A RECENT forensic graduate from the University of Derby has landed a job on a top criminal investigation.
Mandy Stephens is working at the Independent Police Complaints Commission as an investigation researcher for the current Hillsborough disaster inquest.
The ongoing inquiry, following the death of 96 Liverpool supporters in 1989 at the FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest, is one of the country's ever biggest criminal investigations into alleged police misconduct.
Last week, Mandy graduated from the university with a first class BSc (Hons) degree in forensic science and criminology.
During her three years of study, Mandy was awarded the biological and forensic sciences semester award for academic achievement.
She was then accepted as the university's student representative with the British Association of Human Identification and the British Association of Forensic Anthropology.
And at the end of her degree, Mandy was awarded the annual Pearson Publishing Prize for best forensic independent study, which she calls her "greatest achievement".
For that, she secured the opportunity to reconsider the biological evidence of a current cold criminal case and explored methods of preserving biological evidence for human identification purposes.
Mandy has also helped to catalogue and supervise the forensic examination of the Anglo Saxon skeletal collection held by the university on behalf of Derby Museum.
Talking about her graduation at Derby Arena, Mandy said: "It was all really exciting. I enjoyed and embraced my studies and I'm thrilled that all my hard work was recognised by my first class degree."
Forensic science lecturer Adam Long said: "Mandy is very deserving of her first-class honours degree and I'm proud that her efforts have been recognised by this excellent achievement. This will serve her extremely well in her future career ambitions."
Last week, the university opened a new forensic training facility.
The £410,000 resource, which looks like a typical four-bedroom house, has seven replica crime scenes hidden behind its wall, along with a blood pattern analysis room – believed to be the only one in a UK university.
The house is fitted with state of the art CCTV, audio-visual equipment and other technology allowing tutors to monitor students from a distance, so they can work crime scenes independently in a real-life setting.
