Criminalistics IP1

Legal Issues

Criminalistics IP1

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Legal Issues and Constraints at Crime Scene

The crime scene yields important evidence pointing to the events surrounding the crime and pointing to the responsible party. Physical evidence is considered the impeachable witness because it provides a physical link from the crime to the suspect or the crime to the victim and it does not lie, forget, or ignore. When physical evidence is present at the scene it does not only need to be preserved for its ultimate collection, the evidence also has to be protected by a search warrant. There are a few exceptions to this need for a search warrant before evidence collection can occur but in a majority of cases it is important to protect the evidence leally before collecting the evidence.

When police arrive at a crime scene they secure the scene but do not search for evidence. The lead crime scene investigator will need to obtain a search warrant in order to ensure the evidence at the scene. Exceptions to needing a search warrant include permission from the owner in other words if the owner of the properly calls to report a crime in their home invite police in no search warrant is needed. The owner of the private property has given consent. Next if the search will occur in a public place a search warrant is not need or if the evidence is left out in plain view of the criminal investigator.

There are many situations when police should obtain a search warrant but the rule is if the crime occurred on private property it is important to either get permission or get a search warrant. In order for police to obtain a search warrant their needs to be probable cause that evidence will be located where the search has been requested. In the case of the crime scene obtaining a search warrant will not be difficult because a crime has occurred but the court may limit the scope of the search. What this means is the search may be confined to the area where the crime occurred and not other parts of the property unless there is probable cause evidence is located elsewhere on the property.

Legal issues that might arise from not setting a proper perimeter around the crime scene involve the loss of potential evidence. For crime scenes and critical incidents, it is always better to have been initially too big than too small (Foster, 2010). NO one but police and criminal investigators should be allowed within the perimeter. When evidence is outside the perimeter it has not been properly preserved. When evidence is not properly preserved or managed once the scene has been preserved this evidence risks forever being lost or if it is not lost it risks exclusion from the court process. What this means once evidence is no longer within the control of police or crime scene investigators the chain of evidence has been broken damaging the ability of the court to authenticate the evidence.

The chain of evidence or custody refers to a chorological documentation of evidence from when it is preserved, collected, transported, and analyzed. When evidence is outside of the perimeter it is not present to be chronicled in the documentation making it at risk from being rejected as evidence in the court process. The court requires documentation from the time the scene is secured until the evidence is analyzed at the lab any failure to keep the chain of custody risks the evidence no matter its importance to the case. A broken chain of custody can result in evidence being excluded from the court case.

Decisions of the courts restricting admissibility of testimonial evidence have significantly increased the value of physical evidence in homicide investigations (Geberth, 2003). At a crime scene anything and everything is potentially physical evidence and must be carefully preserved until it can be collected. Through major Supreme Court decisions, police are restricted in their behavior at the crime scene. These restrictions are designed to uphold the due process rights of the citizen. When police illegally search a crime scene when it is on private property they risk violating a citizens Fourth Amendment right is a search warrant is not first obtained.

Police and criminal investigators are limited in their actions when it comes to a crime scene to preserve the due process rights afforded b the Constitution. Due to the importance of protecting these rights as well as the importance of properly collecting evidence it is essential for police officers and forensic investigator to understand the importance of these rights. When members of law enforcement violate these rights through an illegal search they risk the evidence. If the court finds the evidence has been collected illegally it is subject to being excluded from the court process. As a result a guilty offender could go free and a innocent my never get justice.

A mock trial is a tool for criminal investigators that are required to testify in court. Once the criminal investigator has conducted the forensic investigation they will be required to testify about the evidence in a court of law (Turner, 2011). The mock trial is a tool used to get the criminal investigator comfortable with testifying in front of the court and providing evidence clearly and distinctly. When the criminal investigator is effective the information being supplied to the jury will be clear and easy to understand. If the criminal investigator is not comfortable with speaking in front of a jury it could appear he or she is not knowledgeable about the evidence and steps taken at the crime scene.

The crime scene investigation is pivotal to the success of any trial especially when it involves a violent crime involving physical evidence. How the crime scene investigator approaches the scene will determine the eligibility of the evidence in a court of law. In order to protect the evidence a search warrant should be sought when necessary. Protecting the evidence is crucial to ensuring the guilty party is found guilty for the crime they have committed.

References

Foster, R. (2010). Seven Crime Scene Fundamentals. Retrieved August 24, 2014 from

http://policelink.monster.com/training/articles/146020-seven-crime-scene-fundamentals?

Geberth, V. (2003). Practical crime scene investigation: legal considerations. Practical Homicide

Investigation, 51(5): 2-3

Turner, J. (2011). Legal, Safety and Environmental Considerations of Crime Scene Cleanup.

Retrieved August 24, 2014 from http://ezinearticles.com/?Legal,-Safety-and-Environmental-

Considerations-of-Crime-Scene-Cleanup&id=6153549