Crime Scene Investigation: From Tool,Techniques and Tactics to Real Life vs TV CSI Shows - Coursework Example

Running header: crime scene investigation Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission: Contents Contents 2 Executive summary 3 Introduction 3 For crime scene investigation to go well, the following is essential. 4 Training requirements for CSI 5 Aims and objectives of crime scene investigations 5 How the CSI procedures can affect court cases that the evidence is used in 6 Overview of crime scene investigation process 7 Evidence collection procedures 9 Forensic Services 14 Comparison of the TV CSI and the real life crime scene investigation procedures 15 Conclusion 16 References: 16 Crime scene investigation Executive summary The CSI TV shows portray investigators finding and collecting evidence at the crime scene, blood appearing as if through magic and swabbing every single mouth in the vicinity. Consequently, most people believe that by watching the TV shows, they get a good grip on the entire process. But is this the case? Are the TV shows a good representation of the real life crime scene investigations? This paper is aimed at sheding some light on what goes on during a real life crime scene investigation vis-à-vis what goes on in the TV shows. In so doing, the paper has analyzed the essentials of good CSI, the training required for CSI officers and the entire process of crime scene investigation including the forensic services utilized during the process. The paper will also give a Comparison of the TV CSI and the real life crime scene investigation Procedures. Introduction Crime scene investigation makes use of logic, science and law. Crime scene investigation is a very long and tedious process which involves purposeful documentation of conditions at the scene of crime and collection of all physical evidence that could assist in illuminating what actually happened and the person who did it. The main goal of conducting crime scene investigation is the conviction of the perpetrator (perpetrators) of the criminal act (Science.Howstuffworks.com, 2010). Therefore, the officer (CSI) doing the investigation must do everything possible to preserve any evidence available in its current (original) form – in which the forensic lab can be able to reconstruct the crime (identify the culprit) and in a state in which the evidence can be admissible in court. For crime scene investigation to go well, the following is essential. a) A carefully designed plan for searching the site systematically must be developed in order to ensure that no stone is left unturned while still eliminating the need to cover the same area over and over again as evidence may be destroyed with time. b) The scene searchers must be provided with adequate security to ensure that their work is not tampered with whatsoever c) The search must only be conducted by highly trained and trained personnel. d) Only a few people as possible should be permitted access to the site so as to minimize chances of evidence contamination. e) Time is of essence in crime scene investigation since evidence may be destroyed with time by activities such as action of microorganisms, rains etc. f) There must be thorough documentation of the crime scene so as to make a record of the conditions at the scene during the occurrence of the Crimea. This will include labeling the location of all the pieces of evidence when discovered. g) There should be custody for every piece of evidence discovered that should begin immediately a piece of evidence is discovered. Training requirements for CSI Usually, training for crime scene investigators begins in college with the person specializing in chemistry, anatomy, biology and forensics. Although different police departments may have their own specific standards for qualifying to be a crime investigator, the position generally requires at least 700 hours of the crime scene processing, about 80hours training in fingerprint retrieval and analysis, 80 hors training in death investigation, 50 hours training in blood stain analysis and 40 hours training in photography in addition to studies in arson causes, forensic pathology and firearms. Apart from the training above, crime scene investigators have to fulfill basic requirements of all police officers in their departments such as physical fitness, knowledge of search and seizure rules etc. the CSI must also get certification from the international Association for identification, crime scene certification board. Aims and objectives of crime scene investigations Although different people are involved in the processing of a crime scene, their aims and objectives are the same. They include; -determination of whether a crime has been committed. Incase it is determined that there was no crime or if the issue is determined to be of civil courts, then the law enforcement personnel will not have any responsibility. -incase a crime has been committed, the CSI will determine if it is within his/her (investigator’s jurisdiction) -to discover and document all facts that pertain to the complaint in question -identification and elimination of suspects as result of collected physical and testimonial evidence -Location and the apprehension of the perpetrator. At times, this may imply issuance of arrest warrants if the suspect can’t be located. -maintaining a proper chain of custody that will ensure collection of evidence that is admissible in court throughout the whole process. -effectively giving testimony as a witness to the collected evidence within the court of law (Aric, 2010). How the CSI procedures can affect court cases that the evidence is used in The evidence obtained through the CSI procedures is of great value and greatly affects the court cases