American forensic consultant and instructor Hayden Baldwin will, today, begin two one-week training courses for local Scene of Crime Investigators (SCIs) and managers.

Baldwin, who headed the Illinois State Police's Crime Scene Unit, will run training courses over the next two years.

The managers trained by Baldwin will then form the core group of trainers who will, in the future, continue the process of training new Scene of Crime Investigators.

Baldwin, who last year trained the first batch of 58 Forensic Scene of Crime Investigators for nine months, arrived in the island last Sunday and spent last week preparing for the two weeks of intensive training.

He will be introuducing new technology such as laser trajectory, which helps identify the pathway of bullets, as well as special metal detectors that can assist in finding bullet casings. Blood spatter interpretation would also be a part of the training.

Baldwin also said he will introduce new equipment to protect SCIs, particularly against the effects of handling chemicals.

The next set of training courses are tentatively set for October.

Over the two years that Baldwin will work in Jamaica, he will cover subject areas which include advanced crime scene techniques, recovery of human remains and exhumations, and death investigation techniques.