Evidence

Evidence

Something that tends to establish or disprove a fact

Testimonial Evidence

Statement made under oath, Direct evidence, Circumstantial, Drugs

Physical Evidence

Any object or material relevant in a crime, Real evidence, Indirect evidence

Indirect Evidence

Evidence providing only a basis for inference about the disputed fact

Ex. Possession of controlled substance, Driving under the influence with a BAC of +0.08

Circumstantial Evidence

Evidence based on suggestion rather than personal knowledge or observation

Transient Evidence

Temporary; easily changed or lost; usually observed by the first officer at the scene

Ex. Odor, Temperature, Imprints

Pattern Evidence

Produced by direct contact between a person and an object or between two objects.

Ex. Blood splatter, glass fracture, fire burn pattern, gunpowder residue

Conditional Evidence

Produced by a specific event or action

Ex. Light, Smoke, Fire

Transfer Evidence

Produced by contact between person(s) or object(s), or between person(s) and person(s)

Ex. Hair, Fiber

Associative Evidence

Items that may associate a victim or suspect with a scene or each other

Ex. Personal belongings

Trace evidence

Evidence that is found at a crime scene in small but measurable amounts

Class

Object has characteristics common to a group of similar objects or persons.

Ex. Model, Size, Color

Individual

Can be identified to a unique, single, specific source.

Ex. Fingerprints, signatures, paper tearing

Biological classification

Blood, semen, saliva, sweat, tears, hair, bone, tissues, urine, feces, animal material, insects, bacterial, fungal, botanical

Chemical classification

Fibers, glass, soil, gunpowder, metal, mineral, narcotics, drugs, paper, ink, cosmetics, paint, plastic, lubricants, fertilizer

Physical classification

Fingerprints, footprints, shoe prints, handwriting, firearms, tire marks, tool marks, typewriting

Miscellaneous classification

Laundry marks, voice analysis, polygraph, photography, stress evaluation, psycholinguistic analysis, vehicle identification