KNOXVILLE—FBI agents from across the country are gathering at the University of Tennessee March 17-21 for a unique kind of forensic education.
The Bureau is sending members of its Evidence Response Teams from 30 field divisions to Knoxville for training in the identification of human remains.
UT-s renowned Forensic Anthropology Research Center is the setting for the course, which includes lectures by Dr. Bill Bass, the center-s founder, as well as international experts in a variety of forensic disciplines such an entomology, botany, and ballistics.
The field work involves the discovery and excavation of a clandestine grave, a skill that is important in the agents- work.
-The agents have had training in crime scene investigation, but they are frequently asked by law enforcement agencies to help in finding buried bodies, and they really have had no instruction in doing this,- Dr. Murray Marks, UT professor of anthropology, said.
-The FBI selected us because we are the only facility in the United States to offer this kind of training. They wanted to come to the premier place for forensic research, and this is it.-
R. Joe Clark, Special Agent in Charge of the Knoxville Division of the FBI, said that this is the fourth year that the Bureau has asked UT to provide training.
-This is due to the university-s outstanding reputation, experience and leadership role in the field of forensic anthropology and pathology,- Clark said.