- By Ashleigh Sloop
- Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2009
New Regional Forensic Association
Forensic professionals from North Carolina and South Carolina announced on May 28th the creation of a new regional forensic association covering North and South Carolina. On Tuesday, May 5th, 35 people gathered at the Cole Auditorium on the Richmond Community College Campus (RCC) in Hamlet, North Carolina and voted to form the Forensic Association of the Carolinas (the FACs).
The concept for the new association is global: Each level of response to a criminal act is a step on the path to a successful prosecution, from dispatch to the court room.
The FACs will offer forensic education to strengthen criminal cases with the goal of reaching a successful prosecution. With technological advancements coming at a record pace, it is important that our dispatchers, nurses, EMS, First Responders, Social Service personnel, educators, law enforcement, and prosecutors be up to date on the most recent advancements. Each of these actors can affect the outcome of an investigation. This Association is unique, in that it is open to all these players and will provide a forum for them to learn how important their roles are in the criminal justice system.
Thirty-five criminal justice partners representing three states and 10 North Carolina counties were present for the inaugural meeting. Currently, the FACs membership includes representatives from Anson, Stanly, Richmond, Scotland, Moore, Rutherford, McDowell, Cabarrus, Forsyth, Mecklenburg, Gaston, and Guilford counties of North Carolina; York County South Carolina; Palm Beach County, Florida; England and Italy. The FACs divided North and South Carolina into 13 regions.
Investigator R. L. Horton was elected as Chairman of the Board and Sergeant S. M. Reid was elected as the Director of Region 4 (Stokes, Rockingham, Caswell, Person, Granville, Forsyth, Davidson, Guilford, Randolph, Alamance, Orange, Durham, and Chatham Counties).