Forensic Evidence and Crime Investigation †MyAssignmenthelp.com

Question: Discuss about the Forensic Evidence and Crime Investigation. Answer: Introduction: The police officers and first responders with respect to the crime scene posses the risk of unintentionally tempering valuable evidence. The problem of contamination is very serious through which a criminal case can be Jeopardize through the distraction of evidence. The first responders or the police officers may not have the knowledge that which aspect of the crime scene can be a very valuable evidence and may be contaminated if due care is not take (Ide Lindholm, 2016). Therefore it is not possible to comprehensively prevent the people at the crime scene from contamination g the evidence. However, the contamination can be limited if proper measures are taken by the crime scene officers. Merely wearing gloves and masks to investigate the crime scene is not enough to prevent the contamination of evidence. The elimination of evidence contamination from the crime scene can make or break a case. The way in which the evidence has been collected and the state which it has been collected is the primary accusation which the defendant attorney relies upon in court to prove that the defendant is innocent. The concerns related to contamination also affect the evidence review process in a negative way. The reviewer would always have in made the concern related to the authenticity of the evidence. In addition if evidence has actually being contaminated at the crime scene it would be difficult for the reviewer to attain an appropriate conclusion required to address the criminal case. Therefore it is necessary to ensure that contamination is eliminated from the crime scenes (Girard, 2013). This section of the paper would provide details in relation to the obvious clues and pieces of evidence that could be used for a subsequent prosecution. The obvious clues and evidence which have been identified in relation to the present crime scene are as follows: 9mm Shell casing- The case would be helpful for the purpose of identifying the type of weapon which has been used to commit the crime. The case has to be collected wearing gloves and have to be kept in a clean plastic bag for further forensic review. Telephone cable- The telephone cable which has been cut through the use of a blunt knife may have finger prints of the person who has cut it. The cable has to be collected and stored in the same way as the bullet case. 4 door late model dark blue Chevrolet Caprice Classic long black tire track- The model of the car and the tire marks can be used to identify the car which had been used by the accused and subsequently identify the accuse through the car. The tire tracks can be collected via taking their impression on paper and clicking photographs. Finger prints from chairs and table- These furniture have finger prints which can be collected through the use of finger print collection tools and would help identify the accused. Latent fingerprints on the knob of the box- The finger prints can be collected in the same way as from the furniture to identify the accused. Prominent dirty boot print on the door- the boot print can also assist the officer in identifying the accused. The impression of the boot print can be taken on impression paper and digital photographs should also be clicked. This section of the paper discusses about the unobvious pieces of evidence that need to be looked for and how could they be collected management and preserved. The evidences are as follows: Black ski mask with saliva around the mouth of the mask- The split found in the mask can be used to extract the DNA sample of the owner. This has to done by following a three step procedure. The first of the step is the preparation stage where preparation for the collection has to be done by using personal protective equipment, evidence collection kits such as forceps, distilled water and sterile swabs. It is necessary to select a product which has been specifically designed to collect saliva. Swabbing for cells should be used in the second step and the last step should be preserving the cells through proper transport and storage such as providing the optimum temperature required to keep the cells safe. This in an unobvious evidence because the mask was found outside the apartment and may belong to anyone in the building. Semen samples- Semen samples have to be collected from to the apartment in order to find more evidence in relation to the DNA of the person who had indulged in sexual activity with the victim. The sample needs to be collected in the same way as discussed above. Proper documentation is the one of the most important aspect of the crime scene investigation. The record of evidence which is discovered at the crime scene is provided through documentation along with the observation made at the scene (Fish et al., 2013). The complete and accurate documentation of the evidence collected from the crime scene is required for properly presenting it in the court. The first officer has the most important role to play in the process of documentation. If proper documentation is not kept the offers would not be able to keep a track of evidence which have been collected from the scene as they include various evidence which can be difficult to be tracked without documentation (Saferstein, 2015). The crime officer must record the crime scene through the use of photographs and videos such as ransacked rooms, missing items, open doors and windows so that the jury can be presented with an overview of how the crime scene looked like. The documentation can also hel p the officers to develop a general theory of the scene (Dutelle, 2016). This also helps the officers to get knowledge about what kind of tools would be required for further inquiry. In the given case all the evidence which have been collected discussed above have to be documented in a list of evidence. The evidence collected from witness also has to be recorded electronically to be presented in the court (Robinson, 2016). The establishment of chain of custody is defined as the process of documenting, collecting, and protecting evidence. The creation and maintenance of chain of custody denotes keeping a detailed log of where the evidence was present and all details in relation to what happed to the evidence before the court trial. Firstly