Review Questions

What is physical evidence? Provide at least three examples in your answer.
Physical evidence can be anything that establishes a crime had happened, and anything that links to the crime or criminal – it could be something as simple as a bloody knife, or something nearly as invisible as a mere fingerprint, and fibers.
Describe three ways that a crime scene can be recorded. What is a benefit of each?
Photography - before anything is moved the crime scene is photographed, they are taken in a variety of angles and levels. For one, we have the overview photographs which shows the crime scene in wide angles. Next, we have the intermediate photographs that show the crime scene closer but still include the surroundings. Finally, we have the close up photographs that focus on an injury, a weapon, or a piece of evidence.

Drawings – Drawings help present the relationships of certain things at the crime scene, so at the scene the artists produce a rough sketch which helps in the process of interpreting distance between objects. After, a finished drawing is made, possibly using a computer to show precise distances.

Video - The videos can serve as a document to the scene and like the drawings, show a correlation of elements to each other.

What is a chain of custody? Why is it important?
The chain of custody is a list of all persons who had possession of the evidence during the crime investigation, it is VERY important due to the fact that it reduced the risk of evidence being tampered with before trial.
What three types of photographs are taken at crime scenes? Describe each type?
For one, we have the overview photographs which shows the crime scene in wide angles. Next, we have the intermediate photographs that show the crime scene closer but still include the surroundings. Finally, we have the close up photographs that focus on an injury, a weapon, or a piece of evidence.
Why is it important to record the crime scene?
It is important to record the scene so it is known what is present along the condition of the scene.
Critical Thinking Questions

Why is it important to secure the crime scene? What do you think would be