ABSTRACT
Evidence can be deŸned as anything that sheds light on an incident or event. Virtually anything can be considered evidence. First responders will need to rely on their experience, training, and good judgment, in addition to what they know about the crime they are investigating, to determine what items at a crime scene are relevant to the incident and what items are not. If every item at a crime scene were considered evidence and collected, evidence storage locations would rapidly Ÿll up and swamp crime laboratories with unmanageable backlogs. ™e Ÿrst responders processing the crime scene are the Ÿlters who determine what items at the scene are relevant and should be considered evidence.
