LEWISTON — Wearing a police uniform, high school senior Shawn Roy stood near the mock corpse with one end of a tape measure. Student Trevor Baillargeon held the other end.

“Nineteen feet, 7 inches to the head; 19 feet, 5 inches to the torso,” Roy called out. Student Jake Soucy recorded the measurements.

A knife rested on the mannequin’s hand. Blood and bullet casings were on the floor, and a chair had been knocked over.

It was the crime scene investigation competition Wednesday at Lewiston Regional Technical Center for teams of high school law enforcement students.

LRTC students in every career program, including medical, automotive and carpentry, are involved in the Week of Champions competition. The winners will move on to state competition in Bangor in March. Those winners will compete in the nationals.

The law enforcement class is taught by Andy D’Eramo, former deputy chief of the Lewiston Police Department. Wednesday’s CSI competition was watched by three judges, Lt. Glenn Holt of the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department and Sgt. David Chick and Officer Bill Rousseau of the Lewiston Police Department.

Students worked in teams but had different responsibilities, D’Eramo said. “They have to come in, determine if it’s a crime scene, photograph and diagram the scene and collect the evidence.”

Students would be judged on how they assessed the crime scene and the quality of their written report, D’Eramo said.

Roy, Baillargeon and Soucy composed one of five teams that competed Wednesday. They carried themselves as serious professionals. They explained that measurements of a crime scene are critical so investigators can recreate the scene, knowing the exact location of the evidence.

After measuring, the three labeled and photographed the items. Then, wearing gloves and using prongs, they picked up the knife, a gun and bullet casings and placed them in large envelopes.

They said there’s a difference between real police work and what’s portrayed on the popular television crime show “CSI.” In the real world, lab results and reports don’t come back instantly; reports can take weeks.

All three said they were interested in police work. The class “is a great way to start building your career,” Roy said.

In another room, two area business professionals, Lisa Ballard and Rolande Truchon, conducted a mock job interview competition. Megan Plourde, 17, a student at Leavitt Area High School, was applying for an accounting job at Idexx.

Judges scored students on their appearance, how they presented themselves and the quality of their resumes. Plourde wore dress slacks and a sweater.

“Would you like a copy of my resume?” she asked after smiling and shaking hands with Ballard and Truchon.

They quizzed her about her school work, the bookkeeping job she has at a day care, which software programs she uses.

Career programs give high school students a head start on careers, D’Eramo said.

One of his former students joined the military and recently returned from boot camp. “He told me, ‘I finished first in my class. All the skills I learned here I was able to apply.’” Other former students are in college and have told him they’re ahead of their peers, he said.

The goal is to help students prepare to participate in the economy and the community, LRTC Director Rob Callahan said. “That’s the essence of what we do here.”

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