JS 112- Crime Scene Procedures
I.
Pre class activities
a. Quiz
b. Announcements and Assignments
c. Acknowledgements
II. Crime Scene Management, First Responders and Processing
the Crime- Fisher Ch 2 and Ch 5
a. Management considerations- Information, Person power,
Technology and Logistics
b. Role of the First Responder- Before arriving, Arriving
c. Secure and Isolate- Multilevel security Walk through
d. Recording the scene (CSI exercise)
e. Communication
f. Legal Considerations and Safety
Announcements
• Next time- John Jermaine MS. Chemist ATFE
Guns, Drugs and Bombs, Investigative Chemistry
• Looking ahead- Weds 03/01/10- Student led
reviews- E mail summary by 02/28/10 by 1200
noon
• Monday 03/03/10- Exam I
• Assignment- Read Chapters 2 and 3
Elements of Crime Scene Management
• Combined power of crime scenes, physical
evidence, records and witnesses
• Use of teamwork, advanced investigative skills,
ability to process the crime scene properly,
recognizing, collecting and preserving all relevant
physical evidence
• Effectiveness of crime scene functions are only
as good as management that supports those
functions
Components of an effective
crime scene management system
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Information
Person power
Technology
Logistics
Information management
• Victim- background
– Actions and whereabouts
– Belongings accounted for-anything missing
– Locate family, friends and associates for recent events
and how the victim got to the scene
– Motor vehicle registry
• Extended Victim Background
– Business, family and personal associates identified and
interviewed
– Habitual behaviors
– Financial affairs-credit cards, bank accounts, telephone
records
– Residence and personal belongings inventoried for
anything missing or out of the “norm”
Information Management
• Witnesses
– Interactions with victim near time of death
– Clothing, food eaten, trace material foreign biological material or
drugs taken
– Find physical evidence to corroborate witness statements
• Potential Witnesses
– Direct witness
– First responding officer – witnesses and potential suspects,
transient or conditional evidence, eg position of the door or on/off
light status
– General public
– Informants
Management of person power
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Allocation of personnel and training
Time, talent, resources
Scene documentation
Photography
Videotaping
Sketching
Search methods
Recognizing, collecting and preserving physical
evidence
Information Management
• Crime scene/evidence
– Documentation- Photography,sketches, notes
– Physical evidence-any evidence/object that can provide
useful information for investigators in solving the crime
– Transient evidence- eg odors, temperatures, markings
– Conditional evidence- lighting conditions, smoke or
fire, precise location of specific pieces of evidence
– Pattern evidence-Imprints, indentations, striations,
markings, fractures, blood spatter, glass fracture, tire or
skid mark, projectile trajectory pattern, powder or
residue.
– Transfer evidence- Locard exchange principle- trace
– Associative evidence- suspects wallet
Information Management
• Suspects
– Background Information- like victim
– Modus operandi patterns
• Databases
– DNA
• CODIS – Combined DNA Index system
http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/codis/index1.htm
The FBI Laboratory's Combined DNA Index System (CODIS) blends
forensic science and computer technology into an effective tool for
solving violent crimes. CODIS enables federal, state, and local
crime labs to exchange and compare DNA profiles electronically,
thereby linking crimes to each other and to convicted offenders.
Advances in DNA
technology permit
analysis of very
small, extremely
old evidence
Information Management
• Databases
– Fingerprints- Automated Fingerprint Identification system-AFIS
– Many states with millions of fingerprints on file
– Fingerprints can be checked with latent prints
• http://www.fbi.gov/hq/cjisd/iafis.htm
– Cartridge casing and bullets- Drugfire- IBIS
• DrugFire/IBIS is a ballistic imaging system initially designed by
the FBI for use in counteracting drug and gang shootings in the
early 1990’s. The FBI found that guns used in one drug related
crime were often used in other crimes. A database was created that
stores the unique markings found on bullets and cartridge cases.
Technology and Equipment
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Inventory equipment
Keep current in technology
Know unit limitations
Training
Equipment
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Support vehicles
Communications
Tools and search equipment
Specialized crime scene kits
Chemical and reagents
Evidence packaging materials and forms
Portable instrumentation
Management of Logistics
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Command Posts
Media Relations
Inter-agency Liason
Resource allocations
Developing procedures
Selecting appropriate crime scene investigation
model
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Traditional
Crime scene technicians
Scene of the crime/major crime squad
Laboratory crime scene scientist
Collaborative team approach
Forensic Laboratory Management Practices
American Society of Crime Laboratory
Directors Guidelines
• Provide guidelines to safeguard integrity
and objectives of criminalistics
• See Fisher pp 15-20
• Included are: Integrity, quality, security,
training, competency, communication,
public responsibility, legal compliance,
disclosure and discovery, accreditation,
certification, research and ethics
CSI Crime Scene:
Before Arriving- Pre-assessment
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What am I responding to?
What do I need to bring?
Who do I need to bring?
How much time will it take?
How long will it take to get there?
What has transpired at the scene?
Who has been through it?
Have you secured the scene?
