Designing Your Character & Other Handy Things

A Simplified Guide To Crime Scene Investigation

Introduction

A body washes up on a lonely stretch of beach. A fire in a methamphetamine lab devastates an apartment building. A car accident claims the life of a driver during her trip home. These are all potential crime scenes.

By conducting a systematic examination of these areas, crime scene investigators uncover the physical evidence to help identify what happened and who was involved. This process must be conducted carefully and thoroughly to ensure that crucial evidence is collected and fragile evidence is not destroyed in the process.

At a scene, the case investigator and crime scene personnel work together to: define and secure areas that may contain evidence; examine and document the scene; collect physical evidence; and preserve, package and submit the evidence to the laboratory for analysis. With these key pieces of evidence, the investigator can attempt to reconstruct the elements of the crime.

The more thorough the crime scene team is at conducting its job, the more likely it is to accurately determine the facts of the case. The quality of the evidence and the manner in which it is handled will also impact the ability of the attorneys to argue the facts of the case and ultimately the jurors ability to come to conclusions regarding guilt or innocence.

Principles of Crime Scene Investigation

The key principle underlying crime scene investigation is a concept that has become known as Locard's Exchange Principle. It states that whenever someone enters or exits an environment, something physical is added to and removed from the scene. This principle is generally summed up by stating: Every contact leaves a trace.

The logic behind this principle allows investigators to link suspects to victims, to physical objects, and to scenes. Any evidence that can link a person to the scene is referred to as associative evidence. This may include items such as fingerprints, blood and bodily fluids, weapons, hair, fibers and the like. This type of evidence answers the question "Who did this?"

While associative evidence links people to the place of the crime, reconstructive evidence allows investigators to gain an understanding of the actions that took place at the scene. A broken window, a blood spatter pattern, bullet paths and shoe prints can all reveal what actually happened. This type of evidence answers the question, "How did it happen?"

To help establish the linkage of people and things to a scene, the investigator may also collect known substances, called control samples. These can be items such as fibers from carpeting at the scene, glass fragments, soil, vegetation and other trace evidence. If these are found on the suspect s clothing, in their vehicle or at their residence, it could provide circumstantial evidence linking the person to the scene.

For example, police are called to a residential neighborhood where a home invasion and burglary has just occurred. Investigators collect glass fragments from a shattered cabinet door with a distinct pattern etched into the glass. A tip leads investigators to a local man with a known history of burglary. Examination of the suspect's clothing yields glass fragments with the same distinct pattern as the smashed cabinet doors.

Eliminating people who could not be the perpetrator is also important. Control samples of fingerprints and DNA are often collected from any person(s) who have access to the scene who are not considered suspects.

Gauging the Value of Evidence

It is unique — If an item is found that helps narrow the possibilities of who might be considered a suspect, or the manner in which a crime was committed, this evidence would be of use. Is an impression from a vehicle tire found in the dirt at the scene? The tread impression can be compared to others to determine the type of tire that was on the car. Is a shoe print left in the soil? The tread may help to identify the size and type of shoes it came from and the wear pattern could be used to match it to a specific pair.