Paper Example. Criminalistics SUB

This is a criminal case involving a Caribbean man who must have accidentally fallen from a parachute due to the influence of drugs. The disease is alleged to have fallen on the vehicle of the person who reported the incident. Several drugs were found in a leg bag, containing 20 lbs of cocaine and the US. Dollars amounting to $28, 000. The diseased also has two identity cards, one for California and another for Texas, both bearing different identities but the same picture. The following is a list of how the scene is to be documented.

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How to Document the Scene

The primary function of doing the documentation is to have the records of the case and keep the evidence of the physical place as well as the location. There are three major ways in which this case will be documented.

Photographing - This includes taking pictures of the crime scene before tampering with anything to maintain the original state for future reference (Horswell, 2016). The process will start with taking still photos from the center of the crime scene and moving away to a considerably distant place.

Sketches-This involves taking the actual size of the area, the relationship between the size, distance, and the physical evidence in the place. This process will utilize a triangulation procedure as it is an outdoor case. It will involve doing the overhead, rough, and final sketch just to give an overview of how the place looks like.

Note-taking- This third step involves taking short notes of any relevant information that might be useful within the crime scene (Baxter, 2015). For example, in this case, notes such as the record of the identity cards and where they were located, the money the man had, the nature of clothing he had, the bruises and injuries and other many more notes that can be taken.

Questions to Be Answered About the Crime Scene

1. Who is the victim
2. Who might be the perpetrator
3. What time did the fall down
4. Who reported the incident and what time the report reached the police
5. Who witnessed the incident at the time it occurred
6. Has the scene been cleared and proven safe for the ones who are to respond?
7. Has the area around the scene and the scene itself been secured to protect the evidence
8. Is there a photographer who is available to document the scene
9. Which officers accessed the crime scene first and the first respondents who accessed the scene
10. What is the location of the area?
11. What details of the vehicle are taken like the model, color, number plate, and the motion status of the vehicle?
12. What gender is the victim
13. How was the victim dressed
14. What company might the parachute belong to or have been bought from
15. Which side of the vehicle did the disease fall to
16. How bad was the vehicle damaged and how bad the victim was injured
17. Was the victim in possession of any illegal staff
18. How long did the police take to respond and arrive at the crime scene
19. What was the condition of the place at the time the body is said to have fallen from the sky
20. Was there any traces of fresh blood
21. Have the names and statements of the witnesses been taken?
22. How far was the car park from the house
23. What was the original position of the body on the vehicle, the posture in which the body was found
24. Is there anyone in the surrounding who can identify the body
25. Is the deceased in possession of any electronic material like cell phones
26. What is the skin complexion of the victim and speculation of the race he might belong to
27. Which officer is in charge of collecting the evidence and ferrying them
28. Which medical body was contacted by the police to come and handle the body for further evidence
29. Where was the family of the person who reported the case at the time the police arrived at the scene
30. How crowded is the place by the time the police arrived and handled the case

List of Evidence to be collected

The two identity cards one is stating Andrew Jackson, DOB 01-05-60, and 1419 Petulia Drive, Santa Cruz, CA with a Californian origin and the Texas state ID, Paul Smith, DOB 05-01-61, 268 Ridge Boulevard, Crawford, TX.

1. The type of the parachute and the name of the company of the chute
2. The 20lbs of cocaine and the money, $28000, taking note of the U.S currency
3. A sample of the blood of the deceased.
4. A sample of the hair of the deceased
5. Pictures of the crime scene starting from the central point and moving to the outside according to the provision in the documentation list
6. The names and national identification numbers of the witnesses of the crime scene
7. Samples of items that contain fingerprints within the scene
8. The material of the distorted part of the vehicle
9. The parts where the deceased has injuries and still photos of the same

Methods and Techniques for Collection and Preservation of Evidence

The evidence collected will be based on the location of the scene, the condition in which the evidence is, the weather conditions of the place and other additional techniques that may be needed for further research (Aquila et al. 2014). Various equipment will be used in the collection of tangible evidence. They include paper bags, plastic bags, hand tools, forceps, latex, and nitrile gloves, and wrapping paper.

The dried matter collection method will be used to collect evidence of anything dry. This will aid in collecting the dried matter either as they are or stains should be removed according to the relevance. Liquid material collection for liquid materials will be used for any liquid evidence.

Paper wrapping should be used to prevent contamination of liquid materials which should be transported to the laboratory for testing such as blood, while plastic bags will be used to package the solid samples. The pair of forceps will be used to collect the samples to avoid the fingerprints of the one collecting coming in contact with evidence. All the gloves and plastic bags prevent the tampering of the evidence by keeping them in the original state they were in (Ribaux, 2016).

Once all the evidence have been collected depending on nature they are in; they should be well packages and named. The marking should be on the packaging, not the evidence to avoid interfering with the forensic analysis to be conducted.

The final step is to establish a chain of custody for the evidence. The evidence may be transferred to a property room before being taken to the laboratory. The crime scene should also be secured for some time if need be for further investigation before it is opened for public use.

References

Aquila, I., Ausania, F., Di Nunzio, C., Serra, A., Boca, S., Capelli, A., & Ricci, P. (2014). The role of forensic botany in crime scene investigation: case report and review of the literature. Journal of forensic sciences, 59(3), 820-824.

Baxter Jr, E. (2015). Complete crime scene investigation handbook. CRC press.

Horswell, J., (2016). Crime scene investigation. In The Practice of Crime Scene Investigation (pp. 29-72). CRC Press.

Ribaux, O., Crispino, F., Delemont, O., & Roux, C. (2016). The progressive opening of forensic science toward criminological concerns. Security Journal, 29(4), 543-560.