The Paper Trail: Case Files, Worksheets, Notes
and Sketches
Introduction
General Considerations
 Forensic archiving is a multiplex of processes
encompassing more than simply taking photographs.
 A complex endeavor that begins with videography and
photography and ends sketching and measuring.
 “The Paper Trail…,” is actually a misnomer because
archive includes numerous technologies including 3D
imaging.
 Much is in paper format … the future is digital.
 Encompasses entire work product of crime scene …
includes all media used to record the scene activity.
 It must be protected and archived in a case file.
The Case File
The location, virtual or otherwise, where the archives of all
investigative activity of a specific case are maintained.
The Case File
AKA = Case jacket,
Contains all paper work (worksheets, notes, photographs,
sketches, etc.), the essence of the work product of the
investigation.
 Where investigators go to for case review … see what has
was done during original investigation.
The official record of the investigation
 Location of reports, sketches, worksheets, written notes,
CD’s with digital photographs, printed photographs,
investigative leads, witness statements, etc.
The Case File
Pages in the Case File
Each page should be numbered sequentially in a format that
indicates the page number and the total number of pages,
 For example, 1 of 52 or 1/52.
 New additions (pages) added sequentially.
A page added out of sequence is given a number indicating it was
placed into the case file at a later time at that location:
 Page 135A, if it was the second page or 135B if the third
page added.
Worksheets
Worksheets
Four basic categories:
Anything the scene
investigator fills out or
records.
 Forms
 Audio
 Hand-written notes
including forms
 Sketches.
 Fill out completely.
 Reagent worksheets
 Contain all
appropriate lot
numbers and
expiration dates.
 Case Files Contain
 Original worksheets
generated at the scene
 Revised
worksheets/sketches
 Legally Discoverable
Can become court
exhibit
Notes
Draft notes
 written on any type of
paper
 Any format
understandable to
investigator & can be
transcribed


Straight text format
Shorthand fashion
convenient to the
recording analyst
 Each page:
 Appropriate case number,
date, analysts initials.
 if sketches not drawn to scale
this needs to be indicated on
the rough sketch.
 Become part of case jacket or
file
Notes
 Observations, Thoughts, Tentative hypotheses
 Corrections
 Require a single line cross-out through the error,
accompanied by the analysts initials.
 DO NOT obliterate
 Rough Sketches/Notes are Transcribed
 More comprehensive text after returning from scene
 Original becomes part of official case file.
 As soon as possible upon return.
 Measurements recorded in notes.
 Take as Many as Necessary
 Need for recollection at a later date (court).
Forms
 Part of case file
 Class of critical crutches. Filling out is critical activity ensure that important
information neither forgotten nor lost.
 Investigative agencies have own structure … collect similar information. Some agencies
have detailed forms and others not so much.
 Common Forms:





Chain-of-custody,
Scene response,
Photographic,
Measurement logs,
Quality assurance forms, etc.
 Must be filled out completely … case numbers, the initials of the person filling out the
form and other specified information.
 Multiple page forms: each page filled out and numbered sequentially in a format that
indicates the page number and the total number of pages.
Scene Response Form
PSU CASE NO.
DATE
SCENE ADDRESS/LOCATION
SCENE ARRIVAL
TIME
SCENE DEPARTURE TIME
SCENE
(INDOOR/OUTDOOR)
SCENE SECURED (YES/NO)
WEATHER CONDITIONS (IF APPLICABLE)
PERSONNEL AT SCENE
PERSONNEL (FULL NAME AND RANK)
SHIELD
NO.
AGENCY
ARRIVAL DEPARTURE TIME
TIME
Record of individuals at the scene … documents who, contact information, when they arrived and left.
Need separate form each day the team at the scene. Captures critical weather information, e.g.,
raining, sunny, temperature, etc. For example, the name of the medical examiner might be on the list.
Information include: the ME’s phone number … might reference name and phone numbers of a
witness.
Chain of Custody Form
PSU
CASE
NO.
ITEM ID
ITEM ID
VICTIM NAME(S)
CRIMINALIST(S):
DESCRIPTION
RECEIVED FROM (INCLUDE SHIELD #) RECEIVED BY (INCLUDE SHIELD #)
DATE
Sometimes known as the chain of evidence or the chain … most important document … represents the
history of a piece of evidence.
Critical to ensure that the evidence history is never lost … documents evidence from the time packaged
(where found) to its transfer to labs, property room, court, to when it is eventually destroyed.
The team leader ensures that each item of evidence collected has a documented signature history. Transit
history must remain intact until eventually destroyed
Latent Print Processing Log
Name: Sgt. Harvey Date: 8/15/11
Time: 10:10 PM
Item No.
Object Printed/Method
Location
Gathered By
Photo by/Method
65
Door know knob/black
powder
Entrance to
house
Sgt. Harvey
Living room
Sgt Harvey
Close up by
Millicent
Culpepper
None
Note:
All places and objects examined for latent prints should be in the log. Negative attempts will
not have an Item Number.
Captures important information:







