ABSTRACT
In general conversation, crime scene sketching and crime scene mapping are often considered one and the same. Any difference would be a matter of semantics (e.g., a freehand drawing compared with a to-scale drawing), but for the purposes of this chapter, the text will draw a distinction between the two terms. Consider the sketch as an actual drawing of the scene. As one might imagine, there is a significant range in the quality of crime scene sketches. The sketch may be nothing more than a freehand drawing with no scale of reference, or it could be as intricate as a computer-generated to-scale document. To create a sketch, other than a simple freehand drawing, the technician goes through a process of measuring and fixing the items present in the scene. Crime scene mapping is this “process” of taking and documenting these measurements.
