РефератыИностранный языкFoForensic Science Essay Research Paper The word

Forensic Science Essay Research Paper The word

Forensic Science Essay, Research Paper


The word Forensic comes from the Latin forensus, meaning of the forum.1 In


ancient Rome, the forum was where lawmaking debates were held, but it was also


where trials were held just like modern day courthouses. From that, forensic


science has come to mean the application of the natural and physical science to


the motion of matters within a legal context2. Forensic Science can be viewed as


a tripartite structure consisting of a Collection, which pertains to the science


investigation, Examination, which pertains to the medical investigation and,


Presentation, which pertains to the courts. A forensic case will involve all


aspects of each of the three structured elements, each being as important as the


other. It is obvious that there needs to be a shared approach for the successful


end of each case. Each step in forensic science must be done in an exact order;


therefore it can be assured that the investigation can have few doubts about


what is being debated. In this paper I will focus my attention on the first


aspect of the three-step structure, Collections and Scientific Investigation. I


will show what should be done at crimes scenes, how crime scenes should be


handled and what steps must be followed to ensure that all evidence is


uncontaminated as when the crime was committed.


The purpose of crime scene investigation is to help establish what happened at


the crime and to identify the responsible person or people. Carefully


documenting the situation at a crime scene and recognizing all-important


physical evidence do this. The ability to recognize and properly collect


physical evidence is often times vital to both solving and prosecuting violent


crimes. It is no exaggeration to say that in the majority of cases, the law


enforcement officer who protects and searches a crime scene plays a significant


role in determining whether physical evidence will be used in solving or


prosecuting violent crimes.


Documenting a crime scene and its conditions can include directly recording


brief details such as lighting, furniture, fingerprints, and other valuable


information. Certain evidence if not collected right away can easily be lost,


destroyed or ruined. The range of investigations can also expand to the fact of


dispute in such cases as suicide or self-defense. It is also important to be


able to recognize what should be present at a crime scene, what to look for at a


crime scene and what might appear out of place. A crime scene often does not


relate to the direct area in which a victim or actual crime has occurred, but


the possibility of escape or access routes should also be checked. Anything,


which can be used to connect a victim to a suspect or a suspect to a victim or a


crime scene, is important physical evidence. Richard Saferstein explains,


Physical evidence encompasses any and all objects that can establish that a


crime has been committed or can provide a link between a crime scene and its


victim or a crime and its perpetrator (31). I will now explain the appropriate


techniques and ways a crime scene and physical evidence should be handled and


examined.


One of the first things an officer should do once he gets to the crime scene is


to take control and secure the scene as quickly as possible. This is to prevent


anyone from ruining evidence and to keep unauthorized person or persons out of


the area such as the media, the public or anyone who doesn’t belong. While this


is being done, an officer should also be alert for useless evidence and note if


there are any possible approach or escape routes. After an officer does this, he


should conclude the degree in which the scene has been protected and make sure


there is enough security in the area. All persons entering and exiting the crime


scene should be logged and kept down to a bare minimum to make sure the purity


of the crime scene when the case goes to court. Each person involved in the


crime scene should have knowledge relative to its original conditions to avoid


from accidental movement of objects, evidence or anything, which might hurt in


the investigation of the crime. When all of this is done, the next step that can


occur is the actual inspection of the crime scene.


The inspection of the crime scene will usually begin with a walk through of the


area along the trial of the crime. The trail is that area, which all noticeable


actions connected with a crime, took place. It is also sometimes marked by the


presence of physical evidence; this may include the point of entry, the location


of the crime, areas where a suspect may have cleaned up and the point of exit.


The purpose of the walk through is to note the location of potential evidence


and to mentally outline how the scene will be physically examined. The first


place investigators should look is the ground they walk on. This is to prevent


any evidence from being destroyed and if observed should be marked and warned to


others not to step in that area. As the walk through occurs, the investigators


should make sure their hands are busy and they don’t touch anything. The best


way to prevent from touching anything is to keep your hands in your pockets.


Once the walk through has been completed, the scene should be documented with


videotape, photographs and sketches. Any or all objects can provide a link


between a crime and its victim/suspect; therefore it is very important that the


crime scene be well photographed and recorded


One of the first steps in documenting and recording a crime is videotape.


