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MUST BE IN APA FORMAT!!
Return to the scenario (ATTACHED BELOW) . Think through how you might process the crime scene.
Using the processing methodology presented in the lecture and the text, explain your actions. Describe each stage and step. Include the type of search you will employ and why.
Finally, take a knife from your home, and complete an 8-step method of identification as discussed in your text. Embed a photograph of the knife (with a scale) in the image you are describing in the paper.
Your response should be 750-1000 words in length following the current APA style.
1. NON-INVASIVE
The non-invasive stage is mere observation. Remember Locard’s principle. As soon as you step into a crime scene, you have forever altered it. Think of non-invasive as standing at the door and looking into a room. You have not entered the room at this point. Rather, observe everything you can before you invade the room.
The first basic activity is to document the scene, and you do that at all five stages. After you have documented everything you can see, smell, or hear, you enter the crime scene.
2. INVASIVE
In this stage, you begin the second basic activity—the search. The CSI documents what they see without moving anything. Simply put, you look with your eyes and not your hands. You look over, under, and around but not in closed things or under layered items. For example, if you can see under a table without moving it, you do so; however, if there is a pile of mail on the table, you do not move it. As you see things of interest, you must analyze those items to determine if they tend to prove or disprove the questions being asked. (Or, as we put it last week: Is that “thing” information or evidence?) In the invasive stage, the CSI has invaded the crime scene but has not disturbed anything other than leaving footwear impressions.
3. NON-DESTRUCTIVE
The non-destructive is somewhat misleading because as soon as anything is moved, you have altered or destroyed the scene. Nonetheless, some movement is necessary. In this stage, you open cabinets, drawers, closets, and containers. You are going deeper into the layers of the scene and documenting what you see. As you go deeper, you continue to analyze the items discovered. This is also when you begin to collect items that you can easily gather without true destruction of the scene. That pile of mail you saw when you first invaded the scene can now be picked up. If one of the pieces of mail is “evidence,” you would collect it.
4. DESTRUCTIVE
The destructive stage is when you dismantle things, use fingerprint powders, chemicals, and other processes that would visibly and physically alter the scene. As with any task, it is always good to have a second set of eyes to check your work—especially during this critical stage.
The last basic activity at a crime scene is going back to see if you missed anything. Going back is not really a specific activity assigned to a specific stage. Rather, it is something you should do at every stage of the crime scene process.
The following chart graphically presents the information above. The four crime scene processing stages are indicated in yellow boxes, representing the movement from the non-invasive stage to the destructive stage. Within these stages (and beyond), the basic activities are indicated with red text, such as “document,” “search,” etc.
In addition to the four stages and basic activities, new information is included, too. Specifically, the blue boxes outline the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) popular processing methodology. This methodology has ranged from 14-23 steps over the years. Each revision has made minor modifications to the labels of the steps; however, the general process remains the same.
The CID steps (in this chart) include (1) initial notification, (2) coordination, (3) assessment, (4) call out, (5) initial observations, (6) deal with the deceased, (7) initial photography, (8) document overall observations, (9) sketch the scene, (10) conduct first recheck, (11) release the body, (12) collect evidence, (13) conduct second recheck, (14) check beyond the scene, (15) conduct third recheck, (16) on scene debriefing, (17) release scene, (18) package evidence, 19) formal debrief.
The four stages and five activities alongside the CID methodology.
Gardner, R. M. (2019). Practical crime scene processing and investigation (3rd ed.). CRC Press
TEXTBOOK: ccis.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781351692373?context_token=96271020-9894-013c-1b92-6a10430a8720
Practical Crime Scene Processing and Investigation, Third Edition
Ross M. Gardner
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THE SCENARIO
The scene is a first-floor apartment. The deceased person is located in apartment 1C.
As you walk toward the apartment, you notice there are a series of red stains in the shape of
shoe impressions on the sidewalk. These shoe impressions appear to contain class
characteristics and you suspect they are composed of blood. There are four shoe prints present,
all seem to be from the right foot and appear to have been made from the same shoe. The
impressions lead from the front door and disappear into the grass. You see a large knife in the
bushes.
Inside the small one-bedroom apartment, the living room is in a state of disarray.
As you stand in the doorway which is located along the south wall, to the left (west) is a galleystyle kitchen which is about five feet deep and six feet wide, with a refrigerator, stove, and
microwave. Counters surround three walls of the kitchen with the refrigerator along the south
wall, a double sink along the west wall of the kitchen, and the stove with the microwave
mounted above it, along the north wall of the kitchen. There is what looks to be standard
kitchen equipment present randomly placed on the counters.
To the right (east) of the doorway along the south wall is a large living/dining room. The living
room is about 15 feet by 15 feet. Directly adjacent to the doorway on the east side is a brown
leather recliner. The recliner sits at an angle, facing the east wall. On the east side of the
recliner is a brass color floor lamp. Next to the lamp is a brown wooden end table with a candy
dish on it.
There are heavy green drapes that go from floor to ceiling and cover the entire east wall. The
drapes are pulled closed. There is a large, about 80-inch television in the approximate center of
the east wall next to the picture window and about six inches out from the east wall. There is a
Philips brand clock radio sitting in the approximate center of the top of the television. In the
southeast corner of the room on the floor is a gold color frame with broken glass. The frame
holds an 8×10 inch photograph of a woman (apparently the deceased). The glass is broken and
both the frame and the glass shards that remain in the frame are bloodied and appear to have
bloody fingerprints on them. On the back of the photograph is “Jim and Caroline in Cabo.”
Along the north wall of the living room is a brown leather couch, made of similar material as the
recliner. On both ends of the couch are brown wooden end tables, each with a table lamp atop
them. There is a deceased woman lying on the couch. The woman, who appears to be a slender
blonde-haired Caucasian in her mid-twenties, is clothed in a pair of gray sweat shorts and a
crop top gray sweatshirt. Her hair is in a “ponytail” and appears to be shoulder length. Her
appearance is unremarkable. She is wearing a minor amount of facial makeup. There are no
apparent injuries to the facial area. The woman is barefoot. Visible on the woman’s chest, just
below the bottom edge of the crop top sweatshirt are three apparent stab wounds. There is a
large amount of blood on the woman’s chest, and blood has pooled on the couch cushions.
Visible on the wall behind the couch are three separate apparent blood “trails” which appear to
be cast-off patterns.
About one foot, six inches in front of and centered directly in front of the couch is a glass top
coffee table, about four feet long. There are two clear glass “rocks” glasses on the table. Both
glasses are partially full and contain an amber liquid. The liquid smells like beer. On the coffee
table is a piece of paper, which appears to be an unfolded letter. The writing on the letter
states in part:
“Dearest Jim,
Although you will always be my first love…. I have found someone else who understands
my needs…
Always, Caroline”
There are several bloody footwear imprints (similar to those found outside) leading from the
couch to the front door.
A cursory review of the remainder of the apartment, which consists of a bedroom and a full
bathroom, reveals no other items of interest.
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