criminalistic

What is a crime scene investigation?

The process of examining a crime scene, collecting evidence, documenting findings, and determining what happened.

What is a CSI Unit?

A unit that documents the crime scene in detail and collects evidence.

What is the purpose of a crime scene search?

To locate, identify, and collect evidence to help determine what happened.

What is physical evidence?

Any object or material that can establish that a crime occurred or link a crime to a victim or suspect.

What are the 3 types of evidence?

Physical evidence, witnesses, and confessions.

What is physical evidence?

Objects or materials found at a crime scene, such as fingerprints, hair, or weapons.

What are witnesses?

People who saw, heard, or know information about a crime.

What is a confession?

A statement in which a person admits to committing a crime.

What can collected evidence do for an investigation?

Help reconstruct events, connect suspects and victims, and support or disprove statements.

What is tampering?

Improperly changing, handling, or interfering with evidence.

What is contamination?

Introducing foreign materials to evidence, potentially affecting its reliability.

What is substitution?

Replacing original evidence with a different object or sample.

How can you avoid contamination?

Wear gloves, use clean tools, package evidence separately, and avoid unnecessary contact.

What 3 things require extreme care during evidence collection?

Collection, packaging, and preservation.

What is the first step of crime scene protocol?

Interview: speak with the first officer, victim, or witnesses to find out what happened.

What is the second step of crime scene protocol?

Examine: review the layout, identify evidence, and locate entrances and exits.

What is the third step of crime scene protocol?

Document: create a visual and written record using photos, videos, notes, and sketches.

What is the fourth step of crime scene protocol?

Process: identify, evaluate, collect, and preserve evidence.

What does ADAPT stand for?

Assess, Detain, Arrest, Protect, Take notes.

What does Assess mean in ADAPT?

Assess the crime scene and assist injured people.

What does Detain mean in ADAPT?

Keep witnesses available for separate interviews.

What does Arrest mean in ADAPT?

Arrest the perpetrator if present and there are grounds to do so.

What does Protect mean in ADAPT?

Secure the crime scene to prevent interference or contamination.

What does Take notes mean in ADAPT?

Record observations, actions, and important details.

What 5 things should be recorded in investigation notes?

Date, time and location; description; victim's name; case number and agency; collector's name.

What should a rough sketch include?

Scene layout, evidence locations, entrances and exits, measurements, direction, title, and a legend.

What should a rough sketch NOT include?

Unnecessary decorative details, guesses, or inaccurate measurements.

What is a CAD program?

Computer-Aided Design software used to create accurate digital drawings or diagrams.

What should crime scene photographs include?

The overall scene, surrounding areas, entrances and exits, wide shots, close-ups, multiple angles, and scales.

Why use a ruler in crime scene photography?

To show the size of evidence.

What should be photographed if a body is present?

Its position and location, relevant injuries and nearby weapons, and the surface beneath it after it is moved.

Why are crime scene photographs important?

They preserve a visual record of the scene before it changes.

How can a video help at a crime scene?

It records the layout and relationships between evidence and helps investigators review the scene.

Why do police wear body cameras?

To record events and interactions, provide evidence, and help resolve conflicting accounts.

What is CODIS?

A DNA database used to help identify possible matches.

What is AFIS or NGI?

A fingerprint system used to compare fingerprints and help identify individuals.

What is NIBIN?

A database that helps link firearm-related evidence between investigations.

What is NCIC?

A police database containing information such as wanted people, missing people, and stolen property.

What is ViCAP?

A system that helps identify connections between certain violent crimes.

What is NamUs?

A system that helps with missing, unidentified, and unclaimed person cases.

What is a spiral search?

A search where investigators move inward or outward in a spiral; useful outdoors with few searchers.

What is a grid search?

A search conducted in two perpendicular directions; thorough but time-consuming.

What is a line or strip search?

A search using multiple people walking in parallel lines to cover a large area quickly.

What is a zone or quadrant search?

A search that divides the scene into sections; effective in buildings.

What is a wheel or ray search?

A search where investigators move along straight lines from or toward a central point.

What makes an investigation successful?

Proper evidence collection, preservation, documentation, and analysis.