CSI - Crime Scene -Arriving
• Get ID ready
• Park in a place not blocking exits
• Team approach- Observations to assist in
determining potential value of evidence
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What has happened (in agencies eyes)?
Who has been in?
When did it happen?
What has been done?
Do we have a search warrant?
Some apparent evidence may be superfluous- eg
medical treatments can create blood/footprints
• Interview first officer on the scene
First Responder’s Duties 1
• Successful resolution of the case may hinge on the
actions and stops taken by the first responder
• First responder duty does not vary due to rank
• Preserve the integrity of evidence
• Change to the scene may occur with each contact Locards exchange principle: Leverite
• Value of meticulous note taking
• Do not approach in haste
• Calm and Deliberate movements
• Expect the worst- If something can go wrong it
will (Murphys law)
First Responders duties (2)
• Every crime is different – not possible to set hard and fast
rules
• Generally applicable
– Secure the scene:
– Responsibility of the first officer on the scene to Secure and
protect
– Take measures to isolate the area- ropes, barricades and
positioning of guards
– Authority to exclude- Scene security officer
– Potential destruction of physical evidence
– Logs- example from SJSU- no one in w/o authority- requiring
report
– Critical to the investigation
Multi-level security approach
• Level 1: Overall scene security- restriction of
general public: set up special media area
• Level 2: Area security- restriction to official
business- higher ranking officers and officials- Set
up command post for briefings, logistics, break
and rest areas
• Level 3: Target Area security- highest limited
access only for crime scene investigators
First Responders duties (3)
Arrest the suspect• Check for weapons
• Do not let suspect back to scene
• Document condition, injuries and behavior of suspect
Assist the victim
• Injured person on the scene-administer first aid--- even if
evidence lost or destroyed
Dead body-Homicide?
– Dead person- do not touch. Use a phone… not radio
due to press
– Summon the coroner
Record the time
– Critical to the investigation
– Estimate what may have happened
First Responders duties (4)
• What to do until investigating personnel arrive
– Write down names of witnesses and other persons who
entered the scene
– Note who was at the scene when the officer arrived
– Establish the basic facts
– Keep suspect and witnesses separated wherever
possible
– Instruct witnesses not to discuss the events
– Do not discuss the crime with witnesses or bystanders
– Listen attntively but unobtrusively
– Protect evidence that is in danger of being destroyed
• Continued protection of the scene
– No one allowed without investigators permissionGOSOKEEO
First Responder Duties (5)
• Observe transient evidence
– Doors, windows, lights, shades, odors, signs of activity,
date and time indicators, mail, newspapers etc.
• First officer should remain and send others to
call headquarters
• Inteview/Detain witnesses
• Communicate with supervisors
• Report all actions, observations and changes
Legal Considerations
• Removal of any evidence from a person of from
the scene of a crime in conformity with Fourth
Amendment privileges:
– The right of the people to be secure in their persons,
houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable
searches and seizure, shall not be violated and no
warrants shall issue, but upon probably cause,
supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly
describing the place to be searched, and the persons or
things to be seized.
Legal Considerations
• Justification of warranties searches
– Existence of emergency
– Need to prevent immediate loss or destruction of evidence
– Search of a person and property within the immediate control of
the person provided it is made incident to a lawful arrest
– Search made by consent of the parties involved
• Message from Supreme Court-when time and
circumstance permit obtain a search warrant
– Mincey vs Arizona• Police raid on suspected drug dealer Rufus Mincey
• Undercover officer forced entry pretext of buying drugs and
was killed in scuffle.
• Collected evidence including bullets, drugs and paraphernalia
over 4 days without warrant
• Violated 4th amendment rights court unanimously agreed
Fundamental Practices: Crime Scene Safety
• AIDS, hepatitis B and TB- Inoculation for hepatitis B
• OSHA
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Double glove, tyvek shoe covers, coveralls
Particle masks, respirator, goggles or face shield
Sharp objects- appropriate container
Blood latent print powder brush needs to be decontaminated or
disposed
Biohazard bags for infectious materials – used gloves etc.
Notes taken with uncontaminated gloves
Soiled protective equipment needs to be removed and
decontaminated
Eating and drinking is prohibited
Summary (1)
• Physical evidence has many uses- establish a
crime has been committed, exonerate the innocent,
establish links, corroborate statements, provide
investigative leads
• Examples of physical evidence include drugs, hair,
fibers, fingerprints, bullets, paint, ropes and
shoeprints.
• The goal of identification is to determine the
physical or chemical identity of a substance.
Contrast this to individualization that is to
determine that an item has come from a unique
source.
Summary (2)
• Elements of crime scene management include teamwork,
information, person power, technology and logistics
• ASCLD has published guidelines to insure integrity and
objectives
• First responder duties may vary depending on the crime.
Duties that are common include preserving the integrity
of the evidence, secure the scene, arrest the suspect,
assist the victim, record the time, note transient evidence,
interview witnesses and communicate to supervisors
• Legal considerations include fourth amendment
privileges and getting a warrant before processing the
scene
• Safety considerations include AIDS, hepatitis B and TB