Criminal Investigation: The Crime Scene
While we may believe we are experts in Criminal Investigations and we are qualified Crime Scene Investigators based on the hours of crime TV we watch, it may be hard to realize, but all of what you see on TV is not true. A fair portion is fabricated to captivate your interests.
Attending Officers at the Scene
There are certain procedures that authorities attending a crime scene must follow. The first priority is preservation of life: if there is a victim who is severely injured, that person is helped immediately. The attending police officers then secure the crime scene. This means removing all unnecessary people from the area and creating a physical barrier so the general public cannot enter. Securing the crime scene prevents physical evidence from being contaminated (e.g., moved, removed, damaged, or altered). Contaminated evidence may ruin the case.
A Certified Forensic Identification Specialist is then called in to the crime scene. A certified forensic identification specialist is specially trained to find, document, collect, and sometimes analyze, evidence that has been left behind. They are looking for technical evidence (RCMP, 2008). These specialists consists of police officers who undergo 4 years of formal forensic training to become certified; enabling them to "provide technical and investigative expertise at crime scenes, accidental deaths, and disasters" (RCMP, 2008).
In certain circumstances if a minor property offence or a minor crime has been committed a Scenes of Crime Officer Certified Forensic Identification Specialist may be used to conduct a search of the scene. They include general duty RCMP members who respond to minor property offences (RCMP, 2008).
The crime scene investigator you see on television, is most often a combination of these two officers; the Certified Forensic Identification Specialist and the Scenes of Crime Officer.
Additionally, if required in special circumstances the Regional Forensic Identification Support Services and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response provides technical forensic support to all accredited police agencies in Canada.
A Certified Forensic Identification Specialist is then called in to the crime scene. A certified forensic identification specialist is specially trained to find, document, collect, and sometimes analyze, evidence that has been left behind. They are looking for technical evidence (RCMP, 2008). These specialists consists of police officers who undergo 4 years of formal forensic training to become certified; enabling them to "provide technical and investigative expertise at crime scenes, accidental deaths, and disasters" (RCMP, 2008).
In certain circumstances if a minor property offence or a minor crime has been committed a Scenes of Crime Officer Certified Forensic Identification Specialist may be used to conduct a search of the scene. They include general duty RCMP members who respond to minor property offences (RCMP, 2008).
The crime scene investigator you see on television, is most often a combination of these two officers; the Certified Forensic Identification Specialist and the Scenes of Crime Officer.
Additionally, if required in special circumstances the Regional Forensic Identification Support Services and Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Response provides technical forensic support to all accredited police agencies in Canada.
The 4 Responsibilities of Crime Scene Investigations
For the protection of their responsibilities and to help prevent criminals from become experts at beating the system, much of the investigative process followed in Canada is not available for the public. Below is a combination of responsibilities for officers in Canada and the United States.
#1 - Ensure the Crime Scene is Secure
When the Certified Forensic Identification Specialist (CFIS) arrives at the crime scene:
#1 - Ensure the Crime Scene is Secure
When the Certified Forensic Identification Specialist (CFIS) arrives at the crime scene:
- Make sure the area has been properly secured by the first attending police officers.
- Sometimes CFIS will instruct these officers to widen or reduce the area that needs to be sealed off.
- No one can enter or leave this secure area unless the CFIS says so.
#2 - Search the Crime Scene
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#3 - Document the Evidence
- CFIS thoroughly documents each piece of evidence, by taking photographs, drawing sketches, writing detailed notes, and shooting video.
- It is important that the CFIS properly document the crime scene for several reasons: It creates a detailed record of the crime scene, it allows the forensics lab to visualize the crime scene accurately, it allows the courts to visualize the crime scene accurately, it shows where evidence was found and where it was in relation to other pieces of evidence.
#4 - Collect & Preserve Evidence
- CFIS puts on disposable gloves and carefully collects the evidence.
- He places the evidence in containers to preserve it. Ensuring each container is labelled with a detailed description of what the evidence is and when and where it found. The CFIS will also write their name on the container so other people will know that he collected it.
- May analyze some of this evidence themselves. They will send the rest of it to the forensics lab for testing.
Important Terminology
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