Crime Scene Investigation Steps

Its imperative to understand that crime scene investigation and forensic science are both similar fields of study. Both of these careers require a criminal justice degree and solely focus on the aftermath of a crime. The ultimate objective of both is to gather and analyze evidence to solve a crime. Each of these professions playing an integral role in the flow of analysis in the criminal justice system. By working together, an CSI examine the location and gather evidence at the scene and bring the evidence back to a forensic scientist to analyze. They both utilize the scientific and

By now the crime scene has been labeled a homicide and detectives have been dispatched to the scene. When the detectives arrive the lead officer will then provide a detailed crime scene briefing to the detective in charge of the scene. This briefing will be the only opportunity for the detective to receive the initial aspects of the crime scene prior to subsequent investigation. Since the crime scene and any/all evidence collected are the key factors in making a case, the crime scene must be documented as soon as possible including, appearance and condition of the scene upon arrival, lights on/off, shades up/down, doors, windows open/closed, any unusual smells, ice, liquids, weather conditions, temperature, and any personal items that may have been left behind. Once the lead detective has been briefed and evaluates the scene him/herself, he/she will then need to determine if consent to search and/or obtaining a search warrant is needed. The scene assessment allows the lead detective

Since the time that the scientific science dramatization "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" turned into a tremendous hit and generated its fans, reporters have been worried about what they instituted the "CSI Effect." The hypothesis behind the effect is that fans of the well-known show disguise misguided judgments about the law that they bring with them into the court as jurors. In this way, the trepidation is that the TV show is at last influencing the results of trials - and not in a great manner. Criminal justice researchers have started to study the inquiry of whether nationals who are called to serve on juries bring unreasonable desires and convictions to the court as a consequence of TV projects. The impact that these projects may have on the jurors, their desires, and their choices is known as the CSI effect.

What is crime scene investigation? Crime scene investigation is the use of physical evidence at the scene of the crime and the use of of the deductive and inductive reasoning to gain knowledge of the events and of the surrounding crime. Crime scene investigating is a big combination of Science, logic and law.

This stage one of criminal investigation is considered to be one of the most important stages of criminal investigation. An unprofessional mistake made by a first responding officer can extensively destroy the whole investigation. By following the correct procedures and rule the first responding officer can eliminate the chance of making mistakes during the initial investigation. The lack of knowledge can also disrupt a criminal investigation. The first responding officer is likely to conduct a successful investigation if he knows how to deal with the problems at the crime scene therefore, the first responding officer need to have good knowledge about the investigative procedures.

After the crime is first reported, the law enforcement officers must open an investigation. Within the investigation, witnesses must be interviewed separately by police, along with the victims, and suspects. Crime scene technicians should also be contacted to collect any type of evidence from DNA, fingerprints, and blood samples. After possible incriminating evidence is collected, it must be sent back to the lab for testing.

An investigation does not just happen. It must be an organized event that occurs. There are many steps that must be taken during an investigation. The first step to an investigation would be to preserve, document, and collect all of the evidence at the scene of the crime. The investigator would then need to establish that a crime has been committed. Once that is established, an investigator must identify all of

The first priority for a first responding officer(s) is safety that there is no threat to the officer or citizens at the scene. Once the scene is secured, investigators and forensics personal can process the scene. Once forensics personal is notified this is called “called out”. They should record the date and time of the call out they receive. Once at the crime scene they get a briefing about the incident. Forensic technician should record arrival time, and time briefing is over. Should also document the names and identification numbers of all personal present. Ask if any fragile evidence or area of the scene has been disturbed is important. Tracked blood, shoe or tire impressions from first responder’s activity. Start processing scene. Initial search for evidence is a search conducted by the forensic technician to survey the scene to determine and prioritize task. Records date and time the initial search for evidence. Records notes on areas of interest, and location of evidence. Notes environmental and premises conditions. Always proceed slowly (sight, smell, hearing, and touch) using senses. Night time crime scenes are difficult to see blood, firearm casings etc. hard to locate.

They have to make sure that before they entered the crime scene, nothing in the scene should have been moved. While they are going through a walk-through, they may have to construct theories about what happened in the crime scene based on visual examination. Investigators have to take photographs of the scene and will later on be collected. Taking photographs of the scene will help them solve the crime because there are some points of the investigation that investigators may have overlooked evidence, and that evidence could be found in the photographs. After taking photographs of the scene, they will start to collect clue and evidence that may lead them to their possible suspect(s). What they may find in the crime scene are fingerprints which can be done using colored powder and a brush, other thizngs such as blood, firearms, hair, glass and many more things that can be found in the crime scenes.

The book gives a general overview of the field of forensic science. The sections of the book include “The Scene of the Crime; Working the Scene--The Evidence; Working the Scene of the Body Human;

to see if the suspect is anywhere around then they checked to determine the two

The purpose of this project is to provide the reader of this paper with a descriptive analysis of an episode of Crime Scene Investigations (C.S.I.). The intent is to show what is provided by the television series of what happens in a crime and what is supposed to happen during a crime scene investigation. The reader should be able to understand during this analysis to what in fact is non-realistic in this television episode and what is reality as determined by what has been researched. This will show what really happens in a crime scene investigations lab.

Nothing is more crucial to any investigation than the actions of the first officers on the scene and the actions they take regarding the preservation of the crime scene, detention of witnesses and an arrest if possible. The immediate objective of the first officers on the scene must be the safety of all parties involved and all else follows

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:

The specialized personnel that I would need at the crime scene include a medical examiner, sketch artist, photographer, forensic scientist, fingerprint specialists and investigating officers. The responsibility of the medical examiner is to determine the cause of death, time of death, and take custody of the body (Fisher, 2004).