It is important to properly collect evidence in order to avoid contamination. If the evidence collection is questionable in a courtroom it will be disregarded and can really hurt the case. Any questionable evidence can even be thrown away if the collectors make a wrong move like coughing or sneezing on a q-tip with blood set out to dry.
The first step to collecting evidence is wearing gloves. Throught the collection it is also important to switch gloves often in order to reduce the chance of cross contamination. The second step is collecting the most fragile and degradable evidence. An example of this would be a lit cigarette. Next, would be collecting the rest of the evidence. It is important to try to collect a multiple …show more content…
Plastic Baggies
A variety of evidence can be put in plastic bags. Even weapons, but only if the bag is of good quality.
Vials
Soil samples, Glass shards, Rocks, Insects
Liquids
- Pick up using a pipet. The liquid is then transferred into a liquid vial.
Trace evidence: Trace evidence is found in small quantities in the crime scene. It can include: cosmetics, powders, lipsticks, hairs, and fibers. In most cases trace evidence can be collected using a bindle of paper, but this is not always the case. It is important to collect the evidence in its proper container.
Biological Evidence such as blood, has multiple steps before it can be properly collected according to how much of the evidence there is.
Blood evidence
Trace with blood: Swab with q-tip then set it to dry
Weapon: Set to dry
Pools of blood: Place a gauze in it, then set to dry
Dried blood / immovable object: scrape with a scalpel and place in a bindle
Carpet: Cut out a square with the blood on it, then set to dry.
After the blood is dry, the evidence can now be properly stored according to the list of containers above.
Chain of