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24 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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What questions should an officer while driving to a crime scene formulate in order to access a situation adequately?
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How many persons are involved? What is the location? Are any weapons involved? Are additional services needed? Is special equipment needed? How many officers are necessary to safely contain or control the situation? Are any special concerns and/or dangers associated with the call? Has the complainant indicated the suspect's location?
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What are some common threats that may exst at a crime scene?
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Known weapons (firearms, knives, explosives), potential weapons (broken glass, stones, sticks, baseball bats, branches), and natural elements (fire, electricity, water hazards, rain). These factors affect the number of officers responding to a scene.
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When should an officer request medical assistance when arriving to a crime scene?
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As soon as possible, the officer should determine whether any person at the scene has sustained injuries and the extent of the injuries. First aid procedures should be applied and appropriate medical assistance should be requested through dispatch.
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What steps should an officer take to properly survey a scene?
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The first responding officer should make an initial determination regarding the type of crime committed and define the appropriate extent of the crime scene. Personal observations and statements from victims, witnesses, and suspects should be used to learn the location of evidence. The officer should visually scan the crime scene using a systematic approach, trying to observe the total scene while determining where to establish the perimeter. The size of the crime scene depends on the type of the crime, the type of evidence, and the location of the evidence. When determining the extent of a crime scene to secure it is better to overestimate the perimeter.
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What determines when an officer should continue investigating and when an officer should relinquish the crime scene?
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Agency policy and procedures will dictate how far the responding officer should continue investigating the incident before turning it over to specialized investigators. That determination will be made in part by the nature or severity of the crime or incident and available resources. Officers should consider jurisdiction issues, agreements with other agencies, and specific Florida statutes (FDLE investigates possible terrorist acts).
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Define investigation.
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An investigation occurs when an officer makes detailed and systematic inquiries or observations. This process begins upon the officer's arrival at the scene of a reported crime and usually ends with him or her filing the initial report or turning the matter over to a detective or investigator.
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How should officers handle injuries that could potentially be used for evidence?
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The officer should note whether the information the victim
provides appears to be consistent with the injuries and evidence at the scene. Specific information regarding the location, size, and type of injury is required. Photographs of injuries should be made as appropriate. If possible, when hospitalization is not required, an officer of the same gender as the victim should observe and photograph injuries to sexual organs. The officer should tell the victim that if bruising intensifies, further documentation may be required, and the victim should notify law enforcement. Officers must record the names of medical personnel who provide services to the victim because they may be called as witnesses. |
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What information will an officer share with his or her supervisor or investigator upon their arrival on scene?
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An officer should share pertinent data with his or her supervisor or investigator to
include the following: • when the incident occurred • how the incident occurred • where the incident occurred • all evidence gathered or specific items that are still the focus of a search • descriptions of all property involved in the incident (obtained from complainants, victims, or witnesses who can identify the property) • names and descriptions of victims, witnesses, and possible suspects • description of the suspect’s vehicle, if applicable and if known • special concerns on the scene such as biohazards, a hostile crowd, at-large suspects, and severe injuries • how the scene is being handled and protected • scene’s boundaries and protection • plan for the continued investigation of the incident and the search for evidence • identity of the public information officer who is communicating with the media (When dealing with the media or designating an assigned authorized spokesperson on the scene, the officer should refer to agency policy and procedure.) |
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Can officers arrest someone who crosses crime scene tape?
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Officers have the authority to arrest any individual who crosses an area marked
by crime scene tape after being warned. |
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If evidence becomes contaminated or altered how must that be documented?
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If evidence is contaminated or altered in any way,
the crime scene officer must document the incident in a contamination list or crime scene log. Information about the original condition of the evidence and the events leading to its damage or destruction should be included. |
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What must be documented within a crime scene log?
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The log should include the name, rank, and agency of each person
entering or leaving the scene, the date and time of the person’s entry or exit, and the reason the person was at the scene. The list provides proof of security and validates the evidence collected. It is important to keep a list of all officers involved at the crime scene and keep track of their movements. |
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Define private property.
