nterview is the first step in processing a crime scene. The crime scene technician must interview the first officer at the scene or the victim to ascertain the "theory" of the case. Basically what allegedly happened, what crime took place, and how was the crime committed. This information may not be factual information but it will give the crime scene technician a base from which to start.
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nterview is the first step in processing a crime scene. The crime scene technician must interview the first officer at the scene or the victim to ascertain the "theory" of the case. Basically what allegedly happened, what crime took place, and how was the crime committed. This information may not be factual information but it will give the crime scene technician a base from which to start.
Examine the crime scene as the second step in the protocol. Examine the scene for what? To ascertain if the "theory" of the case is substantiated by what the crime scene technician observes. Examining the scene to identify possible items of evidentiary nature, identify point of entry and point of exit, and getting the general layout of the crime scene.
Photograph the crime scene is the third step in the protocol. Photographing the crime scene to record a pictorial view of what the scene looks like and to record items of possible evidence. Crime scene photographs are generally taken in two categories, overall views and items of evidence.
Sketch the crime scene is the fourth step in the protocol. A rough sketch is completed by the crime scene technician to demonstrate the layout of the crime scene or to identify the exact position of the deceased victim or evidence within the crime scene. A crime scene sketch may not be completed on every case, however some form of sketching usually occurs in most cases, i.e., on a fingerprint lift card to identify exactly where the latent was recovered.
The last step in the protocol is to process the crime scene. Process the scene for what? The crime scene technician will process the crime scene for evidence, both physical and testimonial evidence. It is the crime scene technicians responsibility to identify, evaluate and collect physical evidence from the crime scene for further analysis by a crime laboratory.
The above five steps in the protocol of crime scene processing is intermingled with each other step. If the "theory" of the case dictates that the intruder forcibly entered the residence through a window then the crime scene technician will need to examine the window area for footwear patterns, toolmarks, trace evidence and latent finger prints. Upon finding such items of evidence the technician will need to photograph their location and possibly complete a sketch showing the exact location of the evidence or perhaps a sketch of the footwear pattern. This intermingling of the steps in the protocol will continue throughout the processing of the crime scene. Of course interwoven throughout these five steps is the recording of the crime scene by photographs, sketches, and field notes.
This protocol should be used in all crime scenes. Whether the crime scene is a recovered stolen vehicle or a multiple homicide where several crime scenes are involved the basic protocol is the same.
Once the scene has been photographed, investigators need to sketch the crime scene, which can be accomplished by crime scene sketch artists from the local department or from other neighboring jurisdictions. The sketch can be most described as more than a note but less than a photo (O’Connor, 2006). The four types of crime scene sketches include the overhead (bird’s eye view) sketch; the exploded view sketch which depicts the floor and each wall laid out adjacent to the appropriate edges of the room’s floor; the elevation sketch, which involves “looking at the scene from side-to-side” (O’Connor, 2006); and the perspective sketch, which adds a third dimension to the scene. The initial sketch will be completed by the investigator. Each additional detailed sketch should be accomplished by a team of investigators in concert with a crime scene sketch artist.
If any measurements need to be taken from any central object such as the dead body in a homicide, a minimum of two points of reference should be used to identify the exact location of the body on a sketch by using the tree and the front door as reference points. For example, measurements could be taken at main entrance of a house to the center of the body and from another outstanding feature (e.g., a tree) also to the center of the body. The finished sketch should also contain a legend which matches up evidence with its marker number or flag and identifies other symbols for the landmarks the represent (e.g., trees, house, body, weapon, et cetera) (O’Connor, 2006). Initially, a rough sketch should be and should be reproduced as a more refined finished 3-D sketch drawn to scale which is usually annotated as 1/8 inch to one foot for indoor crime scenes and 1 inch to 20 feet for outdoor crime scenes (O’Connor, 2006). The accuracy of the finished sketch is extremely important as the prosecution may use it to create a mockup for court.
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