Item number,
Object on which the print (impression) was found
Method used to visualize it (unless patent print),
Location of printed object @ scene,
Person who collected the print (impression),
Method of how collected (tape lifted, gel lifted, etc),
Person who photographed print & method used (digital SLR, ALS, etc.).
General Impression Evidence Processing Log
Name: Det. Robert Wishburn
Date: 8/15/11
Time: 11:31 PM
Item No.
Impression
Category/method
Location
Gathered By
Photo by/Type
104
2D Footwear
Impression/electrostatic lift
Floor in living room
Det. Wishburn
Millicent Way/closeup
Note:
All places and objects examined for latent prints should be in the log. Negative attempts
will not have an Item Number.
Documents collection other types of impression evidence
Mistakes
 Filling out forms by humans … mistakes are expected.
 Correcting mistakes
 Single line through mistake
 Write the correct information above mistake.
 Place initials and the date of correction next to or above
correction (many texts advocate simply using initials, but this is a
mistake).
 If the date is not included … no way of knowing when the
mistake was identified and corrected.
 Never obliterate or white-out a mistake.
Sketches
Sketches
 Has been suggested :
 Sketching involves two separate actions:
 Artistic and analytical – process similar to mapping.
o No true analysis is involved
 Visible product of investigative process …
 Other work also falls into the category of forensic archiving because, like
sketching, it represents the work product of the team and is a part of the
permanent investigative record.
 Sketches are part of the case file.
 Defined
A marriage of drawing and making measurements of crime scene elements, the
final rendering of which is a perspective that renders the scene understandable to
the lay public and provides information to investigators.
 Sketching occurs twice.

Rough sketches (drafts) are contemporaneous with the scene investigation and are discoverable
as evidence for admission in a legal proceeding.

Final sketch … final rendering … cleaned-up version of the rough sketch; it, too, is
discoverable.
When does sketching take place?
 History: Before photography there was sketching … still an essential skill.
 Sketching is among the first activities at the scene, and it occurs
contemporaneously with photographing and searching for and protecting fragile
evidence.
 Lays out scene that neither photographs nor video can.
 Provide an overview and the precise and/or relative location of
evidence.
 Initial rough sketch made @ scene … converted to a final sketch prepared offsite.
 Both integral parts of the case file.
 Where to begin the sketch, e.g., which room to sketch first …

decision team leader makes to ensure entire scene including each critical
item, such as furniture, blood trails, footprints, tire tracks, blood spatter, bodies,
weapons, and etc, captured without interrupting the investigative process.
 Delaying the scene investigation to wait for sketchers is certainly not time
efficient.
Sketching
Illustrative diagrams
Purpose of the sketch
• Overview of scene and relative
relationships of evidence
• Complements photography and
videography
• Ties elements of a scene
together
• Eliminates extraneous or
confusing details seen in
photos & videos.
• Depicts appearance of scene
• Not meant to be an
architectural drawing
Why Are Sketches Important?
• Memory
• Helps investigators recall details
• Clarifies relationships of objects @
scene?
• Prosecutors/attorneys/juries
What does it become?
• Permanent record in the case file
Most effectively involve two people working together … makes rough sketching easier and faster: one
measures and the other draws and records the information.
Final sketch made from rough draft. Includes (also included on rough sketch).








