CRJS406(2) - Research Paper Example

Even though these characteristics are simple concepts, in some instances it is not easy for investigators to discern their meanings or uniquely identify them to a source. Hence, the aim of this paper is to discuss how investigators can identify class and individual characteristics evidences and their significance to the court process. Class and Individual Characteristic Evidence Class Characteristics evidences are those that no matter how painstakingly they are scrutinized, an explicit identification can never be realized, and they are thus categorized within a group or cluster (Brown, 2001).

Under class characteristic evidences, there is commonly the likelihood of having in excess of one source for the material discovered, and they are applied in narrowing down a catalog of possible items or suspects. For instance, there are thousands of polyester fiber with definite shapes, outlines and colors; however, all of them have similar chemical nature, which makes it hard to identify the item as the specific one in a crime scene (Brown, 2001). Secondly, while human hair possesses similar class characteristics under microscopic observation whereby the medullas are either disjointed or nonexistent, the color and size pattern varies from all over the whole scalp in just a single person.

This then makes it hard to positively point out that a hair sample belongs to a particular individual. Other forms of class characteristic evidences include blood samples, soil samples, and paint, in addition to glass fragments (Gardner, 2011). Conversely, individual characteristics evidences are those, which can be positively identified from a particular individual or a particular source due to existence of adequate microscopic inscriptions or even accidental markings (Gardner, 2011). Individual characteristics have unique physical qualities that are exceptional to a certain evidence item mainly due to natural variations, inadvertent damage and natural dress in.

Some examples of individual characteristic evidences comprises fingerprints pattern, striation marks located in firearms, shoe prints, and blood or semen DNA code. Others include glass pieces whereby broken edges match each other, in addition to pattern formed by ejectors or firing-pin marks of fired cartridges (Buckles, 2010). Class Characteristics and Court Class characteristics evidences mainly aid in the buildup of circumstantial evidences during cases, and during substantiation of alibi false.

This is because class characteristic evidences can offer a distinct negative or a positive substantiation that a certain portion of the evidence did not emerge from a source (DuPre, 2013). For a case to have good chances based on presentation of class characteristic evidence, the investigator should have a bigger number of classifying features, or otherwise massive amounts of diverse types of class evidence. Hence, class evidences are important mostly in proving of definite negative in court.

For instance, in rape the identifying features like hair strands, blood samples, and semen samples can be proved not to come from a certain individual. Class Characteristic and Investigator The value of class characteristic evidences for an investigator rests in its capacity to substantiate events using facts that are