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| Cindy Hull |
Cindy Hull was studying criminal justice at Grossmont
College when she secured an internship with the San Diego Police Department’s
fingerprint division. Today she heads her own company doing contract work for a
growing number of Bay Area police agencies and is a leader at one of the world’s
leading forensic science identification associations.
“All of the courses I took at Grossmont College, from report
writing to fingerprinting to photography, all of the courses that I took at
Grossmont, have helped me and catapulted me to where I am today,” Hull said.
Hull, then Cindy Simpson, graduated from Grossmont College
in 1994 and immediately went to work for the San Diego Police Department, where
she had interned as a student. When her husband pursued his Ph.D. at the
University of Iowa, Hull went to work for the Iowa State Criminal
Investigations Division. The couple later moved to the Bay Area, and Hull began
working with the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Department. But after several
years as a supervisor with the agency, Hull decided she needed to get back to
her roots.
“As a supervisor, I was in more of an administrative role
and getting away from casework,” Hull said. She left last fall. In January, she
opened C.K. Hull & Associates Forensic Consulting Services, LLC, helping
law enforcement agencies in need of forensic services.
How did she delve into the word of forensics and
fingerprinting?
“When I was at Grossmont, I knew I wanted to do something
related to forensics. With the internship at the Police Department, they put me
working with fingerprints in the crime scene unit. I was hooked.”
Hull said fingerprint investigations appeal to her for
myriad reasons. “You’re the first one to know who touched that surface. You
don’t have to carry a gun. You don’t have to deal with the public. And you’re
involved with a case from the very beginning at the crime scene to the very end
in the courtroom.”
An expert in fingerprint identification, Hull on May 1 took
over as president of the California State Division of the International
Association for Identification. She is the second Grossmont College product to
head the chapter, following instructor Edwardo Palma, a retired San Diego
police officer, who served as president in 2011-12.
The role includes monitoring myriad committees, overseeing
training programs and working with the international group. In addition, Hull
is the coordinator for the Northern California Forensic Study Group where she
brings free forensic training to local law enforcement agencies.
And it all began at Grossmont College. “The school played a
vital role in my career,” Hull said.
