1 Introduction 1.1 Basics With any subject, the most basic point is the definition of the topic area. So: what is a crime scene investigation? Let’s start with that: 
investigation – the study of something, gathering information, making conclusions 
crime scene – the place (scene) where the illegal (crime) event occurred So there we are with our definition: a study of the place where the illegal event occurred. There is no doubt that in the strictest sense, that is the correct definition. However, in the context of gathering evidence to assist in the investigation of an incident, is it a useful or even correct definition? EXERCISE 1.1 (a) Can you think of any reasons why this definition of crime scene is inadequate? (b) What is a more useful definition for our purposes? CRIME SCENE EXAMPLE – LOCKERBIE On December 21, 1988, a Pan Am 747 jet flying from Frankfurt to New York exploded in midair. The debris rained down over Scotland, with the largest parts landing on the small village of Lockerbie. All 259 on board were killed along with 11 people on the ground. The cause of the explosion was not known at the time, but it was eventually determined to be the result of a bomb in a suitcase in the luggage hold. The suitcase was unaccompanied, meaning that the person(s) who checked it in did not travel on the plane with it. The bomb was triggered by a timing mechanism. This incident sparked one of the largest international investigations before September 11. Debris was spread out over a path 300 km long, covering an area of around 2000 sq. km, making it possibly the largest crime scene ever. 1. Introduction The British Army began the task of covering the area, marking sites, making notes. The dismal job of collecting forensic evidence came later. One searcher told of finding a body, absolutely intact, sitting seemingly calm, still strapped into his airplane seat. But investigators said those on board would have died quickly, even before the jagged metal, the slipstream, the impact, dismembered them. Thousands of bits of Boeing 747 were taken to a warehouse and pieced together, until they made what almost looked like an aircraft. As is evident from the Lockerbie case, crime scenes can be very large. They can also be very small – a broken car window, a few bloodstains on a pavement. More often than not, the incident will be trivial (to the impartial outsider, but not to the victim), sometimes it won’t be. It may be in a million dollar mansion, or down a sewer; it might involve little more than minor property damage, it could have a three‐week old rotting corpse covered in maggots. One thing it will never be is a happy scene: there will be someone who has had their life disrupted to a small or large extent by the incident. It is therefore critical to remember that if you do become a crime scene officer, the victims of the incident are people too, and will be in a disturbed state of mind. It might be a job for you, but you have to demonstrate compassion for the victim. 1.2 The process – From callout to court As with any organised activity, there is a definite and essentially unchangeable sequence of events that must occur with the investigation of a crime. It is the crime scene part of this process that this subject aims to address. EXERCISE 1.2 What is the sequence of events that you would expect to happen from the first report of the crime to the day in court? EXERCISE 1.3 The following terms describe the process as it relates to the crime scene and evidence: analyse, collect, document, evaluate, interpret, present, secure. Place them in the correct time sequence (from start to end). Crime Scene Processing 1.2 1. Introduction 1.3 Types of crime scenes The nature of the crime scene makes a substantial difference to how evidence gathering is approached. The two most important characteristics of a crime scene in this regard are: 
its location – for example, whether it is inside or outside a building, size, geographical location 
the nature of the incident – whether it is major or minor EXERCISE 1.4 (a) For the following crime scene location variations, explain why they may have an effect on the evidence gathering process. Suggest others, and explain their significance. Crime Scene Characteristic Effect on Evidence Gathering interior or exterior geographical location size of scene prevailing conditions (time of day, weather) person (b) Explain why the nature of the incident affects the evidence gathering process. 1.4 Types of evidence There are many, many different items and materials can be evidence from a crime scene. They can, however, be categorised into a number of basic groups (some types may belong to a number of categories):  impression – marks left in or on a surface, eg fingerprints  biological – material from a natural (human, animal or plant) source, eg blood  trace –small pieces of a range of materials, transferred by person to crime scene or vice versa, eg glass fragments  weapons eg gun  documents – including electronic forms, eg stolen credit cards  miscellaneous items – objects that don’t fit into the above categories, eg stolen merchandise Different crime scene locations and different types of incidents will commonly produce different types of evidence as listed in Tables 1.1 & 1.2. Crime Scene Processing 1.3 1. Introduction EXERCISE 1.5 Complete the Category and Car columns in Table 1.1. TABLE 1.1 Common evidence types from different crime scene locations Evidence type Category Suspect Victim Building Car Outdoors 
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Hair 
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Fibres 
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Glass fragments T 
Paint 
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Paint transfer 
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Gunshot residue 
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Nail scrapings 
Fingerprint standards 
Fingerprints I 
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Footwear impressions 
Footwear standards 
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DNA 
DNA standards 
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Wounds or injury 
Bite marks 
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Weapons W 
