ABSTRACT
A. The Questions ....................................................................................... 196 B. The Crime Scene................................................................................... 196
1. What Is a Crime Scene? ................................................................ 197 a. What Is the Scope of a Crime Scene?................................... 198
2. Processing the Scene...................................................................... 198 a. Check for Survivors ............................................................... 198 b. Secure the Scene..................................................................... 200 c. The Dynamic Crime Scene.................................................... 202 d. The Team Approach............................................................... 203 e. Assess the Scene...................................................................... 203 f. Documentation ...................................................................... 206
i. Chain of custody .............................................................. 206 C. The Evidence ......................................................................................... 207
1. Recognition .................................................................................... 207 2. Detection........................................................................................ 207
a. Presumptive Testing ............................................................... 208 3. Collection and Preservation ......................................................... 208
a. Collection Procedures ............................................................ 209 b. Preservation ............................................................................ 210
i. Nonbiological evidence ................................................... 210 ii. Biological evidence........................................................... 210
4. Contamination............................................................................... 210 a. Definition of Contamination ................................................ 210 b. Sources of Contamination..................................................... 212 c. Types of Impurities and Their Consequences ..................... 213
i. Nonbiological impurities................................................. 213 ii. Biological impurities........................................................ 214
d. Prevention and Detection...................................................... 215 e. Explainable Differences.......................................................... 217
D. Summary ............................................................................................... 218 References ...................................................................................................... 218
Although this discussion is not intended to provide a step-by-step protocol for processing a scene, it’s worth thinking about what we wish to accomplish at any crime scene, and how we can at least not sabotage the end result before we even collect a piece of evidence. To do that we need take a step backward and consider the big picture. You should not be surprised at this point to hear a reiteration of
“What is the question?”