Videotapes can provide a perspective on the crime scene layout that cannot be as


easily perceived in photographs and sketches. The condition of the scene should


remain unmoved with the exception of markers placed by investigators to show


small things that might not be seen such as bullets, bloodstains or other key


pieces of evidence. A key in videotaping is slow movement through out the scene


and should be done so from beginning to end. It is also wise to go over an area


twice in order to prevent unnecessary rewinding of the tape when viewing and to


make sure the taper has captured everything. Taping should begin with the


general outline of the scene and surrounding area. Taping should continue


throughout the scene using different angles, close-ups, and still shots for a


few seconds. Once videotaping has finished it is then best to also capture the


crime scene with still photography.


Regardless if a scene has been videotaped, still photographs are a must at every


crime scene. Although videotaping does record everything, photographs can


demonstrate certain things such as direct comparison. Actual size photographs


can be used to compare fingerprint and shoe prints photographed at the scene


against the suspect. Again, when photographing, the outer part of the scene


should be taking first to show the surrounding areas, then towards the crime


scene itself. Wide angle photos should be used of the crime scene and


surrounding areas. A good technique to use when shooting rooms is to shoot from


many possible angles such as from all four corners, from a doorway or from a


window. When close-ups are necessary of key pieces of evidence, a ruler should


be photographed with the items where relative size is important. While each


photograph is being taken, a person should also be taking notes on what the


person is shooting, in order at a later date to understand what was trying to be


accomplished. After still photography has been taken, the final step in


recording a crime scene is to sketch and draw the scene out by hand.


While photographs are two-dimensional and often can alter distance and size,


sketches provide the means of showing distance or objects, and an over-head view


of the area and surroundings. A sketch is usually made of the scene as if one is


looking straight down or straight ahead. Measurements should be taken at crime


scene of distances between two objects, room measurements and key pieces of


evidence. Two measurements should be taken at right angles to each other from


two location points. Each measurement should be double measured to make sure


they are correct and accurate. A professional using all the measurements and


notes taken by the investigators can make a final sketch. However, the original


sketches should not be thrown out but saved along with other key evidence in


case a disagreement occurs or something was missed. Once the crime scene has


been recorded with videotaping, still photography and sketches, gathering of


evidence can occur.


Gathering and locating physical evidence is a very slow

a tiresome job when


done correctly, however, it can surrender many clues. One of the first things an


investigator must determine is the size and area that must be searched. The main


focus search must include all likely points of entry and exits used by the


criminals. When searching, certain patterns may be used to cover and examine the


area. There are about three different ways in which an area can be examined. One


way is a spiral search method, which is by starting in the center of the scene


and work in a spiral outward do this method until all of the scene has been


covered and checked. Another method and usually the preferred method is the grid


method. This is done by marking the crime scene into a grid and walking in a


straight line from one side of the grid towards the other where as you make 180


degrees turn and come back a few steps over from where you just searched. This


pattern overlaps itself and I feel is one of the best search methods. The final


method used is a quadrant or zone search. This is when the scene is divided into


certain quadrants, usually four and each zone is searched with either the spiral


or strip line search. Then after each zone is searched, the overall scene can be


searched using the above patterns.


When evidence is found it must be package and protected in a way that prevents


any physical change from happening from the time it is taken to the it reaches


the crime laboratory. Such things like breakage, contamination, evaporation and


ruined samples can all be avoided with proper handling and packaging. Original


conditions must be maintained at all cost and when ever possible the entire


object should be submitted to the crime laboratory. Good judgment must be


maintained and common sense usually plays a role. Each different item must be


placed in separate containers to prevent cross- contamination. It is also wise


to take comparative samples, so that evidence can be compared to normal or


controlled pieces. Unbreakable bottles with lids are good for such things as


hair, glass, fibers and other evidence. However, when anything contains blood


evidence, it must be placed in a non-seal able container, such as paper bags.


This is to stop bacteria from forming and possibly making the evidence unusable.


Also good for evidence collection are manila envelopes, cardboard boxes and


paper bags. Besides blood, special interest must be made towards clothing. All


clothing must be air-dried and placed individually in separate paper bags to


ensure constant circulation to prevent mold or mildew from happening. The only


time a seal able container must be used, is in the cases when suspicious fires


are being investigated.


