There are several steps that need to be taken in order to process a crime scene. Some of the steps include: securing the scene, a detailed search, documenting the crime scene, collecting and preserving evidence, and finally releasing the scene. All of the following steps are crucial to avoid any possible contamination or otherwise compromise the scene before it can be released. Few, if any additional opportunities exist when processing a crime scene, so the first time is most pertinent. First responders play a crucial role in the establishment of a crime scene. Upon arriving at the scene, the first responders have checked for living victims and have rendered aid. It’s important to create a perimeter around the crime scene (this can be altered if additional evidence is found outside the initial crime scene). Only emergency personnel should enter and exit from the central entry point to control contamination, by creating an exit point; it helps avoid any excessive traffic through the crime scene. By secure the scene to ensure that no evidence is misplaced or damaged, or otherwise compromised. Do a cursory check of the crime scene to obtain any transient evidence and secure any weapons found at the scene (in this case it was already at the scene with the suspect). Crime scene analysts and investigators communicate with first responders and are quickly briefed on the situation, and now a more thorough search can be conducted. A scene search is necessary to find evidence such as shell casings, biological evidence etc. At the time, a more detailed, extensive search will begin. Investigators have made their initial notations of the scene and created their hypothesis of the crime. The survey is an organizational stage to plan ... ... middle of paper ... ...ditional visits to the crime scene could cause a compromise if entered into evidence at trial. Works Cited Gaensslen, R. E., Harris, H A., & Lee, H. (2008). Introduction to Forensic Science and Criminalistics. New York, NY: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. . National Institute of Justice (2004, June). Crime Scene Investigation: A Reference for Law Enforcement Training. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/200160.pdf Razzaq, N. Z. (2008). Visual Documentation in Crime Scene Investigations. Retrieved June 3, 2011, from http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/17221-visual-documentation-in-crime-scene-investigations Technical Working Group on Crime Scene Investigation (2000, January). Crime Scene Invesitgation: A Guide for Law Enforcement. Retrieved May 26, 2011, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178280.pdf
Fulero, S. M., & Wrightsman, L. S. (2009). Forensic psychology. (3rd ed.). Belmont: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Preservation of Crime Scenes and Evidence. (2013, November 18). Retrieved from Correctional Service Canada: http://www.csc-scc.gc.ca/politiques-et-lois/568-4-cd-eng.shtml
Although all crime scene investigator teams investigate the same case, their job and salary typically varies (Florida Tech University Online). There are four different branches on some...
Crime scenes are known to have many clues left behind. The obvious would be a the body or bodies, clothing, and sometimes even the murder weapon. While these are great way to solve a case there's another kind of evidence; trace evidence. Trace evidence are small pieces of evidence that are laying around a crime scene. There are many types of trace evidence some of them include metal filings, plastic fragments, gunshot residue, glass fragments, feathers, food stains, building materials, lubricants, fingernail scrapings, pollens and spores, cosmetics, chemicals, paper fibers and sawdust, human and animal hairs, plant and vegetable fibers, blood and other body fluids, asphalt or tar, vegetable fats and oils, dusts and other airborne particles, insulation, textile fibers, soot, soils and mineral grains, and explosive residues. Although these are the most common found elements, they are not the only ones. The Trace Evidence Unit is known to examine the largest variety of evidence types and used the biggest range of analytical methods of any unit. materials are compared with standards or knowns samples to determine whether or not they share any common characteristics. In this paper I will discuss the different kinds of trace evidence and how crime scene investigaros use it to solve cases and convict criminal.
The most important thing to remember when called to a crime scene is that no situation is textbook. Guidelines may be in place to help investigators get started, but the methods of securing and processing will vary by crime scene. Outside factors may make it hazardous for investigators to do their job – inclement weather, safety hazards such as a downed power line, fire hazards, etc. These factors will dictate how investigators approach the scene, so they must remember to be adaptable and willing to compromise when needed. They may also have to wait until the scene is safe to approach before examining it.
Lyman, D. Michael; Criminal Investigation, The Art and Science; 3rd edition, 2002 Prentice Hall. Pgs. 188-200.
In today’s time, modern Crime Scene Investigation has increased rapidly. From throughout the late 1900’s and in the early 2000’s (Taylor 1). For all of the evidence that they find, a solid foundation has formed over the thousands of years of Crime Scene
Dutelle, Aric W. An Introduction to Crime Scene Investigation. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2011. Print.
Review, PubMed PMID: 19543886. Saferstein, R. (2011). Criminalistics: An introduction to forensic science (10th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
White, P 1992, Crime scene to court: the essentials of forensic science, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, p. 20-33.
Collecting evidence from a crime scene is a crucial aspect of solving crimes. Before evidence can be seized, there must first be a court order approving the search of the crime scene and the seizure of the evidence found at the scene. Standard protocol for officers is for them to always use latex gloves, avoid plastic bags, double wrap small objects, package each object separately, and to collect as much evidence as possible. It is better to have too much evidence than to not have enough. There are countless amounts of evidence that can be found at a crime scene.
Make sure the crime scene is safe and secure. Once the crime scene is secured, that will be the time to start questioning the victims, witnesses and or the suspects. This would also be the time for some officers to conduct neighborhood canvassing (Hess, K.M. & Orthmann, C.H., 2013). I believe this strategy is important to a follow-up investigation because the witness might hold back information, because they might feel that the information they have is not useful.
Forensic Science, recognized as Forensics, is the solicitation of science to law to understand evidences for crime investigation. Forensic scientists are investigators that collect evidences at the crime scene and analyse it uses technology to reveal scientific evidence in a range of fields. Physical evidence are included things that can be seen, whether with the naked eye or through the use of magnification or other analytical tools. Some of this evidence is categorized as impression evidence2.In this report I’ll determine the areas of forensic science that are relevant to particular investigation and setting out in what method the forensic science procedures I have recognized that would be useful for the particular crime scene.
investigators take from the crime scene. With scientific methods it helps investigators to produce a
Many of us enjoy watching crime scene investigation shows, but in the criminal justice system forensic investigation is an essential field that requires upright observations and a prodigious interpretation. Under forensics, it is difficult to blame someone without scientific data. For that reason, Larry K. Gaines author of the textbook Criminal Justice in Action explains the importance of Blood Spatter Analysis. Specialist can learn a great deal about violent crime by examining where blood landed at the scene, the size and consistency of drops, and the pattern of blood spatter (Gaines, 2011). Consequently, an article of the Blood Spatter Analysis will be used to explain the research methodology the author uses to proceed certain investigations.