in which it is used in the following ways. -the evidence serves as prove that the crime has been committed and also establishes the key elements of a crime. -the evidence can be used to establish the identity of persons associated with the crime especially in cases of fingerprints and DNA. - The evidence places the suspect in contact with the victim or the crime scene -the evidence can exonerate the innocent especially through DNA testing. -the evidence can corroborate the victim’s testimony -A suspect who is confronted with physical evidence will most likely make admissions and even confess (Ngaire, 2001). Overview of crime scene investigation process Scene recognition The goal of this stage is to get an understanding of what the particular investigation will entail and hence develop a systematic approach to finding and collecting the evidence. The CSI first defines the extent of the crime scene. For example, if the crime is that of a man killed in his home, the crime scene will include his house and its immediate vicinity. The next step involves securing the crime scene and all the other areas which may later turn out to be part of the scene. Its worth noting that a CSI only gets a single chance of performing a thorough untainted search since evidence may be destroyed with time. For example, rain may wash evidence away; furniture may be removed while detectives may touch objects in the subsequent searches hence corrupting the evidence. Securing the area involves putting a physical barrier using crime scene tapes or other similar barriers. Once the area is secured, the officer enlists the help of an attorney since he might need search warrant owing to the fact that the evidence gathered must be admissible in court. Therefore, the CSI must be cautious and should not conduct a scene search without a warrant. At times, the CSI might require the help of specialists or any additional tools he may deem necessary based on the type of evidence he sees during the stage. This is because some evidence such as maggot activity on the corpse may require analysis at the scene since maggot activity changes every minute. The CSI will also talk to first responders to establish if they touched or removed anything and also gather extra information necessary in planning the investigation. The information gathered in scene recognition stage is used in developing a logical approach to the particular scene of crime. Crime scene documentation The aim of this stage is creating a visual record that allows the forensic lab and the prosecuting attorney to recreate an accurate view of the crime scene. The following activities may take place during the stage. Note taking- this is where the CSI actually writes down everything he/she sees at the scene. Photographing-this stage involves the CSI taking pictures (photos) of the scene before he can touch or move any piece of evidence or any medical examination can be performed on the body. Sketching- the CSI will also create sketches that depict the entire scene and the particular aspects of the scene which will benefit from exact measurements in addition to photographing. The sketches show the location of the evidence and how every aspect of the evidence relates to the entire scene. Video- the CSI may also include a video walkthrough in his scene documentation especially in cases that involve multiple homicides. The video walkthrough is important as it can reveal evidence overlooked at the scene by the investigators. Evidence collection The aim of this stage is finding, collecting and preserving all physical evidence which might serve to recreate the crime and identify the culprit in a manner likely to stand up in court. According to (Crime scene investigator.net (2010), the following are the main types of evidence likely to be found in the crime scene; -trace evidence which might include gunshot residue, paint remains, broken glasses, drugs and unknown chemicals. -impressions such as fingerprints, tool marks and footwear -body fluids such as blood, semen, saliva and vomit -hair and fibers -weapons and firearm evidence that may include knives, guns, cartridge casings and bullet holes -questioned documents such as diaries, suicide notes and phone books With the crime documentation in mind, the CSI officers begin their systematic search for any incriminating evidence. Evidence collection procedures a) Automobile lights When investigating a vehicle accident, one should determine whether the lights were on or off when the accident occurred. Check for broken switches, dead batteries and blown fuses. Any vehicle lamps located in the impact vicinity should be collected and taken to the laboratory for further investigation. When sending material to the lab for investigation; carefully remove intact vehicle lamps and submit them ,collect all available auto lamp glass fragments and plastic lens pieces from the scene for lab examination, carefully dismantle and submit the car headlamp assemblies and ensure that every filament, filament post and glass are included, all loose posts and filaments should be carefully packaged for mailing while ensuring no contact or damage is made to them, all the fragile items from the crime scene should be separately packaged and submitted for laboratory examination. When packaging the materials, they should be properly marked and sealed while ensuring that the standard request for physical evidence examination form ISB-4 are included together with a copy of accident report. b) Blood and other body fluid stains The body fluids found at the scene may include blood, saliva, semen, and vomit. The CSI must carefully collect samples from the scene and also use blood collection kit to collect blood samples from any suspects or living victims for