Address – place of the sketch
Date and time
Temperature/weather conditions – sunny, cloudy, raining, etc.
N/S indicators
Name of sketcher(s) – individuals who did the sketch
Case number
Notation whether sketch is rough or final
Legend to capture information in the sketch
SKETCH WORKSHEET
CASE NO: 1-008
ROUGH DRAFT:
Y (X)
N
DATE:
8/15/11
SCALE: 1 INCH= 1 FOOT
CRIMINALIST/INVESTIGATOR:
EMILY BORN
Ways to make a sketch:
 Graph paper for both the final and rough sketches.
 Use templates available.
 Computer programs and 3D imaging systems can speed the final sketch after measurement data is entered: 3D
imaging systems take thousands of measurements in 360o using infrared lasers to measure the scene. These
measurements are turned into 3D drawings using dedicated software. Systems are slow and can restrict movement
@ scene to areas not imaged.
 Computer Aided Design (CAD) programs adapted for crime scene work … convert measurements into final,
polished sketches.
 Bird’s-eye view or floor plan of
scene.
 Simplest for a jury to understand.
 Required for all crime scenes,
 Gives an accurate overview of the
scene and the relative location of
evidence observed.
 Partial plan sketch can be made of
the individual components of the scene,
such as

Walls with bullet holes or
bloodstain patterns

Not typically considered part
of the floor plan per se.
The Plan sketch
This sketch
 First, the detail of the area –
landscaping – around the house where
the crime took place is too large … out
of proportion with respect to the house.
 Legend explains meaning of icons
… nice & important addition …
construction not ideal
 NOTE: measurement form used to
record actual measurements therefore
not on sketch
Indoor Sketch
Plan Sketch




Correct information recorded,
Scene shows important items of evidence,
Legend is appropriate for what was observed and recorded.
One Problem: Since this is a final sketch, the lines should not have been drawn free hand.
Simplicity
Not Cluttered
Legend
Orientation
Lines drawn
freehand
Cross Projection or Exploded Sketch
 Purposefully simplified an
example of a Cross-projection sketch.
 The measurements @ scene be
maintained in separate measurement
•
log, and not on the sketch to keep it
simple.
•
 Cross projection sketch is
flattened view of the scene … top & •
bottom pressed into a single plane.
 Useful where the walls and
ceilings have important probative
evidence, e.g., bloodstain patterns,
bullet defects, etc.
 Appropriate for rooms but not
for an entire building.
Cross-projection Sketch
Exploded Sketch
Wall
N
Depicts room as if
the walls folded
down flat into the
plane of the floor.
Useful for complex
scenes
Locates evidence on
walls & ceilings
– Bloodstain
patterns
Ceiling
– Bullet holes
4
5
1
Floor
2
3
6
Window
Wall
7
Key
1= Body
2= Bed
3= Nightstand
4= Dresser
5= TV
6= bloodstains
7= bloodstains on
ceiling
Elevation Sketch
 Document side-view of one part of a scene … wall or ceiling
with bloodstain spatter or bullet holes.
 Measurements included on sketch to indicate the exact location
and, in the case of a bloodstain pattern, its size.
 Can might also show position of bullet defects.
Perspective Sketch – 3D Rendering of the Scene
 Depicts the 3-dimensional aspects of the scene … requires
artistic skills if done free-hand … or specialized 3D software.
 Becoming popular as software programs become more readily
available … favorites of students who have access to these
programs on college campuses.
Outdoor Sketches
 Essentially plan sketches … typically overviews of the area
designated as the crime scene.
 Can be sketches of fields, parking lots, paths in the woods, etc.
 Illustrate location of evidence such as the debris field and body
locations after an airliner crashes.
Sketch of Bullet Paths into Automobile
What Information Do
We Get From This Sketch?
1. Rough Sketch
2. Visual Layout of Bullet Paths
Measuring Evidence at the Scene
Pinpointing Evidence
Measuring in the sketch:
Orients investigators, lawyers, judges and jury to the scene
AND clarifies the relationships of evidence and the relational
information seen in videos or photographs.
Measuring Scenes
 Determining the dimensions of the scene and pinpointing evidence is a critical aspect of
sketching. …
 Regardless how accomplished … measurements must be precise enough to allow
investigator to return at a later date and understand placement of original evidence.
 Measurements also critical so that the scene can be reinvestigated when the case turns cold.
Principle of significant figures versus accuracy.
 So, if one measures the length of a room using a tape measure and finds one wall to be 15
feet 3 and ½ inches, does it matter that someone else measures it to be 15 feet 3 and ¼ inches?
Absolutely not! Measurement error

Not worth the time to measure wall 3 times to obtain average and error bars.

Once is enough, and the single measurement is the one that should be used.
Tools for Measuring the Scene
 Measuring outdoor scenes employs the same
principles as those described for fixing location of
evidence indoors.
 The main difference can be the size of the scene.
 The tools needed to measure indoor and outdoor
scenes are shown below.


