Evidence Tracking

I think the best method of submitting evidence is personal delivery because you can make sure that it gets there on time and that it has not been tampered with or contaminated, you can make sure that no unauthorized persons has come

Now a day’s evidence can change a person’s life in the blink of an eye. “People were often punished for crimes based on the word of one or two individuals, with little concern given to sorting out the truth of the affair” (Hunter 12). But today a person must be tried and some physical evidence is needed in order for a person to be convicted of a crime.

It’s important that all evidence is identified so that forensic scientist can examine it and take

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

Preserved and appropriately maintained custody of evidence through submission of evidence to the laboratory and evidence custodian for analysis and safekeeping.

Evidence plays a vital role throughout criminal investigations. Typically, we think of evidence as things such as fingerprints, DNA, and fibers. However, evidence as evolved as the world of technology has expanded. Digital evidence also now plays just as much of an important role as traditional evidence. When beginning an investigation that involves digital evidence, it is important for the investigator to know what evidence to look for. Identification of evidence, collection including transportation of evidence and examination of evidence are the three main aspects of the process.

All available physical evidence is handled competently. Evidence will be recorded and processed correctly and inside the law procedures.

The person’s belonging that are obtain from the crime scene should be labeled, dated, and individually identified. The evidence now can be properly identified throughout the process. Law enforcement has rules and regulations to obey at the time of seizing evidence. Nevertheless, if the boundaries are overstepped, there may be room for the evidence to be inadmissible. Seizing evidence is always a great opportunity to place a guilty person away; however, protecting the individual rights are just as important.

The most efficient and acceptable means for the collection of evidence to be permissible and admissible to a court of law through trial proceedings is to maintain a credible chain of custody. However, the chain of custody is an insufficient factor without proper discovery retrieval and/or collection of evidence. When offenders respond to a scene in which there is evidence to be collected, only officers properly trained in the process are allowed to collect the evidence. In the State of Georgia, law enforcement officers undergo a strenuous police academy course in which they learn the fundamentals of collecting elements such as fingerprints and bodily fluids. In addition to learning the fundamentals of collecting elements at a crime scene, they are also instructed and trained on how to properly take crime scene pictures. These pictures are important because they show the courts where an element or piece of evidence was discovered in reference to the whole sight of the scene. Once the officer collects the elements/evidence according to his or her training they place the evidence in either a plastic or paper bag to be submitted into evidence. Upon the collection of evidence there is a legible record of each person that handles the evidence from start to finish

The procedure should accomplish that each type of physical evidence, whether an intact object, pieces of an object, blood, glass, liquids, or gasses, must be collected, marked or tagged, packaged, transported, and stored properly to be later admitted in to evidence in court. The maintaining proper chain of custody is particularly important when the object is one that is not unique or when questions could be raised about changes in the condition of the object, unique or not. Upon arrival at a crime scene, the officer should first quickly determine if anyone is injured or needs medical treatment and, if so, summon the health professionals. Then the officer should survey the crime scene, quickly determine whom to interview, and move nonessential individuals out of the area. The crime scene area should be cordoned off or otherwise closed to nonessential individuals.

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

They also affect how a case is explained through witness testimonies and evidence in the trial process. The rules of evidence show the amount of evidence that is required to provide proof of a criminal case. The collection of evidence and information at the scene of the crime needs to focus on forming the elements to the crime being investigated and proving the crime at a criminal trial. The law of evidence guides the crime scene investigative process. The rules of evidence affect how crime scenes are investigated and how a criminal case is presented through the criminal trial process (Buckles,

Next thing they have to do is to secure the crime scene. Officers have to scan

Since most investigations start with very limited information, care and common sense are necessary to minimize the chances of destroying evidence. A plan of operation is developed and initiated from an initial walk through of the scene. The plan is to decide what evidence may be present, what evidence may be fragile and need to be collected as soon as possible. What resources, equipment, and assistance are necessary for the processing? Consideration of hazards or safety conditions may need to be addressed.

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: