CRJS406 IP5

Crime Scene

CRJS406-IP5

Name

Class

Date

Professor

Crime Scene Investigation

In this scenario police have been alerted about a body that fell out of the sky and landed on a car in front of a suburban home. Police arrived on scene and verified that in fact there was a man with a parachute dead on the top of the witnesses car. Police also locate a leg bag containing about 20 lbs of marijuana and U.S. currency totaling $28,000.00. Once the victim was located the scene is immediately secured by responding police. Police will determine the boundaries of the crime scene and cordon it off with crime scene tape. The crime scene is preserved to ensure no evidence can become damaged or lost. Police will only allow criminal investigators to enter the scene.

Crime Scene Documentation

1. Preserve the crime scene

2. Conduct walk through of crime scene

3. Identify evidence during the walk through

4. Sketch crime scene

5. Photograph or video tape crime scene

6. Photograph each piece of evidence individually with an evidence marker

7. Photograph evidence from every angle

8. Each piece of evidence will be placed in evidence bag or container

9. Collect evidence using uniform procedures

10. Document collection of evidence

11. Label evidence box or envelope

Questions Scene and Body

1. Did anyone witness the man fall from the sky

2. What time did the witness hear glass breaking?

3. What day did the incident occur?

4. Who else heard the glass breaking?

5. What time did the homeowner discover the body?

6. Was anyone near or around the body when located?

7. Did you notice anything unusual before locating the body?

8. Did you notice anything unusual after you located the body?

9. What time did police arrive on scene?

10. What physical evidence was located at the crime scene?

11. How was the evidence

12. How was the crime scene preserved?

13. Who was present at the crime scene when the police arrived?

14. What time of day was body located?

15. What was the temperature outside when the body was located?

16. Was the parachute damage when located on the body?

17. Was there any noticeable tears?

18. What types of impression were located at the scene?

19. Was the homeowner questioned?

20. Who else was questioned at the scene?

21. Were there any other drugs located at the scene?

22. How was the cocaine evidence collected?

23. Was all of the evidence located at the scene?

24. Were the responding police officers interviewed?

25. Did anyone enter the crime scene before the criminal investigators?

Evidence to be Collected at the Scene

· Drug evidence

· Parachute

· Body

· Fingerprints

· Photographs of evidence

· Two Fake id’s

· Trace evidence from body

Collect and Preserve Evidence

When arriving at a preserved crime scene the evidence is collected following standardized methods to ensure any evidence collected can be authenticated for the court case. Any failures to properly document every step of the preservation, documentation, collection, and transportation proves can result in the evidence being excluded from the court process (NIJ, 2009). The drug evidence will be collected using a gloved hand and placing the drugs in an evidence bag once it has been photographed from every angle. Once the drug arrives at the lab it will be tested to ensure it is in fact cocaine and then it will be weighed.

Next the parachute must be collected. First the parachute will be carefully collected and placed into an evidence bag. The evidence bag will then be labeled and transported to the lab. The label will include information, such as where the evidence was located and who collected the evidence. Once the drugs and parachute is removed from the body the next piece of physical evidence to be collected is the body. Before the body can be collected the coroner must first conduct a forensic investigation of the body. The coroner will collect any bug evidence or any trace evidence on the body before taking body temperature and bagging the hands of the victim. The body is placed in a body bag and then transported back to the morgue.

Once the crime scene has been photographed, as a whole, the collection and documentation of evidence will begin (Bishop, 2007). The two fake id’s can provide important investigation to investigators because it provides a point of references and allows the investigators to determine if the ids link to a specific person. The fake ID’s could also contain trace evidence or fingerprints. Each of the fake ID’s need to be collected carefully using gloves and be placed in separate evidence envelopes to ensure the evidence does not become cross contaminated. Once the fake ID’s arrive back at the lab they will be dusted for fingerprints as well as swabbed for potential trace evidence. If investigator can develop a DNA profile they may be able to identify the victim.

Background Investigation

The background investigation will involve trying to identify the victim in order to determine how he died. This includes determining if the fake ID’s are aliases used by the victim that could potentially link back to his true identity. If the ID’s of the victim do not lead back to the victim the next step will be to get the fingerprints of the victim and trying to match them to fingerprints stored in IAFIS. If the victim has a criminal record or has ever provided their fingerprints to the government they will e stored in AFIS. If the fingerprints of the victim to not lead to his identity the next step are to develop a DNA profile and attempt to match the DNA profile to profiles stored in CODIS.

References

Bishop, M. (2007). Crime Scene Processing. Retrieved August 25, 2013 from

http://forensic-topics.com/crime_scene_processing_

National Institute of Justice. (2009). A Guide for General Crime Scene Investigation. Retrieved

November 8, 2013 from

http://www.nij.gov/topics/law-enforcement/investigations/crime-scene/guides/