BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – Criminal Justice students at Broome-Tioga BOCES had the opportunity to crack the case during an exercise last Friday.

Students participated in a mock crime scene as a part of their Forensic Entomology Unit where they examined remains of store bought chicken.

The goal was for students to see the state of decay and insect activity on the remains.

After collecting evidence at the scene, students went back to the classroom to figure out who committed the crime.

Criminal justice student Shaliyah King stressed the importance of getting hands on experience.

“It definitely helps. We’re not sitting just sitting and doing book work or anything. It gives us more help. It gives us more experience to do this, and it will help out a lot,” she says.

Even for students that are not interested in pursuing a career in Criminal Justice, teachers say the program helps students learn what to do at a crime scene.

The project-based education system at BOCES helps students take what they learned in the classroom and use it in a real world environment.