ABSTRACT
The possibility of cross-contamination must always be considered when searching and collecting paint samples at crime scenes. Paint chips or fragments are collected with tweezers; the chips can then be wrapped in a paper fold and labeled. Clothing and fabrics containing paint chips should be collected and transported to the laboratory. The vacuuming method is indiscriminate in that it collects everything on the surface of the item and will therefore require extensive sorting to identify paint samples. Vacuums contain special attachments that direct a stream of air that is drawn into a nozzle onto a paper or fabric filter. A special filtered vacuum cleaner may be used to collect trace evidence. A special filtered vacuum cleaner may be used to collect trace evidence. A forceps or spatula is used to scrape the surface of clothing to recover debris on a clean sheet of paper.
