Renitra Woods
CJ370
Unit 9 Assignment
July 14, 2014
Footprint and footwear evidence is very valuable. A footprint is the impression that every individual leaves on a surface that has some sort of moisture, it can also be left on a dry surface if the footwear or feet are damp they walk on it. If footprints are undisturbed they can last on a surface from a small amount of time to a long period of time.
Footprints should be used as evidence because footprints may be able to assist investigators in proving that an individual committed a crime, or was present at the scene of a crime and could have possibly committed the crime. Footprints are beneficial but not as beneficial as fingerprints or DNA evidence (LaMance, 2000).
When
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Although impression evidence is can be fragile, if it is left undisturbed it can remain for a long period of time depending on the location or weather.
There are several techniques that are used to gather impression evidence.
Latent Impression recovery has similarity to fingerprinting. This process is commonly used for difficult task such as two- dimensional impressions on materials such as tile floors, wood floors, or chairs.
Casting is used for larger, three dimensional impressions such as tire marks or footprints left in deep snow or mud. This process is similar to the process that dentist use to create casting model for dental work such as fittings for dentures.
Preserving evidence is one of the top priorities for investigators who are responsible for gathering and collecting evidence. Evidence can easily become contaminated or destroyed. Sometimes there may be individuals who don’t have a purpose of being on the crime scene, law enforcement official of course.
Investigators who are responsible for evidence collection must understand the importance of every bit of evidence whether it is physical or trace evidence.
Evidence in fire-arm related cases can be something as simple as a bullet casing. Sometimes the actual firearm can be found at the crime scene which may include prints. By examining this
The popular television show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigations has been on the air for 12 years, and it has brought forth the behind-the-scenes actions of criminal investigations, even if its portrayals are not always scientifically accurate. This has caused an interest in the forensic sciences that has led most people to a skewed view of how a criminal investigation actually works. The reality of a criminal investigation is that it is generally more tedious and difficult than the theory of criminal investigation would have you believe. By examining the forensic and investigative procedures of the case of Pamela Foddrill, it is apparent that the theory of criminal investigation was not representative of the procedures concerning examination
It is important to secure the crime scene so that all evidence can be preserved and everything stays exactly in the place that it was after the crime. Securing the crime scene is necessary to keep from contamination. The most difficult part of doing this would be trying to remove all individuals from the scene and to keep them off because there are often many family, friends, and relatives at the scenes of crimes.
One of the most important purposes of physical evidence is to establish the identity of a suspect or victim. Some of the most valuable clues at a crime scene are fingerprints. "Processing a crime scene" is a long, tedious process that involves focused documentation of the conditions at the scene and the collection of any physical evidence that could possibly shed light on what happened and point to who did it.
Why do you think it is so important that all evidence be identified (such as marking the bullets and tagging firearms)? What consequences might result if these procedures were not followed?
Forensic evidence has been shown to be reliable due to many factors of evidence such as DNA, blood, fingerprints, etc.; however, many cases have shown that
The gathering, protection and safeguarding of evidence is a crucial facet of evidence integrity, without accurate adherence to these processes, vital evidence that could possibly have significant influence on a court case could be deemed inadmissible. Therefore identifies the importance in establishing policy and procedure for law enforcement agencies in the identification, collection, and storage of evidence. Objects that constitute fruits, instrumentalities, or evidence of the crime or are contraband may be introduced in evidence and exhibited to the jury if it is proven that such objects offered as evidence relate to the crime charged (Garland, 2015, p. 417). Below is a procedure for handling physical evidence for presentation
Like you see in the Crime scene investigation shows like CSI and Bones, there are many things that go into investigating shows a lot of those things happen but it takes much longer than forty or sixty minutes to solve the crime. While crime scene investigating is very serious job, collecting evidence at crime scenes requires education and knowing of what you're doing, requires hard work, and it can be difficult to perform this job.
The foundation of all Forensic practice is in practicing, maintaining and protecting integrity and continuity of evidence as it establishes credibility and reliability in court and makes certain that any fabrication, misunderstanding, bias’s or even mistakes, have not occurred.
Behind every court case there’s a train of forensic science evidence and research. Forensic science is the application of scientific principles of criminal justice. In many court cases a forensic scientists is the one on the scene collecting finger prints, photos, blood samples and other evidence. Unfortunately one of the controversial issues in the forensic world is the evidence and its lack of verification of its reliability. In the field of forensics there are issues in finding proof in generating conclusion, fundamental knowledge to solve problems, and the whole false memory defense in the court. These issues can be solved in many ways like extensive research, preparation and training. These issues
evidences can tell what sex, age, and race of the suspect. If the scene was not
The greater the time between the crime, documentation, collection, and examination of a crime scene, the harder it will be to reconstruct it due to changes constantly occurring. A crime scene is built on all available evidence, even what appears to be the absence of evidence. When lack of science, lack of research, or a poorly searched crime scene is the reason for a solid conclusion this can result in evidence not being
Crime scene preservation should be the most important step to any first responder. This protocol should continue to be followed by anyone who processes the scene. From the moment the first responder arrives at the scene, he/she should exercise a pertinacious attitude to insure that curious onlookers and personnel who are not involved in a task related to the scene, remain outside the cordoned
Today, more than ever, the quality of evidence in criminal cases is scrutinized because of contamination. Contamination is the introduction of something that physically corrupts a substance at a crime scene that was not previously there; it comes in many forms and most often times comes from the humans who investigate a crime scene. It is imperative that prevention of cross-contamination is implemented when gathering evidence. Several of the more sensitive forensic techniques such as trace analysis, bloodspatter interpretation, and DNA comparison are not being used to their fullest potential. Items of physical crime scene evidence are not always visible to the naked eye and may be easily overlooked so deliberate and methodical approach to collection and preservation of evidence is essential. Prosecutors have lost cases due to crime scene contamination; this could be prevented by simple and productive behaviors. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a leading case on physical evidence, stated:
Evidence plays a major role usually in trail of a case. Several types of evidence can be used. Evidence can be divided into two categories – Testimonial evidence and Physical evidence. Physical evidence is one type of such evidence; this evidence can be brought to court room for observation during trails. This is the most important evidence. Physical evidence is also known as real evidence, they consist tangible article from tiny microscopic to macroscopic evidence from large building to molecules in air. It can be in solid, gas or liquid form. Advances in forensic science have increased the use of physical evidence
Every time somebody touches something, they leave behind a unique signature that forever links them to that object. This link is their fingerprints, which are unique to every person, for no two people have the same set, not even family members or identical twins. Palms and toes also leave prints behind, but these are far less commonly found during crime scene investigations. Therefore, fingerprints provide an identification process that is applicable to background checks, biometric security, mass disaster identification, and most importantly, crime scene investigations. Fingerprints are so differentiated because they are made up of distinct patterns of ridges and furrows on the fingers. The ridges are the “raised” portions of the prints, and the furrows are the “recessed” portions. This perceived uniqueness has led some people to falsely accept fingerprint analysis as absolute scientific fact. Although overall fingerprints are reliable, there are definitely situations where their accuracy can come into question.