Crime Scene Investigation and Evidence Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering evidence types, forensic terms, and crime scene investigation procedures from the provided sources.

Chain of custody

The documented and unbroken transfer of evidence.

Circumstantial evidence

Indirect evidence used to imply a fact but not prove it directly.

Class evidence

Material that connects an individual or thing to a certain group.

Crime-scene investigation

A multidisciplinary approach in which scientific and legal professionals work together to solve a crime.

Crime-scene reconstruction

A hypothesis of the sequence of events from before the crime was committed through its commission.

Direct evidence

Evidence that (if true) proves an alleged fact, such as an eyewitness account of a crime or a confession.

First responder

The first police officer to arrive at a crime scene.

Individual evidence

A kind of evidence that identifies a particular person or thing.

Paper bindle

A folded paper used to hold trace evidence.

Primary crime scene

The location where the crime took place.

Secondary crime scene

A location other than the primary crime scene, but that is in some way related to the crime, where evidence is found.

Trace evidence

Small but measurable amounts of physical or biological material found at a crime scene.

Physical evidence

Circumstantial evidence that includes impressions such as fingerprints, footprints, shoe prints, tire impressions, and tool marks, as well as fibers, weapons, bullets, and shell casings.

Biological evidence

Circumstantial evidence that includes body fluids, hair, plant parts, and natural fibers.

Scanning the scene

The phase of examination where forensic examiners determine where photos should be taken and assign priorities to primary and secondary crime scenes.

Seeing the scene

The phase where the crime scene examiner takes photos of the overall area and close-up photos with and without a measuring ruler from several angles and distances.

Sketching the scene

The phase where an accurate rough sketch of the crime scene is made, measuring all objects from two immovable landmarks, labeling north, and providing a scale of distance.