Abstract
Crime scenes present many possibilities and evidence that may aid investigators in the apprehension and possibly conviction of a known or unknown offender. While this evidence are present at a scene of a crime, it requires specialized training on the part of law enforcement officials to effectively, efficiently and accurately, collect, record and preserve these evidence. Chain of command is especially vital at each stage of the evidence collection, as evidence can easily be lost and even tampered with. Sex crimes are especially sensitive, as trained professionals have to exercise empathy to what or who may be perceived as the main evidence; the victim. The victim may hold the key to a lot of information that will help
The evidence collected form these victims are held in a central repository for the state and is stored until the victim files a report with law enforcement, who retrieves and processes the medical evidence.
The Investigation and Evidence Collection While the VAWA 2005 makes it possible for evidence to be collected under its anonymous process of reporting of sexual assaults, there are still other contemporary methods of collecting evidence that is still being employed and utilized in the investigation of a sexual assault case. The collection of evidence at a sexual assault crime scene must be left to an evidence collector or technician. He or she is also trained in the area of evidence collection at a crime scene and knows the different types of evidence that can be collected, and where to look specifically for different evidence types. The victim more than likely will be taken to a hospital for medical care and also evidence collection. Medical professionals will oversee the evidence collection such as semen and blood samples. While at the hospital, a pre-examination of the victim is conducted, this includes the collecting of data. This data holds all the relevant information that would be needed to investigate the crime. It would include the date and time of the incident, a possibly description of the offender (if victim was able to see the offender or even know the offender). This can be especially relevant in child sexual assault cases, as the