Indoor
Measuring tape (metal is preferred but not
essential)
Compass to designate N/S
Pencil – it is OK to erase on a rough sketch.
Gridded grid paper
Measurement logs
Outdoor
Measuring tape – long lengths, measuring
wheel, laser measuring devices.
Compass to designate cardinal coordinates
Gridded paper
Rose compass (usually for large unencumbered
areas)
Measurement logs
Precisely Locating Objects
Locating objects at the scene (indoor scenes) typically done using two measuring
methods and variation of these. Deciding which method to use is a matter of
understanding how a method works and using logic to make that decision. The two
methods - variations of them – are triangulation and baseline methods.
Triangulation
 Triangulation, the most precise method for placing an item of evidence, is
accomplished by measuring the object relative to two fixed, immovable points at the
scene.
 Diagram

‘X’ is a knife
 ‘Y’ is a cigarette butt.
 Points ‘A’ and ‘B’ are corners at opposite ends of a wall.
 The distance A & B measured … the fixed points in the triangulation
method. The distances from ‘X’ and ‘Y’ to both ‘A’ and ‘B’ fix these items at the
scene.
 The data collected and maintain in a separate log.
Triangulation
Most Common & Accurate Measurement Method
A & B = Fixed Points @ Scene
A
A&B=Corners of room
X
Knife
Y
Cigarette
B
Triangulation Measurement Log
PSU CASE
NO.
1-008
VICTIM NAME(S): UNK
SKETCHERS NAMES:
EMILY WAY & STEVEN
WANG
MEASUREMENT LOCATION: 155 WESTERN PL, STATE COLLEGE, PA
DATE: 8/15/11
Item No.
Description
of Item
Measured
Distance
To Fixed
Location 1
Distance to Fixed Location 2
Remarks
32
Bloody Knife
32”/corner of
door jamb to
kitchen
18”/SW corner of living room
Knife lying between sofa and chair in living room
Base-line Measuring Method
 Objects fixed by using perpendicular dropped to a line from
something real … wall.
 Variations :
 Equally applicable to the traditional baseline method or its
variations.
 Like the triangulation measurement log, can be used as a legend or
table of measurements instead of putting them into an already cluttered
sketch.
Baseline or
Rectangular Coordinate Method
Established By Cardinal
Direction – N/S/E/W
Knife
X
18”
B
28”
Y
A
Establish Datum Point
Triangulated to fixed points
Perpendicular
(or known angle)
A&B = Fixed Points (corner, etc)
Cigarette
Baseline Measurement Log
PSU CASE
NO.
1-008
VICTIM NAME(S) UNKNOWN
SKETCHERS NAMES:
MILLICENT WAY AND STEVEN WANG
MEASUREMENT LOCATION
155 WESTERN PL, STATE COLLEGE, PA
DATE: 8/15/11
Item
No.
Description of
Item Measured
Distance along Baseline/Location
Distance off
Baseline/Location
Direction From Baseline to Item
Remarks
40
Bloody Baseball
bat
48” from door kitchen door jamb along
SW Wall
14”/SW Wall
90 degrees
None
 Generic measurement form … equally applicable to the traditional baseline method or
its variations.
 Can be used as a legend or table of measurements instead of putting them into an
already cluttered sketch.
Example: bloody baseball bat measured as 48 inches along the southwest wall from the
door jamb and 14 inches off the perpendicular to the baseball bat.
Modification of Base-line Method
Use of other than 90o angles
N
X = Broken Wine Glass
Angle Measured
Using Transits or Compasses
Wall
6’2”
Point is corner of wall
The modified base-line method, employs known angles from a fixed
object instead of the perpendicular off a reference line.
Polar Coordinate Method
 Typically an outdoor method.
 Uses a virtual line fixed by Cardinal directions: north, south, east or west. The initial fixed point
can be a GPS location or it can be a fixed object.
 Virtual baseline fixes the location of evidence in conjunction with triangulation or baseline
measurements made to items of evidence.
So, whether the measurement runs from the object to be measured to a virtual or real line, e.g., wall, or
whether it is 90o or some other angle doesn’t matter. The object is fixed at the scene.
Major attributes
Evidence scattered over open areas
Airline crashes
Bombing scenes
Need a direct line-of-sight – cannot be hindered
Woods or other objects
Uses surveying techniques
Total Station or other 3D imaging systems
GPS coordinates
Laser or IR measuring devices
Start @ single datum point
GPS
Triangulation to fixed point
Photogrammetry
 Technique for converting photographs into a 3D rendition of the scene.
 Specialized software necessary from which items at the scene, such as evidence
cones, natural formations, vehicles, etc, are referenced to different photographic
views of the same area.