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Projectiles 
Projectile holes & ricochet marks 
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Restraining devices 
Tyre marks Tyre tread patterns 
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Tools 
Tool marks 
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Clothing 
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Accelerants 
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Blood B 
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Blood spatter 
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Computers & files 
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Personal D documentation 
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Drugs 
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Stolen items M EXERCISE 1.6 In the list of evidence types in Table 1.1 are a number described as standards. What does this mean? Crime Scene Processing 1.4 1. Introduction TABLE 1.2 Evidence from different incidents Type of Incident Likely Evidence Items Use of firearms Weapons, tool marks, footwear impressions, tyre marks, fragments, jackets, wadding, ricochet marks, projectile holes, gunshot residue (GSR), hair, fibres, nail scrapings, fingerprints, glass fragments, DNA, splatter patterns Use of knives Weapons, tool marks, footwear impressions, tyre marks, bite marks, hair, fibres, nail scrapings, DNA, splatter patterns Suicide & accidental deaths Weapon or instrument of cause, casing, projectile, DNA, GSR, fingerprints, nail scrapings, documents Kidnapping Sexual assault Fingerprints, restraining devices, DNA, hair, fibre, tool marks, footwear impressions, documents Fingerprints, footwear impressions, tyre marks, DNA, nail scrapings, restraining devices, hair, fibres Robbery Fingerprints, tyre marks, footwear impressions, DNA, restraining devices, hair fibres, monitor or surveillance device, weapons, weapon related evidence Assault Weapon or instrument, DNA, hair, fibres, fingerprints, spatter patterns Arson Accelerants, fingerprints, DNA, hair, fibres Burglary Tool marks, fingerprints, tyre marks, footwear impressions, glass fragments, hair, fibres, DNA EXERCISE 1.7 What evidence types would you look for from a car theft? EXERCISE 1.8 Read the following account of a hypothetical crime. Underline each piece of evidence possibly left by the thief at the scene or taken away with him. Cornelius Joseph Elliot, dressed in a track suit top and trousers, trainers and a woollen ‘bobble’ hat, had a small rucksack on his back containing the tools of his trade. He jogged down the road to create the impression that he was exercising. Elliot specialised in breaking into houses on housing estates where the majority of occupants were likely to be out during the day. On this day he selected one house where the rear was not overlooked, had high hedges and where there was a garden gate leading to a lane, thus providing an alternative way out of the back garden. At the rear of the house, there was a kitchen window big enough to climb through. He pulled a dustbin into position, stood on the lid, and attempted to force open the window with a chisel so that he could then slip a screwdriver through the gap, and spring open the window catch. A concealed security lock prevented this. He removed his track suit top and, using this to muffle the sound, broke the window with a small hammer. Elliot listened carefully. Satisfied that there was no one in the house and that he had not been overheard by neighbours, he carefully removed enough pieces of glass to enable him to climb into the house. He stepped onto the work surface and jumped down to the floor. He unlocked the rear door using a key hanging on a keyboard, thus making sure of his line Crime Scene Processing 1.5 1. Introduction of escape. He quickly made a search of the areas which experience had taught him were likely to contain cash and valuables, and was lucky in finding cash in a kitchen cupboard and a box containing jewellery at the back of a drawer in a bedroom. He tipped the box out onto the bed and, hurriedly emptying the ring boxes and protective wrappers, stuffed the contents into the pocket of his rucksack. The sound of a car pulling into the driveway alarmed him. Elliot quickly ran down the stairs and out through the rear door. In his hurry, he did not notice stepping on a child’s comic laying on the kitchen floor, just as he did not notice that his woollen hat had fallen off as he ran down the stairs. He took the shortest route to the back gate, across the lawn and through the vegetable garden. He ran through the gate, brushing the hedge aside to do so, and then on down the lane. Elliot had no time to notice that the overgrown hawthorn bushes were in bloom. As Mrs Jones pulled up in front of the garage of her home, she was startled when she saw in the gap, between the garage and the rear of the house, a dark haired figure who ran across the back garden. She got out of the car and started down the path but, as soon as she saw the rear of the house and realised that it had been broken into, she quickly returned to the car, got in and secured the doors. Then she called the police on her mobile phone. Whilst she waited for them to arrive, she wrote down on the back of her shopping list everything about the figure that she could remember: white male; not more than medium height – he’d been able to run under the washing line; blue track suit – with a white stripe down the leg; some sort of bag over his shoulder – possibly canvas?; dark hair; not wearing any head covering or gloves that she could see. Mrs Jones was greatly relieved when eight minutes later a police car pulled into the drive behind her and she could tell the officer what had occurred. What You Need To Be Able To Do 
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define important terminology explain the sequence of events that occurs in the investigation and prosecution of a crime outline characteristics of crime scenes that affect the process of evidence gathering name the basic evidence categories and give examples of each type indicate the type of evidence typically found at different types of crime scenes Crime Scene Processing 1.6