DOCUMENTATION OF THE CRIME SCENE

Investigators should obtain as much information about the crime scene as possible before beginning their investigation. To avoid the destruction of valuable evidence such as shoeprints, trace evidence, and so on, information is acquired. Once all of the material has been acquired, a conceptual plan for analyzing the crime scene is devised. A walk-through of the area along the "trail" of the crime is usually the first step in the investigation of the incident. The trail is the location where all of the crime's visible activities took place. The goal of the walk-through is to make a mental map of how the scene will be studied and to note the placement of any potential evidence. As the investigation moves further, the investigators should keep their hands occupied by carrying notebooks, flashlights, pencils, and other items in their pockets or keeping them in their pockets. This is to avoid leaving unwelcome fingerprints at the crime site. As a final comment on the walkthrough, the investigators should look over their shoulders for anything that is above their heads. Blood spatters and bullet holes may be found in these regions, providing significant evidence. The scenario should be captured using videotape, photographs, and sketches once the walkthrough is over.

DOCUMENTING THE CRIME SCENE

If a video camera is available, is the initial step in photographing a crime scene. A videotape can give you a viewpoint on the crime scene layout that images and sketches can't always give you. It's a more natural viewing medium to which people can relate, especially when it comes to displaying the structure of the crime scene and how the evidence ties to the crime. A fully charged battery, as well as date and time videotape display functions, should be included in the video camera. Once the video camera starts recording, it should not be turned off until the entire tape has been recorded. Wide-angle, close-up, and even macro pictures should be used throughout the crime scene to highlight the arrangement of the evidence and its significance to the crime scene. After transferring the crime scene tape, the recording tabs should be removed from the master tape, and the master should be stored safely. This is to prevent the crime scene tape from being accidentally erased. The master tape can then be used to make copies.

STILL PHOTOGRAPHY

If video is not available, then still photography will be the first step. Photographs can demonstrate the same type of things that the videotape does, but photographs from the crime scene can also be used in direct comparison situations. The photography of the crime scene should begin with wide-angle photos of the crime scene and surrounding areas. A ruler should be photographed with items where relative size is important or on items that need to have one-to-one comparison photographs. The same areas should be photographed in the same sequence as mentioned above in the paragraphs on videotaping.

CRIME SCENE SKETCHING

The final phase in documenting the scene is making a crime scene sketch. The drawback of photographs is that they are two-dimensional representations of three-dimensional objects. As a result, most photographs can distort the spatial relationships of the photographed objects causing items to appear closer together or farther apart than they actually are. If spatial relationships of the evidence are important or if something needs to have proportional measurements included in it for calculations (such as bullet trajectory angles, accident reconstructions, etc.) then a sketch must be made of the crime scene.

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Article by- Femina SP

Source- The Conversation, National Institute of Justice, Science Direct, etc.