ABSTRACT
The level of effort directed at crime scene sketching and mapping varies widely. The primary factors in deciding how much effort to direct at a scene are the severity of the crime and the importance of the evidence interrelationships. In major crimes such as homicides, the scene sketch will be in depth, with significant crime scene mapping documentation. In practice, no matter which manual mapping method the technician uses, the technician fixes all evidence first. Later, the technician measures walls, furniture, and other static items. This sequence prevents inadvertently moving an item of evidence before its position is fixed. The formal sketch, whether hand-drawn or computer-generated, has five basic elements. These are: Heading, Diagram area, Legend, Title block, and Scale and direction notations. There are several variations of view for the crime scene sketch. These are: Cross-projection or exploded sketch, Elevation sketch, and Three-dimensional sketch.
