note - Wow! Now that is using deductive powers that I never even thought about. Would anyone like to challenge Davie's conclusions on this one?!

Terry 6 years 9 months

Terry said :

Take care Bermuda Ex Police.My last comment.Shalom and reflect.Editors note - Sounds rather ominous Terry. Hope all is well with you.

Nothing "ominous".Just moving to my new ranch in Wyoming to spend my days in peace and quiet and no net.Shalom to all.Editors note - Wishing you all the best Terry, but are you sure you can survive without the "net"? It just doesn't sound like you!

Dave O Meara 6 years 9 months

Hola, re uniforms, I think the photo was taken mid afternoon and Steve Dean was most likely going on Lates while the rest were on days. Dave O'Editors note - From what we can gather this course lasted for at least several days so it's very doubtful that Steve would have been working shirts after classes.