 Common items in each photograph are referenced – tied together electronically.
 One caveat is that at least one known measurement must be known. After
referencing, the data is converted into a CAD (computer aided design) format and
loaded into a CAD program which renders the scene in a 3D format.
 Photogrammetry is the practice of determining the geometric properties
of objects from photographic images.
 As old as modern photography and can be dated to the mid-nineteenth
century.
Stereophotogrammetry
 More sophisticated technique
 Estimating the three-dimensional coordinates of points on an object.
 Determined by measurements made in two or more photographic images taken
from different positions.
 Common points identified on each image.
 A line of sight (or ray) can be constructed from the camera location to the
point on the object.
 It is the intersection of these rays (triangulation) that determines the threedimensional location of the point.
o More sophisticated algorithms can exploit other information about the
scene that is known allowing reconstructions of 3D coordinates from only
one camera position.
 Used in different fields: topographic mapping, engineering, police investigation, by
archaeologists to quickly produce plans of large or complex sites and by meterologists
as a way to determine the actual wind speed of a tornado where objective weather data
cannot be obtained.
Crime Scene Measurement
Bullet Path Measurement
Impression Evidence Enhancement
 Also used to combine live action with computer-generated imagery in movie postproduction – Think, The Matrix).
Outdoor Scene Measurements
 Combining the polar coordinate method with triangulation and/or
the baseline methods of measurement.
Outdoor concern is finding fixed points of reference because they are
not always readily apparent or available.
 Determine the first fixed point (triangulation from another fixed
point or GPS coordinate)
 Run a line through the scene (tape measure) along a polar
coordinate (Cardinal direction of, for example, N, S, E, W).
 Drop a perpendicular from an item of evidence to the line running
though the scene.
 Measure this distance.
 Measure the distance from the fixed point to the perpendicular
drop point.
 Repeat this sequence for all items of evidence.
Outdoor Scene
Base-line
Illustration
Body
Impression
Footprints
Gun
A
Triangulate
Taped Line
1st
Datum Point - A
Cardinal Line
North/South, etc
House
Latex Gloves
First fixed point triangulated from house. Subsequent measurements made from virtual line (actually a tape
measure laid on the ground) through the scene … direction of line (tape measure) is Cardinal designation:
Measurements off line (tape measure) made using triangulation, base-line or combinations of both.
Outdoor Scene
Triangulation
Illustration
Body
Impression
Footprints
Gun
A
Distance 1
RP1
RP2
RP3
Triangulate 1st Datum Point
House
Latex Gloves
RP4
 Alternative method for measuring an outdoor
scene … useful for large, open areas, but it can also
be used for more closed areas, depending on the
area.
Compass Rose or
Azimuth Board
Line To Evidence
Procedure.
 Fix the board to ground by staking center hole
with appropriate dowel and four corner holes.
 Triangulate middle hole and one corner
hole to two fix objects (or GPS coordinates) so
compass can be returned to original location at
future date.
 Run a line (tape measure) from the center hole
(secured by stake) to each item of evidence.
 Measure distance from the compass to
item and record the distance (inches) in a log.
 Record degree mark tape passes over.
 Rose Compass marked in degrees – 0-360o –
 Location of each item of evidence is fixed
Centering Point
as ‘X’ number of inches (feet) at ‘Y’ degrees
Anchoring Point
from the center of the Rose Compass.
Outdoor Scene
Rose Compass
Illustration
Body
Impression
Footprints
Gun
Fix Location of
Rose Compass
Rose
Compass
House
Latex Gloves
Determine Degree &
Distance
Outdoor Scene
 Searching scene for evidence of a serial killer. After completing the search and
marking evidence, investigators measured scene.
 Chose the compass rose because it gave them a fixed reference point at the
scene.
 Subsequently realized that they had a problem: trees and bushes at the
scene interfered with the straight line measurements.
 Solved problem by using the compass rose in two different locations after
bisecting the area.
Rose Compass Measurements & Sketch of Outdoor Scene
Examples of using triangulation
and baseline measurement logs for
items at another mock crime scene