the officer has to document where the evidence was collected through notes and photographs (Baxter, 2015). Thus all the evidence which has been collected has to be documented in relation to from where such evidence has been collected. For instance it is to be recorded that the bullet case was found near the bed. The role of the defense attorney is to find out loopholes so that he is able to provide before the court that the evidence has not been collected in a proper manner and has been manipulated by the officers to be used against the defendants (Horswell, 2016). Any contamination of evidence which may be identified by the defense attorney would be utilized by him t o decrease the credibility of the evidence collected. It is the role of the prosecution to provide beyond reasonable doubts that the crime has been committed by the plaintiff. In case the defendant attorney is able to create any doubt in the mind of the judge due to the lack of a proper chain of custody it would be difficult for the prosecution to establish their case before the court and it would be ruled in favor of the defendant (Lee Pagliaro, 2013). The evidence collected from the crime scene prima facie depicts that the case is related to theft rape and murder. The person committing the crime must have come with the intention of theft and they forced the victim to strip and take a shower in her underwear in gun point. There must have been some struggle between the victim and the offender in the shower as hair were found blocking the water passage way (Butler, Thompson Bel, 2013). The victim must have been forced to enter into sexual activity with the offender. When the offender tried to take away the valuables of the victim the victim must have retaliated which can been concluded through the position of the chair and table. The victim must have been shot during such struggle by the offender. The tire tracks and pop sound denotes that as soon as the victim was shot and the theft was committed the offender left the apartment. However there may when be more than one offender in relation to the crime which me be discovered upon an alyzing the finger prints found in the apartment. The offender must have been unknown to the victim as they had to ransack the house of the victim to find out the valuables. In addition the offenders may have been wearing a mask which was found outside the apartment. If there is more than one offender found then there may be possibilities of gang involvement in the crime as well (Baber, 2017). Forensic science is necessary to solve any criminal case where sexual act has been committee and the accused cannot be easily identified or is absconding. Through the implement of forensic principles little details about the person committing the crime can be derived which is very useful for identifying such criminals. Through the help of such principles a scientific examination of evidence can be conducted leaving no room for error towards distinguishing the innocent from the guilty. In the given case the finger prints the car mark and the DNA collected from the semen if matched through the application of forensic principles it would be clear that the person present at that time must have committed the crime of theft and murder. Any person upon whom the doubt can be extended may be analyzed based on the samples and evidences collected from the scene (Lyman, 2015). In addition this type of evidence is available only for a limited time because of their perishable nature and thus foren sic science principles helps in the proper collection and storage of such evidence. It is important for forensics to solve this kind of crime as those who plan a criminal act cannot get away merely because they have made a good plan as the principles of forensics usually identifies the wrongdoer. There are various kinds of crime in which forensics can play a major role. These include murder, theft, robbery, rape and sexual assault. Forensic science can analyze the evidence in such crime and provide accurate results to identify the criminal (Schlesinger et al., 2014). Various forensic science tools Tools Use Autopsy Table The table is used for the purpose of dissecting the corpse. Carbon di oxide For the purpose of preserving the corpse Arterial jugular tubes Drawing and draining out blood before replacement with embalming materials such as formaldehyde for structure preservation. Dissection scissors used to holding or moving structures Restraint holding the corpse in place so that it position does not change Head rest For elevating the head. Rubber gloves protection against infection, and preventing evidence from contaminating Blood collection kit Collecting the blood samples from the crime scene Trace evidence collection kit. To collect trace evidences such as the boot print and the car tire tracks Note book For the purpose of documenting the evidence which has been collected from the crime scene to maintain its credibility. References Baber, C. (2017). Distributed cognition at the crime scene. InCognition beyond the brain(pp. 43-59). Springer, Cham. Baxter Jr, E. (2015).Complete crime scene investigation handbook. CRC press. Butler, M., Thompson, T. J. U., Bel, E. (2013). Exploring the implementation of head mounted camera technology in Volume Crime Scene Investigation. CRC Press. Dutelle, A. W. (2016).An introduction to crime scene investigation. Jones Bartlett Publishers. Fish, J. T., Miller, L. S., Braswell, M. C., Wallace, E. W. (2013).Crime scene investigation. Routledge. FOUR, D., SIX, D. (2015). Crime scene investigation and reconstruction. Girard, J. E. (2013). Criminalistics: Forensic science, crime, and terrorism. Jones Bartlett Publishers. Horswell, J. (2016). Crime scene investigation and examination: major incident scene management. Ide, W., Lindholm, T. (2016). CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION. Lee, H. C., Pagliaro, E. M. (2013). Forensic evidence and crime scene investigation.Journal of Forensic Investigation,1(1), 1-5. Lyman, M. D. (2015).Criminal investigation. Prentice Hall. Robinson, E. M. (2016).Crime scene photography. Academic Press. Saferstein, R. (2015).Forensic science: from the crime scene to the crime lab. Pearson. Schlesinger, L. B., Gardenier, A., Jarvis, J., Sheehan-Cook, J. (2014). Crime scene staging in homicide.Journal of police and criminal psychology,29(1), 44-51.