Sunday, March 20, 2011

Crime Scene 101: Locating and Documenting Evidence

http://www.forensicmag.com/article/crime-scene-101-locating-and-documenting-evidence?page=0,1

          This article is a summary of how you should locate and document evidence at a crime scene. How do you find the evidence and how do you properly document it once you find it? If you locate every piece of evidence but fail to document each item carefully, the evidence may end up being worthless in court. One of the keys to locating evidence at a crime scene is proper lighting. While lighting is especially important at night, you may also need additional lighting during the day. A flashlight is needed, but just using a flashlight isn’t enough. CSOs have many options for lighting. Most important, you want the scene as bright as day. If you have an outdoor scene at night, you’ll need large lights. Waiting until daytime may compromise your evidence. If the weather changes, for example, you could lose evidence or have trouble finding it. Also, if you wait to process the scene, an officer has to stay at the scene to secure it. When you photograph the scene, first, take enough photographs. It’s not unusual to take 200-400 photos of a major crime scene, and with digital cameras there’s no reason not to take as many photos as you need. Once you’ve photographed the evidence, collect the evidence and prepare the Evidence Custody Sheet, a report which documents all of your evidence.
 
          This article does not really affect my life in particular. Its more of a how-to guide for a crime scene. I suppose, however, a victim of a crime would want his crime scene officials to locate and document evidence as efficiently as possible to have a chance in catching the perpetrator.
 
          This was a well written article. It was very straightforward. It spoke to the reader using the word "you". It described just how important each step in crime scene evidence really is.

6 comments:

Russell said...

I thought that this was a very interesting article. Ivan provided many interesting facts and details regarding the proper documentation of evidence found at a crime scene. I had no idea that there are hundreds of pictures taken at each individual crime scene. It was also interesting to learn how proper lighting is necessary at all crime scenes.

The article could have been better if it provided a little more detail. Ivan could have elaborated more on the documentation of evidence and what goes on at a crime scene. It would have been better if there was more information about what kind of lighting crime scene officials use to make the scene as bright as necessary.

Overall, I thought Ivan did a very good job. I was unaware how important proper lighting is at a crime scene. I also didn't realize the importance of documenting each piece of evidence.

Kyrie said...

Three things that were well done were properly quoting things directly taken from the article, remembering to add the link of the article, and making the review straightforward.
Two things that could've been better are to make the review a bit shorter and add the opinion of the review.
I learned that one could lose evidence at a crime scene that is exposed to changing weather.

Molly Warnken said...

One aspect of Ivan’s review that I thought was well presented was his explanation of a key element of locating evidence. It was a good thing that he stated that proper lighting is very important. Another aspect that was well presented was the explanation of how to properly light the crime scene. It was nice to know the different ways scenes are lit. Also it was good to mention that the scene should be light as soon as possible because waiting for natural light could ruin the evidence.
This review could have been better is there was more information with it. While it is interesting and I did earn a little, it would have been nice if there was more information than just facts about light. Also I think this review could have benefited from examples or something of the sort.
One thing I learned from this review is the different ways that scenes can be lit in order to properly document them.

Devon said...

Ivan did an excellent job summarizing the article he found; he really dissected the important information and presented it in an easy-to-follow fashion. I also like how Ivan really explains why lighting is important to locating evidence. It is such an obvious concept, but I never realized how big of an impact it would have. The last thing I liked about his review was that he was so honest in his second paragraph about how the article wasn’t relevant to his life, but then he turns it around and talks about how it may affect the victim.
I would have liked to see Ivan go in depth a little bit more. He did a good job explaining the lighting situation, but he could have elaborated a little bit more about the photography aspect. Also, the topic was informative, but I think he could have found a more attention grabbing article; this one was a little bland to read about.
One thing I learned from this article is how important lighting is in terms of documentation.

Janelle said...

I liked all the detail in his summary it was long but still interesting. I also liked the way he explained the limitations of crime scene examination, like the weather and the need for lights and guards. I also liked the way he was honest about the fact that the article didn’t affect him. Most people just make up random reasons why it affects them, he actually told the truth.
I thought that the critical part could have included more details about the article besides just the fact that it used the word you. He could have added something the article actually did wrong. I’m sure that there were a few more things he could have criticized.
I wanted to know how this method was different from the previous one. I also thought that the criticism was somewhat short only mentioning one or two things that were wrong with the article. I thought he could have chosen a more interesting article. This was just a description of what you should do at a crime scene. Since we already learned all that it would have been better to post one that talked about a new technique.
I was impressed by the fact that documentation is so important. I didn’t realize how hard it is to document. Or how important those documents can be

kevin bisconti said...

I think that Ivan chose a great article to write about. The correct documentation of evidence is very important in forensics. I think that throughout his paper he has some great facts and points about documentation. One thing that I found interesting was how many options there are for lighting during the day. Also how there are hundreds of photos taken at the crime scene.

I think that Ivan could have added a little more to this, I would have liked to hear more about the entire process of documentation of evidence. Also I think that he could have added a little more texture into his document to make it flow better.

Overall though I think that Ivan did a great job on the article, I learned a lot about the crime scene hand how important lighting is to the crime scene. Also how vital it is to document even the smallest piece of evidence.