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Schoenfeld, Clay (ed.) / Wisconsin alumnus
Volume 49, Number 9 (June 1948)
Summers, Robert
These professors bust crime, pp. 14-15
Page 14
J. EDGAR HOOVER AND WARDEN LAWES have nothing on the University of Wisconsin faculty. (Left to right) Carl E. Johnson, MA'30, former deputy warden at Waupun, teaches courses on penology. John L. Gillin, grand old man of the sociology department, slarted Wisconsin off in the field of crime and criminal work some 35 years ago. Marshall B. Clinard instruct3 and researches in the theory of criminology. Thesle P4,aedeue4d Audt 6,4ime THE DEPARTMENT of sociology at the University of Wisconsin is "breaking trail" for the nation's educational institutions in the field of criminology and penology. Wisconsin is fighting the vicious circle in which the criminal travels. The circle begins with the crime and then progresses thi ough the police, the courts, and finally to prison. When the man is released he may once again return to the starting point to begin the cycle all over. The attack on this problem begins with the unimpressive title of Sociology 165. This course is a study in scientific methods in the identification of criminals. It is taught through the sociology de- partment by Dr. Joseph H. Mathews, By ROBERT SUMMERS, '50 '03, nationally known criminologist and chairman of the department of chem- valuable to the University as it has to istry. Dr. Mathews has been active in the field of criminology. Some years ago the field of criminology for over 25 a re-entering student was suspected of years. having been "washed out" previously. His course combines both lectures His transcript was consulted by Uni- and demonstrations to familiar~za the versity authorities and found to be in student with such subjects as identif- perfect order. There seemed to be no ication of guns and edged tools, finger- basis for suspicion. But the proverbial printing, bullet holes in glass, micro- rat was smelled and the transcript was scopic and spectroscopic examinations, sent to Dr. Mathews. Tests in the lab blood test and typing, and the use of proved that the transcript had been drugs such as truth serum. The course, tampered with. When presented with which has been in operation for eight the facts the student confessed that he years, has proven to be one of the most had stolen the record and by using ink popular specialized classes on the cam- eradicator had succeeded in making for pus. Last year alone it attracted over himself quite an Jmpressive scholastic 100 students. record. Dr. Mathews explained that the On several occasions the Mathews eradicator took away all visible traces "crime lab" has proven itself almost as of the original grades but failed to 14 remove iron particles contained in the ink wh'ch rema'ncd in the papýer. Lab- oratory tests brought out the wriLing as clearly as it had originally been. A more recent case occurred when a student received an examination back and found to his dismay that he had reversed the answers to two of the questions. That is, the answer he had given for question number 2 fitted qucs- tion 3 and vice versa. He then pro- ceeded to draw a series of arrows indi- cating that he had meant th2 answers to be reversed. When confronted by the student, his professor could not remem- ber the arrows as having been there when he first graded the paper. A trio to Dr. Mathews' lab was made with the paper and the student's one mistake was brought out. He had drawn one of his arrows over a red pencil mark in the margin of the paper placed there by the professor. Under microscopic examination his error showed uD, prov- ing, of course, that his marks had been placed there after the paper had been graded. (The future of scientific crime detec- tion was given a lift recently with the announcement of plans for a criminal laboratory here in Madison to serve the state of Wisconsin. The lab has been set up under two legislative acts, one a non-lapsing appropriation of $50,000
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