Finally, with gathering evidence at crime scenes, an investigator must make sure


he not only labels the evidence, but also makes a correct description on all


sketches and diagrams. Evidence should not be handled a great deal after


recovery and should be kept down to as few people as possible. Investigators


must continuously check paperwork, packaging notations, and other recording of


information for possible conflict or errors, which may cause confusion or


problems at a later time in court.


Once evidence is gathered it must be sent to a laboratory for processing and


further investigation. When items are to be delivered the method usually depends


on how far away the laboratory is from the crime scene. In most cases, a state


or local laboratory is within a few hours and delivery can be made by personal


delivery. However, in some cases when items must be shipped to F.B.I.


headquarters in Washington D.C., personal delivery is usually out of the


question. When an item needs to be shipped via mail, it should be packaged in a


way not to damage it. Postal regulations do forbid such things as ammunition or


explosives from being send through the mail. Each item when shipped should be


logged and sent with a checklist in order to make sure everything shipped is


accounted for. An in depth report should also be sent of the crime, notes, and


why the items were sent and what should be looked for.


Along with the evidence, control specimens should also be sent to the laboratory


so that they can evaluate evidence to a normal piece of what is being looked


for.


One of the main concerns with physical evidence always argued by the courts is


whether or not the evidence was obtained legally. Often with a few major court


cases, evidence has been thrown because it was obtained illegally to make sure


of a conviction. The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, The right


of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects,


against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no


warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation,


and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things


to be seized.(U.S. Constitution) With this, the Constitution means the police do


have a right to seize items or evidence that might help them in determining a


suspect, however they do not have to the right to take the items illegality. The


police must have probable cause in order to take property and seize items, which


belong to someone else. Unreasonable searches and seizures occur when the


officers in charge do not have the authority to be at a certain place or do not


have the courts or owners permission to look around, or about the person’s


property or area.


One case that clearly shows how illegal searches and seizures took place against


a defendant is in the case of Michigan v. Tyler4. In this case, Loren Tyler who


leased a business was charged with arson after his business was destroyed by


fire. During the investigation, various items and physical evidence were


recovered from the building. However, on three other separate occasions, 4 days,


7 days, and 25 days after the fire, investigators came back to the scene and


again took various items that they thought would help them build a case against


Tyler. Each of these searches was made without a warrant or without consent of


the owner. During the trial, the physical evidence seized in all four searches


was used to convict Tyler of arson. On appeal, the U.S. Supreme court upheld a


reversal of the conviction saying that the evidence was illegal. The other


searches were made without consent, or with out probable cause, the ensuing


reentries to the scene were prohibited and a new trial was arranged on these


conditions. The message as explained from the Supreme Court is clear, When time


and circumstances permit, obtain a search warrant before investigating and


retrieving physical evidence at the crime scene(Saferstein 50).


In conclusion, as we can see through out this report, collection and recording


of a crime scene is very important, with out proper rules and special handling,


a criminal can go free. The purpose of crime scene investigations is to help


establish what happened, and to identify the responsible persons or victims. To


figure this out, careful recording and investigations of a crime scene must take


place. Recording the crime scene details such things as place, time, conditions,


lighting, fingerprints, evidence, etc. To record a crime scene such things as


videotape, still photography and sketches are used to give a story or time line


of what happened and what took place. Once the crime scene has been recorded,


actual inspection for physical evidence occurs. This is where the investigators


look for clues such as fingerprints, bloodstains, items or anything, which might


lead them towards a suspect. When gathering evidence, each item should be place


in separate containers and certain rules for blood stained clothes and fire


investigations apply. The investigators must keep tract and record everything in


which they recover from a crime scene. Searching a crime scene is a long and


thorough process, however, it will surrender many clues when done properly. Once


the evidence is found, recorded and packaged, it must be sent to a crime lab for


further processing. Each item when shipped should be recorded, logged and


accounted for from person to person so when used in a trial, the evidence has


been accounted for from beginning to end. The final thing investigators must


make sure is that all evidence was seized properly and with probable cause. This


is the main reason why in so many court cases evidence is thrown out, improper


searches and seizures. If any investigator is in doubt on whether or not a place


or person can be search, it is always best to obtain a warrant for that such


reason.

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