comparison. Where the victim is dead, the CSI uses a piece of clothing or a sterile cloth square and some distilled water to remove some blood from the body. The blood or saliva on the body may be from a different person and hence a DNA test will be performed in the lab in comparing the samples with those collected from suspects. In handling and storing of physiological fluid evidence, a reasonable and good faith effort should be made in order to preserve perishable evidence. The following procedures are used for blood and other body fluid stains and controls (Barry and Fisher, 2004). -air-dry the samples -package the samples in paper -freeze the samples One should consider special handling of non-absorbent items (on metal or plastic). Any condensation from thawing can destroy the evidence. The stains should be kept at room temperatures and delivered to the lab soonest possible. c) Controlled Substances and Medicinal Preparations These may be marijuana as well as other drugs and medicinal preparations that may be involved in the crime or found in the possession of the suspects. Each sample should be placed (packaged) in a paper container, sealed and marked. One should be careful when sealing since loose materials such as marijuana could easily spill off. Drugs such as PCP should be packed in heat sealed KAPAK bags. Any medicinal preparations found in prescription boxes and bottles are to be left in the containers, sealed and marked. The information on the prescription label should also be preserved. d) Fiber and Hair Use combs, tweezers, containers and filtered vacuum device in collecting any hair or fibers found at the scene. Incase of a rape of a live victim, the victim should be accompanied to the hospital and any hairs or fibers found on the victims body during medical examination obtained. Any hair or fiber evidence obtained should then be sealed in separate containers and taken to the lab. Carpet fibers recovered from suspect’s shoes and hairs found on a weapon should also be submitted to the lab. Hair samples should also be obtained from the suspect for DNA comparison. e) Firearms If the officer finds any fire arms, bullets or casings at the scene, he should pick up the gun by the barrel with gloves on and package everything separately for lab examination. If there are bullets embedded in the wall or door frame, the CSI should cut out the portion of the wall containing the bullet as digging it out may damage it hence making it unsuitable for comparison. NIBIN Program This is a computer based image comparison system which allows for comparison at local, state and national levels of fired cartridge cases and expended bullets supported by federal bureau of investigation. As such, all field labs in the forensic services bureau are interconnected to allow real-time data interchange with other NIBIN users. All cases submitted for NIBIN have be accompanied by physical evidence submission and examination request form. Furthermore, the firearms forwarded have to be unlocked and locked and packed in an envelope or a box. However, firearms that can not be packaged in a container are accepted in unwrapped condition although they have to be tagged with the relevant case information. If there is matching of evidence linking two cases, the laboratory issues a physical examination report. Firearms evidence cases with potential for NIBIN linkage include homicides, attempted homicides, gang type shootings, drug related shootings, and drive by shootings, officer involved shootings, robberies and subject’s illegally carrying concealed weapons (Mike, 2001). f) Glass fragments Windows broken in burglaries, headlights broken in hit and run cases and bottles and similar object may leave fragments on personal belongings of the suspects. In this case, wrap and submit to the lab for examination shoes and clothing contaminated with glass. Small glass fragments should be placed in paper bindles and packaged in envelops and sealed while large fragments should be packed in boxes which should be sealed and marked before being delivered for examination. The search should however not be limited to the point of impact but also in the surrounding areas. g) Gunshot residue Being a very fragile evidence, gunshot residue should be collected as soon as possible within hours of discharge of firearm. Use of GSR kits is recommended. In most cases, if more than six hours have passed or the subject has washed his hands, then the probability of obtaining meaningful results is very low. Also, residue collection should happen before a dead body is moved to prevent destruction of evidence (Henry, 2006). h) Human body It is important that any form of evidence collection from the body be done with authority from coroner’s office and relevant law enforcement agencies and the evidence collected be made available to the pathologist. Some evidence form the body should be collected at the scene to avoid alteration during transportation. Such evidence includes blood stain patterns, saliva residues, gunpowder residues and any loosely adhering trace evidence. Biological evidence such as semen taken from body cavities should also be collected at the scene, dried frozen and stored. Where it is difficult to collect evidence at the scene, its worth taking photograph evidence be taken before moving the body. i) Latent print evidence Care should be taken to preserve the evidence and in preventing the addition of other fingerprints to the evidence. Therefore, articles containing the prints should be touched as little as possible and only in those areas which most likely do not contain the prints such as the rough edges. The papers and documents that contain latent prints ought to be placed individually in a cellophane which should be sand witched