PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. — This week high school students in Pinal County are getting an inside look at the criminal justice system during their summer break.
The special STEM CSI Summer Camp they are attending started three years ago and was arranged by the Pinal County Attorney's Office for students who might want to go into law enforcement or study forensic science.
Kayla Kully is a science teacher at Poston Butte High School. She is the one who created the camp after being approached by the attorney's office.
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“It is very good for them to see the reality of what these jobs could be if that’s something they want to do,” Kully said of the camp.
Kully also has a background in law enforcement and worked for several years as a homicide detective in Illinois before coming to Arizona to be an educator. She said the camp has a lot to offer.
“We have forensics, they learn about attorneys, they saw the medical examiner, they saw how cops clear,” said Kully.
Some of the events included a mock crime scene, a career fair, forensic science day and a mock trial at Superior Court.
"It's really like showing kids what exists in law enforcement just outside of forensics, outside of the courtroom, so it’s really giving kids a picture of everything that exists if this a line of work they want to go into,” said Kully.
Kully said she has seen some of her students come out of the camp with unexpected insight.
"Kids will be like ‘I never had any idea that this is something I wanted to do but I love this,’” said Kully.
According to Kully, the camp can help kids with decisions about their future before they make a costly commitment.
“I’ve had kids at the end say ‘this isn’t for me but thank you for teaching me that before I wasted money on college,’” said Kully.
Kully also said the experience might be completely different from what they might expect.
“It’s really important for kids to understand what you see on TV is not how it works in the real world,” said Kully.
The camp is happening this week at Poston Butte High School.
More than 80 students are taking part this year.
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