Criminal Investigation Procedures

Crime scenes are often the most important parts of criminal investigations and it is essential that crime scene procedures are followed closely by forensic scientists as they allow the evidence gathered to be used in a court at a later date Kelty(1). Crime scene procedures are used to ensure that everyone is safe and that the evidence gathered is not contaminated in anyway. Horswell(2) says that there are three main stages of a criminal investigation, these are; “the control and coordination of the criminal investigation, the criminal investigation and the forensic investigation.” This essay will mainly be focusing on the first two stages and the procedures that are undertaken to ensure the evidence will be admissible in court. This essay will

When the items that are identified as key evidence points a crime scene investigator uses an identification marker to identify the evidence. The evidence is then recorded in many different methods such as photographs, sketches and videos. After the evidence has been recorded it must be collected and packaged so that it can be sent off to the forensic laboratories. Packaging is essential to the preservation of the evidence as it makes sure that none of the evidence is lost or damaged in anyway. If the evidence is not properly packaged then it may be unable to be analysed by forensic scientists because it may have been damaged in the transportation process Siegel(8). Tamper evident tape is often applied to evidence packaging which makes it nearly impossible to access the evidence without showing that it has been used or accessed.(4) Once the evidence has been moved from the crime scene it must be entered into an exhibit book and stored in a secure place. This is to ensure that the evidence cannot be easily accessed by everyone. If the evidence is removed from the lockup room it must be signed out by whoever is removing it this way it is easy to track who may have tampered or changed the evidence in anyway.(4) If these procedures are followed strictly then the chain of evidence will remain intact and the evidence will be admissible in