Criminalistics

You are the search team leader on a homicide crime scene in which a body was located in a small field (approximately 3 acres in size) behind an abandoned warehouse. This area is overgrown with bushes and tall grass, making the job of searching and recovering evidence rather difficult for you and your team. It is up to you to decide which type of search pattern you feel would be best for this crime scene.

Conduct an Internet search on various types of search patterns used to search for evidence at a crime scene and then answer the following questions:

• What search patterns may be utilized at this crime scene?
• Choose one of the search patterns you reviewed and discuss the pros and cons of the search method that you have chosen.
• Why did you make the choice to use this particular search pattern for your recovery efforts?
• If you had a secondary choice of search patterns, what would that search pattern be, and why?
• Why is having a strong foundation in report writing a key characteristic of a successful investigator? Explain.
• What types of information would you include in your report with regard to this investigation? Explain.
  • What types of information would you not include in your report? Why not?