The Crime

Scene

The Seven Ss of Crime

Scene Investigation
Secure the scene.
Separate the witnesses.
Scan the scene.
See to it that the crime scene
examiners receive overall and close up
photos with and without measuring
rulers.
5. Sketch the scene.
6. Search for evidence.
7. Secure the collected evidence.
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3.
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Forensic Science:
Fundamentals &

Police On The Scene,

You Know What I Mean?
When a 911 emergency
phone call is made:
- the dispatcher sends cops
to the crime scene.
- the initial police officers
make sure that the
perpetrator is either
apprehended or no longer
at the scene.
- they secure the scene and
call in the forensic
investigators.

Securing the Scene

Nothing can be
changed at the crime
scene. Police tape
must surround the
entire area.
Only authorized
personnel may enter
the scene. They must
be extremely careful
when handling
anything.

The Legalities
Securing the scene
is a matter of
safety and
legality.
If a defense
attorney can
determine that
evidence was
tampered with
during the crime
scene
investigation, a

Recording the Scene

The Crime Scene
must be secured
and protected.
Ways to record a
crime scene:
- draw a sketch of
the area.
- take pictures and
videotape
everything in its
untouched state.
- take notes.

Recording the Scene

Golden Rule of Crime Scene
Investigation
NEVER touch, change or alter anything
until it has been documented, identified,
measured and photographed when a
body or article has been moved, it can
never be restored to its original position.

Sketching the Scene

The first stage is the rough sketch. It
is the initial drawing made by the
forensic sketcher at the scene. It is a
rough outline with rough
measurements of the scene.
Later on, the forensic artist takes the
rough sketch and converts it to a
smooth sketch. This sketch
accurately represents the crime
scene to scale.

Major items in a Sketch

Name of Investigator/sketcher
Date
Location
Case Number and other identifiers
Mark N for North to orient the drawing
Must identify every object in the room
Need not be drawn to scale, but not drawn out of
proportion that it will cause confusion later
Needs a legend to explain any symbols that are
used to identify various objects

A FULLY COMPLETED SKETCH

A Picture Says 1000 Words

The forensic
photographer must
record every single
aspect of the crime
scene at every
necessary angle.
NOTHING MAY BE
LEFT OUT!
It is crucial to
record a bodys
position in
accordance with
everything in the
scene.

Taking Notes
ALL aspects of the
scene must be
recorded. A detailed
description of the
scene as well as all
the physical
evidence is
necessary.
Time, by whom, and
how all the evidence
listed was packaged
and shipped must be
noted.

Looking for Clues

Physical evidence
is most important
at a crime scene.
There are many
different
methods of
searching for ALL
of the physical
evidence at the
crime scene. The
methods are: the
spiral search
method, the grid
method, the strip
method, and the
zone search.

The Spiral Search

The Spiral Search
method is good
for circular
rooms. It consists
of starting on the
outskirts of a
locale and then
slowly spiraling
inwards until the
middle of the
locale is reached.
It can also be
conducted from
the inside out.

Gridding the Scene

During a grid search,
investigators search
an area by walking
first horizontally
across a locale, and
then crossing back
over vertically. This
creates the grid
shape that gives this
method its name.
This type of search
is extremely useful
in rectangular, or
square areas.

Stripping the Scene

In a strip
search for
evidence,
several
investigators
walk across the
scene in a
straight line,
very slowly. This
allows them to
cover

To Your Zones!
The zone search
is conducted by
breaking up a
locale into several
areas. These
areas are then
assigned to teams
of investigators
for inspection.
This method
allows for the
different teams to
focus more
carefully on their
designated area.

You have your evidence,

NOW WHAT?
What do you do with all
the evidence?
After recording it, the
evidence must be
packaged for analysis at
the lab.
Different types of
evidence requires
different types of
packaging.

Every LITTLE thing counts

Trace evidence
such as hairs and
fibers can provide
extremely
important clues
linking an
individual to a
crime scene.
This evidence
may be placed in
pill bottles, vials,
or manila
envelopes.

The Bloody Truth

Often at crime scenes,
there will be
bloodstained evidence
which must be treated
with great care.
Bloody evidence must
NOT be stored in a
container without air.
Moisture can
accumulate and grow
moldy which would
destroy the evidence.
Wrapping paper, sealed
manila envelopes, and
paper bags are good for
storing these bloody

Collect the Drugs

Drugs often lead to
crime, and may be a
key factor in figuring
out what happened
at a crime scene.
If a liquid drug is
found inside of its
container, it must be
labeled and placed in
a heat-sealed plastic
bag.

More Drugs
Often the drugs are
solid or powder in
form.
These drugs should
be placed in plastic
bags and sealed
with tape to ensure
that no drugs are
lost during
shipment to the lab.

The Chain of Custody

During and after the
collection of the
evidence, the chain of
custody must be kept
intact.
Everything that has
already been mentioned
must be done properly. If
any evidence is recorded
or collected improperly,
it will be thrown out in
court.

The Chain Continues

It is better that fewer
people handle the
evidence.
Each time the possession
of evidence changes, it
must be properly
documented and recorded.

Evidence to Check Your Evidence

Controls must be collected
so that the people in the lab
can test evidence to make
sure that it truly came from
where they think it did.
Examples of controls would
be a blood sample taken
directly from the victims
body, or the removal of
paint directly from a car that
was in a crash.

Submission Time
Once you have
collected your
evidence, your control
evidence, and
maintained the chain of
custody, you can
submit the evidence to
the lab.
Shipping the evidence
is as fragile a process
as collecting it. If any
damage occurs during
shipment, the evidence
will be considered
tampered with and
thrown out in law.

It Is Out Of Your Hands

There are two main ways
of submitting evidence.
- The most secure way is
by hand. Directly
bringing it from the
crime scene and to the
lab technician
-The next most popular
way is by mail.
Sometimes testing
facilities are not nearby
and evidence must be
shipped away for
testing.

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Sources
1.
2.

3.

4.
5.

Saferstein, Richard. Criminalistics. 7th ed. Upper Saddle

River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001.
"Forensic Science: Scene of Crime." Forensic Science. 04
Apr. 2008
<http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/00206/scene_of_crime
.htm>.
"Evidence Collection in Crime Scene Investigations." Crime
Scene Investigation. 03 Apr. 2008 <http://www.crimescene-investigator.net/csi-collection.html>.
"Crime Scene Response Guidelines." 03 Apr. 2008
<http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/respon4.html>.
"Collection and Preservation of Evidence." 02 Apr. 2008
<http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/evidenc3.html>.