Chain of Custody and Identification, Collection, and Preservation of Evidence: Major Concepts of Forensic Nursing

I. Chain of Custody: Chain of custody involves a witnessed, written record of all the • individuals who maintained uninterrupted control over the items of evidence. Every person who personally handles the evidence must be • accounted for and documented as a link in the chain of custody, from the crime scene to the courtroom. Any individual who identies an item of evidence must mark it • for identication. By maintaining an unbroken chain of custody, each witness can • testify in court that each item presented is the exact item that was collected at the scene.