1. What are at least 3 methods of documenting a crime scene? Why might it be valuable to use more than one on the same crime scene?
- Notes�date, time, description of the location, weather and environmental conditions, description of the crime, location of the evidence relative to other key points, the names of all people involved, modifications that have occurred, and other relevant
2. Does a crime scene sketch have probative value if entered as evidence in a court of law? Why or why not?
- Yes, because it can show relative location of evidence and give an overview of a crime scene.
5. Is an analyst bound by the requests of crime scene investigators?
- Yes and no. At a minimum they have to do what the investigators asks.
6. What is the difference between a coroner and a medical examiner?
- A medical examiner is a medical doctor, usually a pathologist, and is appointed by the governing body of the area. There are 400 forensic pathologists throughout the U.S.
- A coroner is an elected official who usually has no special medical training. In
7. In order to convict someone of a crime, what two things must law enforcement prove?
- ability
- opportunity
8. What does ADAPT stand for?
-A Assess the crime scene and assist the injured
- D Detain the witness
- A Arrest the perpetrator
- P Protect the crime scene
-T Take notes
9. Can a crime scene be multiple locations related to the same crime?
- Yes
10. What is the first step that an officer takes when approaching a crime scene?
- Isolate and secure the scene.
11. What kinds of photographs should be taken at a crime scene?
- With a scale and without a scale and at a 90 degree angle to the subject.
12. What added details do crime scene sketches show over photography?
- Location in relation to other things in the scene.
13. Why should evidence labeling all be done by one person? Does this mean all evidence collection should be done by one person?
- maintains chain of custody
- Yes one person should collected all evidence, but more than one person can recognize evidence.
14. How should each of the following evidences be packaged?
a. Blood -
- Paper bag, sealed with evidence tape and initials
b. Arson evidence -
- Paper bag, sealed with evidence tape and initials
c. Glass -
- Paper bag, sealed with evidence tape and initials
15. Where are controls for forensic testing collected from?
- This depends on the type of evidence, but usually from the same item.
- i.e. when you recover a gun at a scene AND find fired bullets, your control would be a bullet the crime lab has and fired from the gun recovered and then matched to the evidence bul
16. What is modus operandi?
- Motive for the crime
17. Why must chain of custody be maintained? What is the consequence of it not being maintained? Who is responsible for maintaining it?
- Chain of custody must be maintained to show that the evidence collected is secure and has not been contaminated.
- If COC is not maintained, it can cause the evidence to be thrown out of court and the case dismissed.
- The person collecting the evidence
18. What went wrong in the Jeffrey MacDonald case? (See case study in textbook)
- COC was not maintained properly.
- Investigators contaminated and disturbed evidence by touching everything.
19. Record logs should be kept of what items? (Think about your crime scene search paperwork)
- Evidence
- Photographs
- Anyone entering and leaving the scene
20. What does corpus delicti mean?
- "Body of the Crime"
- Authorities must prove:
o That a crime occurred
o That the person charged with the crime was responsible for the crime
- Top reasons for committing a crime
o Money
o Revenge
o Emotion�love, hate, anger
- Source of evidence
o Body
o
21. What is the difference between cause of death and mechanism of death?
- Cause of death is WHY a person died, mechanism of death is HOW a person died.
22. Who is responsible for notifying the next of kin about a death?
- The medical Examiner.
23. Listing question: List the four major steps in crime scene investigation.
- Recognition�scene survey, documentation, collection
- Identification�classification of evidence
- Individualization�comparison testing, evaluation, and interpretation
- Reconstruction�sequencing events, reporting, and presenting
24. Listing question: List the five different categories of manner of death.
- Natural
- Accidental
- Suicide
- Homicide
- Undetermined
25. Short answer question: What are some details that should be added to a crime scene sketch?
- Location of crime
- Date
- Time
- Investigator name
Line or strip method
best in large, outdoor scenes
Zone method
most effective in houses or buildings; teams are assigned small zones for searching
Wheel or ray method
best on small, circular crime scenes
Spiral method
may move inward or outward; best used where there are no physical barriers
Crime scene officer/technician
- Secures the scene
- collects evidence
First officer on the scene
A Assess the crime scene and assist the injured
- D Detain the witness
- A Arrest the perpetrator
- P Protect the crime scene
-T Take notes
Lead detective
Takes notes, interviews witnesses and suspects, writes report.
Crime lab analyst/technician
Analyze the evidence received from the crime scene. Type of evidence will drive what test will be performed.
Medical examiner
- Identify the deceased
- Establish the time and date of death
- Determine a medical cause of death (the injury or disease that resulted in the person dying)
- Determine the mechanism of death (the physiological reason that the person died)
- Classify the