ABSTRACT
What does crime scene documentation entail? Documentation has four key elements:
• Notes • Photographs/video • Sketches • Reports
Each element plays an important role; each serves to memorialize what the scene condition was, what the investigator observed, and what the investigator did. No single element stands alone; no single element can replace another element in and of itself, but o¨en one element will serve to answer a question that another element is unable to. Together, these four key elements support one another and provide everyone with a clearer picture of the exact nature of the scene. is chapter and the next two provide an in-depth treatment of each area of documentation, illustrating what must be done to document a scene properly and how best to do it. We’ll begin with crime scene photography.