between sheets of stiff cardboards, wrapped and placed in a box before mailing to avoid evidence destruction (John, 2005). Forensic Services There are many crime investigation labs that provide various types of forensic science services to aid in crime scene investigations. One such lab is the California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services. One of the services provided by California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services is the analysis of latent finger prints and impressions. In this case, California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services develops latent fingerprints, analyze and compare the fingerprints, footwear and tire impressions. The finger prints are ran through an automated fingerprint identification system (AFIS). This system utilizes the FBI database for comparing the fingerprints against numerous finger prints in order to identify a suspect. California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services also has a system for analyzing trace evidence. Trace evidence include gunshot residue (GSR), paint residue, chemicals, glass and illicit drugs. The lab runs GSR analysis and also identifies and compares soil samples, glass, fibers and glass. The laboratories are also able to use chemistry in conducting the analysis and comparing of illicit drugs, explosives and any unknown chemicals. The California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services also has a department that deals with analysis of computer crimes. The department recovers evidence from computers. They also perform computer enhancement on audio or video evidence (Steven, 2007). The serology and DNA department of California DOJ Bureau of Forensic Services is charged with the responsibility of conducting body fluid analysis. This also includes DNA comparison and analysis for blood stains, hair and semen for the purpose of suspect identification and comparison. In addition, the questioned documents department detects forgery and alterations on documents. It also conducts comparison 0of handwritings, reconstruct all destroyed documents, identify and compare printers, typewriters or copiers that were used in the document production. Generally, apiece of evidence is passed through many departments for analyzing. Each department will therefore issue a complete report of the evidence analyzed for the case at hand. The report includes the actual number of results obtained, measurements, chemical contents and expert conclusions by the scientists drawn from the results. The results so obtained are sent to the lead detective. Comparison of the TV CSI and the real life crime scene investigation procedures A look at the TV CSI reveals a lot of differences between it and the real life CSI. Although the show accurately depicts some aspects of real life CSI, it also leaves a lot out since it is designed for viewers who don’t have to watch at CSI waiting to be granted a search warrant since the Viewers are always interested at getting to know the suspects as soon as they can. In reality, it’s also impossible for there to be a two hours range for the time of death. Furthermore, the fingerprint comparison is more complicated than depicted in the TV since the comparison software gives a number of suspects who are analyzed visually to get at the suspect unlike the TV show where the computer just spits out the suspect. In the TV show, the investigators don’t get a warrant before searching a scene which is not supposed to be the case. Furthermore, most searches on the show involve the neighbors and interviewing at the scene. However, in real life, CSI don’t interrogate people at the scene and do not pursue a perpetrator since this is the work of detectives. Therefore, the TV show is very much different from the real life CSI (Barbara, 2001). Conclusion From the discussion above, it is clear that the real life crime scene investigation is a complicated process. A lot of care has to be observed by the officers conducting the investigations since any evidence conducted has to be admissible in court. Although the TV CSI shows appear to be similar to the real life crime scene investigations, they differ a lot from the real life CSI and can not be a good representation of the real life CSI. References: Science.Howstuffworks.com. (2010).How crime scene investigations work. Retrieved august 12, 2010, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/csi5.htm Ngaire, G.E. (2001). The forensic case book: the science of crime scene investigation. Ballantine: Ballantine books. Crime scene investigator.net. (2010).Crime scene investigator network .Retrieved august 12, 2010. From, http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/csi-collection.html Barbara, H.K. (2001). Crime scene investigation. Oxford: Libraries Unlimited. Aric, W. (2010).An introduction to crime scene investigation. Retrieved august 12, 2010 from, http://books.google.com/books?id=bcueIaap3B0C&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=aims++of+crime+sce ne+investigations&source=bl&ots=dAXqT0gWUT&sig=CRg2A8LRo1dqq9FrIheydZpaTWY&hl=en &ei=8bFjTLC8KJKe4QbTu6XHCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CBcQ6AEw AQ#v=onepage&q=aims%20%20of%20crime%20scene%20investigations&f=false Barry, A.J., & Fisher, J.D. (2004). Techniques of crime scene investigation .New York: CRC press. John, R. (2005). Computer forensics: Computer crime scene investigation .Cengage: Cengage learning. Steven, G. (2007). CSI crime scene investigation: case files. London: IDW publishing. Henry, M. (2006). Becoming a crime scene investigator. New York: Longman. Mike, B. (2001). Crime scene evidence: A guide to the recovery and collection of physical evidence. London: Staggs Pub. Read More