1. Science of Crime Scenes
Chapter 8.4
Science of Crime Scenes

2. Underwater and Underground Crime Scenes
Science of Crime Scenes

3. Underwater and Underground Crime Scenes
underwater and underground crime scenes, due to their uncommon, if not evidence-hostile, conditions and the related dangers for the investigators are special cases
Preplanning, organization, and specialist teams are mandatory to collect and secure evidence and to be able to analyze them at the scene.
Because scenes like these are easily identified in advance and do not generally require immediate emergency response, preparations are relatively easy to do.
Science of Crime Scenes

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5. Science of Crime Scenes
Underwater Scenes
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6. Science of Crime Scenes
Underwater scenes
Underwater scenes can be of various types and depth:
swamp,
river (with or without currents),
quarry,
lake,
at sea
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7. Science of Crime Scenes
Dangers
Dangers still exist for investigators working these crime scenes as cold, current, tide, swell, waves, visibility, and even animals can present hazards, to say nothing of the water itself.
Getting into the water can even be difficult because of impediments such as ice, flotsam, or pollutants on the surface
Just like terrestrial scenes, each water crime scene will require a different approach to minimize the loss of evidence and to maximize information
Science of Crime Scenes

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12. Science of Crime Scenes
Locating the Scene
The first, and sometimes greatest, challenge is to locate the area of interest or the evidence to collect.
Witness statements, water flow rates at various depths, wind direction, and speed are good starting points to improve the search efficiency.
As a body decomposes, the gas generated by bacterial action fills the body cavity and will cause the remains to float for a period of time.
Criminals may weight bodies to keep them underwater; depending on the method of weighting, this can be excellent evidence to help source the materials or identify the criminals
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Body location
If the body is punctured by an object or animal activity, the body will partially or completely submerge
Grappling hooks should be used with great care when trying to pull a floating body in, as they can severely damage evidence and create false wounds that can complicate an autopsy
Instead of immediately diving into the water and attempting to retrieve the remains, evidence detected on the surface should be located and marked either by a buoy or a Global positioning systems (GPS) recording device
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16. Science of Crime Scenes
Working the Scene
Once the surrounding area is searched, the perimeter can be identified and marked; a search grid has to be defined to ensure a full search of the entire perimeter.
This may be outlined by buoys on the surface or a physical grid can be placed underwater with precut PVC tubes of known length, filled with sand
In case of low visibility, lines can be placed to help the divers move around the scene within each grid.
Two divers can then drag a rope over the search area to snag any protruding object.
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Equipment
Besides the divers’ equipment, specialized forensic equipment and technology are necessary to lift evidence from its position and properly collect it.
one-use gloves should still be used underwater when sampling biological evidence to minimize contamination
Waterproof cameras and video cameras with special lighting have to be used, if the water clarity allows it.
Advanced diving robots can also be used to view the crime scene remotely, providing for viewing on the surface.
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18. Science of Crime Scenes
Preservation
Once located, photographed, and sketched, evidence would be transported to the surface and then to the laboratory in proper containers to preserve the consistency of the evidence
Items that have been submerged for some time tend to deteriorate rapidly once removed from the water due to oxidation or damage from salt
The best preservation method would be to package the evidence in a bucket or a container with the water in which the object was located
This protocol is mandatory for ferrous evidence, such as tools or firearms
An immersed weapon could appear to be in good condition in the water but will start to rust as soon as it hits the air
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Underground Scenes
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22. Science of Crime Scenes
Underground Scenes
Perhaps even more so than underwater scenes, underground scenes are difficult to enter and are not convenient for standard forensic investigations.
Darkness, fear of heights (acrophobia) or being enclosed (claustrophobia), and the dangers of tight spaces do not ease forensic work
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Dangers
being trapped underground,
toxic gases,
Falling
protective gear includes
helmet,
gloves,
pads,
oxygen breather
rated climbing cords of 8–11 mm
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25. Science of Crime Scenes
CSI kits
Because of the difficulty to gain access to the crime scene, each CSI probably will be able to take only one crime scene kit each.
The kits should be compact, practical, and not jeopardize either the movement or the safety of the examiner when wearing one
Checklists are good ideas, as it may be difficult to backtrack to retrieve forgotten items once the CSIs are down at the scene.
It may not be possible to retrieve all of the available evidence from an underground scene and so it is even more important to clearly select only the most relevant and important evidence to collect and carry back to the surface.
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Combinations
Disasters, like the wreck of the Costa Concordia off the coast of Tuscany in 2012
Need both underwater and climbing skills applied even though they are not technically “underground.”
Such crime scenes require a long and exhausting approach to the crime scene that necessarily will limit the ability to manage the underwater crime scene.
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