Analytical skills
the ability to identify a concept or problem, to isolate its component parts, to organize information for decision making, to establish criteria for evaluation, and to draw appropriate conclusions
Deductive reasoning
deriving the consequences from the facts using a series of logical steps
Eyewitness
a person who has seen someone or something and can communicate these facts
Fact
a statement or assertion of information that can be verified
Forensic
relating to the application of scientific knowledge to legal questions
Logical
conclusions drawn from assumptions and known facts
Observation
what a person perceives using his or her senses
opinion
personal belief founded on judgement rather than on direct experience or knowledge
perception
interpreting information received from the senses
chain of custody
the documented and unbroken transfer of evidence
circumstantial evidence
evidence used to imply a fact but not prove it directly
class evidence
material that connects an individual or thing to a certain group
crime-scene investigation
a multidisciplinary approach in which scientific and legal professionals work together to solve a crime
crime scene reconstruction
a hypothesis of the sequence of events from before the crime was committed through its commission
Direct evidence
evidence that (if true) proves an alleged fact, such as an eyewitness account of a crime
first responder
the first police officer to arrive at a crime scene
individual evidence
a kind of evidence that identifies a particular person or thing
paper bindle
a folded paper used to hold trace evidence
primary crime scene
the location where the crime took place
secondary crime scene
a location other than the primary crime scene, but that is in some way related to the crime, where evidence is found
trace evidence
small but measurable amounts of physical or biological material found at a crime scene