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Private property belongs to an
individual and is not open to the public. |
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Define public property.
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Public property is designed for the use and
enjoyment of the public and is open to the public. |
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What types of evidence may be found at a crime scene?
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A few examples of evidence that might be found and collected at a crime scene are
fingerprints, shoe prints, blood, fibers, hair, tool marks, paint scratches, broken glass, body fluids, controlled substances, electronics equipment and computers, firearms, broken or damaged materials, tire tracks, documents, and bones. |
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What are the different types of searches that can be utilized?
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Officers will use one or more of the following search patterns:
• spiral search pattern: usually used outside by one person. The searcher begins at a certain point and walks in increasingly larger circles to the outermost boundary of the search area. • strip/line search pattern: usually used outside by several people. The search area is divided into lanes that are searched by one or more people in both directions until the entire area has been examined. • grid search pattern: often used indoors; a variation of the strip/line search pattern. It overlaps a series of lanes in a cross pattern, making the search more methodical and thorough. • zone/quadrant search pattern: used outdoors or for an area that is large. The area should be divided into four different sections and searched using one of the patterns above. • pie/wheel search pattern: entails dividing the area into a number of pie-shaped sections, which are usually searched using the strip/line search pattern. This method should be used for extremely large search areas. |
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Define patent prints.
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Patent prints are transferred from the friction ridges on fingers by a foreign substance
(not a body residue), like blood, paint, or dirt, and are readily visible. |
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Define latent prints.
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Latent prints are among the most valuable types of physical evidence and one of the
most common types of evidence an officer will recover at crime scenes. Although generally invisible to the naked eye, latent prints result from body residues left behind when the friction ridges of the hands or feet make contact with a surface. |
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Define plastic prints.
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Plastic prints
are molded or imbedded fingerprints created by touching an impressionable surface such as wet paint or mud and are easily seen. |
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Define elimination prints.
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Elimination prints allow fingerprint analysts to
distinguish between prints belonging to the victim or witnesses and possible suspects. |
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Define chain of custody.
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The chain of custody is documentation of everyone who handled the evidence
as well as when, why, and what changes, if any, were made to it. A chain of custody documentation also proves that the evidence submitted in court is the same evidence that was collected at the crime scene. |
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What needs to be included in a crime scene sketch?
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The sketching officer’s name and rank,
the case number, location, and type of crime should be included in the sketch information. Additional information to include is compass direction, relevant items of physical evidence along with the location of such items indicated by measurements from at least two fixed points or other methods, and a legend of the symbols used to identify objects or points of interest on the sketch. Measurements, or a scale of the diagram, are also important information. Sketches should include a statement “not to scale” unless the officer is prepared to testify that every item is precisely drawn to scale on the sketch. An officer should draw an initial sketch at the crime scene with enough detail to stand alone and include measurements for use in preparing a more formal sketch. The sketch should show, room by room, the size and relationship of entrances, exits, and contents. Officers should record each relevant item, including evidence. If an officer leaves something out of a sketch, such as a window, piece of furniture, or light fixture, he or shemust be prepared to explain the omission at the deposition or trial. |
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What needs to be done to effectively photograph a crime scene?
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The
photographing officer should include his or her name, the case number, time, and date in order to identify all photographs.When photographing specific items such as blood drops, weapons, or tire marks, an officer should place an identifier with the evidence to establish the original positions for photographing and sketching. An identifier is a label used to illustrate size and provide scale and other valuable information relevant to the scene. Most agencies provide cards with a ruler printed on them. Other examples of identifiers are pens, Miranda cards, dollar bills or coins, or rulers. An officer will need to be able to testify that the photographs are a true and accurate representation of the scene as it appeared when the pictures were taken. All objects pictured must be material or relevant to the scene. |
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Define bird's eye view.
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The most
common method of sketching is using the bird’s-eye-view or downward observation perspective. |
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Define triangulation.
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Triangulation is the most common method of surveying (measuring and
documenting) objects within the crime scene. The method measures objects from at least two fixed points forming a triangle. |
