In a recent announcement, Texas State University (TXST) has made a game-changing move, partnering with the Texas Office of the Attorney General to give their criminology students a shot at cracking cold cases before they've even left the classroom, as per information obtained from KXAN.
Students enrolled in the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology at TXST will now be part of a special one-year internship, the TXST Cold Case Team, where they'll get their hands dirty sifting through unsolved murders and missing person cases alongside professional investigators, Texas Attorney General Paxton believes this partnership will usher in new hope for justice in concerning the over 20,000 unsolved murder cases cluttering the state's docket as reported by KXAN.
"This new partnership is an exciting opportunity for our students from the School of Criminal Justice and Criminology, as it is the first program of its kind in the State of Texas," Jaymi Elsass of TXST told KXAN, with an air of enthusiasm about the trailblazing educational approach.
The nitty-gritty of the internship entails teams of two students each turning over old cases and ferreting out fresh leads; they'll pour over police records, witness statements, autopsy and lab reports, and whatever else they can get their hands on that might blow the dust off these stagnant investigations, as the program aims to furnish students with a real-world experience in crime scene investigation, forensic science, and digital forensics yet all participants will have to pass rigorous criminal background checks by the OAG and follow strict protocols surrounding the handling of sensitive data according to details provided by KVUE.
Elsass explained to KVUE, "[Some of those teams have] had success at solving murder cases that have been cold for more than 40 years," highlighting the potential impact this hands-on learning experience could have for not just the students but also the grieving families awaiting closure. Through such proactive educational initiatives, TXST aims to empower future criminal justice professionals to start making a difference even before their careers officially commence.
