The Crime Scene: Collecting Evidence Today’s Lesson Question: What steps must a forensic scientist follow at a crime scene?

Today’s Objectives Students will be able to: 1)develop a thorough understanding of all parts of the crime scene; 2)explain the importance of preserve and protect.

THE CRIME SCENE This room is a crime scene! What steps should be taken to secure the crime scene? What evidence can be collected? Can this evidence still be processed, even though it may have been irreparably compromised?

THE CRIME SCENE Because evidence can be used in court to convict persons of crimes, it must be handled in a scrupulously careful manner to avoid later allegations of tampering or misconduct which can compromise the case of the prosecution toward acquittal or to overturning a guilty verdict upon appeal. The goal of the forensic scientist is to preserve and protect evidence at a crime scene.

Steps to Follow at the Crime Scene These basic functions or tasks at any crime scene are as follows:basic functions or tasks 1. INTERVIEW 2. EXAMINE 3. PHOTOGRAPH 4. SKETCH 5. PROCESS

Steps to Follow at the Crime Scene 1.Interview is the first step in processing a crime scene. ▫ The crime scene technician must interview the first officer at the scene or the victim to ascertain the "theory" of the case. ▫ What allegedly happened, what crime took place, and how was the crime committed. ▫ This information may not be factual information but it will give the crime scene technician a base from which to start.

Steps to Follow at the Crime Scene 2. Examine the crime scene as the second step in the protocol. ▫ To ascertain if the "theory" of the case is substantiated by what the crime scene technician observes. ▫ Examining the scene to identify possible items of evidentiary nature, identify point of entry and point of exit, and getting the general layout of the crime scene.

Steps to Follow at the Crime Scene 3. Photograph the crime scene is the third step in the protocol. ▫ Photographing the crime scene to record a pictorial view of what the scene looks like and to record items of possible evidence. ▫ Crime scene photographs are generally taken in two categories, overall views and items of evidence.

Steps to Follow at the Crime Scene 4. Sketch the crime scene is the fourth step in the protocol. ▫ A rough sketch is completed by the crime scene technician to demonstrate the layout of the crime scene or to identify the exact position of the deceased victim or evidence within the crime scene. ▫ A crime scene sketch may not be completed on every case, however some form of sketching usually occurs in most cases, i.e., on a fingerprint lift card to identify exactly where the latent was recovered.

Steps to Follow at the Crime Scene 5. The last step in the protocol is to process the crime scene. ▫ The crime scene technician will process the crime scene for evidence, both physical and testimonial evidence. ▫ It is the crime scene technician’s responsibility to identify, evaluate and collect physical evidence from the crime scene for further analysis by a crime laboratory.

“Who Made the Mess?” Activity Deductive reasoning can be applied to factual information to help reconstruct historical events. You will be doing an activity in which they will apply deductive reasoning.activity