Gathering Evidence

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Gathering Evidence

• The Beginning

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Where does crime occur?

• Many at specific place/time
• Murder, rape, arson, explosion, burglary,
  kidnapping
• Others over a time period
• Fraud, forgery, embezzlement, computer crime
• white collar crime

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Forensic Scientist

• Needed to investigate most crimes
• About ½ work deals with DWIs, drug problems,
  accidents ( road, industry)

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This Class

• Working with mainly major crimes
• Specific time/place
• scene of the crime

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Back to Dr. Edmond Locard

• every crime leaves a trace
• Every criminal leaves something at the scene of
  the crime and takes something away

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The Crime Scene

• 1st police officer follows guidelines
• Personal safety
• Check for suspect, arrest if present
• Assist victims
• First aid, EMS
• Preserve scene
• Detain witnesses and keep separate
• Determine where scene is
• Create a log

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Where is the crime scene?

• Primary Crime Scene- where it occurred
• Secondary Crime Scene- relates to crime, but not
  where it happened
• Many possibilities
• 1 room
• Place of entry/exit
• A house
• Wherever theres key evidence
• A neighborhood

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Some Evidence Destroyed

• 1st person to find body
• Check pulse, loosen clothing, CPR, searching
  things
• 1st Officers/ EMS workers
• Often lack training in preservation
• Outside
• Wind, rain, time, water, animals, many prints

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Starting the Investigation

• eyes open, mouth shut, hands in pockets
• 1st a walk through examination
• Overall feel of the scene
• Documentation, documentation, documentation
• Notes, sketches, photos, video

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The Toolbox

• Crime scene tape
• Camera and film
• SketchPad and pen
• Disposable Protective Clothes
• Flashlight
• Alternate light sources
• UV, Infrared, laser
• Magnifying glass

• Tweezers
• Cotton swabs
• Paper and plastic evidence tubes
• Fingerprint supplies
• Casting kit
• Serology kit (blood, body fluids)
• Entomology kit (insects)
• Hazmat kit
• Sexual Assault kit

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Now, A Little Assignment

• On apiece of loose-leaf, write your name, the
  date, and Tool Box Assignment
• For each piece of equipment in the crime scene
  investigators kit, write down your explanation
  for its use.
• Explain each item to the best of your knowledge.
  Include example where possible. For example, what
  other body fluids might have to do with a
  serology kit?

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Documentation of the Scene

• Photos ASAP
• Crime scene in unaltered state
• Before removing evidence-like a body
• Surrounding areas from different points of view
• Anyone injured
• Bumps, bruises, scratches
• More severe wounds photographed in hospital
• Size reference
• Ruler, bill, key, etc

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Sketches

• Show relationship of evidence to crime scene
• Like a map
• Everything located by distances from stationary
  object like a window, a corner, or a tree
• Rough but accurate

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Reconstruct

• Help form a hypothesis
• May constantly change as evidence is analyzed
• Shoeprints
• Fingerprints
• Too marks
• Blood spatters, trajectories
• Physical condition of the body

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Staged Scenes

• Perpetrator tries to make crime look like
  something else
• Murder like suicide
• Murder like theft gone bad
• Insurance fraud like burglary
• Arson to take away from other crime

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