Beyond the Badge: Debunking crime show myths with Nappanee detective

NAPPANEE, Ind. --- ABC57’s Beyond the Badge series continues with another inside look at local law enforcement.

The Beyond the Badge team is introducing Michiana to the Nappanee Police Department, located about 30 miles from downtown South Bend.

This week’s topic is a popular one: crime scene investigation.

“The best part about crime scene work is figuring out the puzzle,” said Detective, Crime Scene Investigator and Nappanee Police Department Trainer Nik Havert. “That's just fascinating.”

Nik Havert has been with the Nappanee Police Department for over 25 years. In 2007, he took on the role of Crime Scene Investigator.

“You can actually stand there for a moment and kind of look around and figure out okay, this is what happened,” he said. “This is how they got in. This is how they got out. Here's what they moved, here's what they took. Here's what happened to the victim. That stuff has always just been a real delight when you find those things and put them together.”

Havert said one of the more surprising aspects of the job was realizing how much time the process takes. The reality of the job is much more complicated than the fast-paced scenes you see on crime TV shows, according to Havert.

Havert set up a mock crime scene to show Michiana how detectives process evidence in real life vs. what people often see on crime shows. Havert also analyzes scenes from popular crime shows, to determine fact or fiction.

For the full experience, watch the video above.