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Evidence at a Crime Scene Page Physical |1

Physical Evidence at a Crime Scene Joshua Williams University of Phoenix CJS/215 5/22/2017

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Introduction Physical Evidence at the crime scene is something different than biological evidence, though the collection process is somewhat similar to biological evidence. Physical Evidence that is often found at a crime scene varies on the severity of the crime and what exactly is taking place at the crime scene. Crime scenes are different in each aspect due to the nature of the crime which causes the evidence to shift and adjust to the crime. The crime scene that is being investigated looks like a breaking gone wrong at first glance based off what was relayed through the police band. Examining the Crime Scene Upon arriving at the crime scene; we noticed that the lock was not picked but busted open like someone was in a rush to get into the home. The tire tracks near the side entrance seem to mark both the coming and going of the assailants. The inside of the house shows signs of a struggle with the shell cases right here and some damage to the house. The shell casings look like they were fired from a nine millimeter, will not know more until ballistics are done to find the exact gun that the rounds came from. The victim would have been shot here leading to a bad wound through and through which causes the bloody fingerprints and bloody footprints. The muddy prints are the two assailants they broke in via the side entrance, which is barely hanging on the hinges. The prints look to be a size 10, and a size thirteen, tread looks like it would belong to a work boot of some type. Collecting the crime scene evidence

Physical Evidence at a Crime Scene Page | 3 The evidence inside the house is more consistent with an abduction; that either ended with the death of the victim or seriously wounded. We started with dusting for fingerprints by the door but there was no such luck, it seems the assailants were gloves. We slid a swab into the shell casing to pick them up and bag them also dusted for prints to see if any prints were left by the assailants when the guns were loaded none found, more testing to be done at a later date. The two holes in the wall were where the bullets were located one was covered in blood assuming the victims will be bagged separately from the regular round. Molds of the tire tracks and muddy prints outside have been made, bagged and set aside to be analyzed at the lab. The prints inside the house were measured, pictures taken and marked. There was a great deal of physical evidence to go through but the lack of prints, for the assailants point toward professionals. Near the side entrance of the house there seems to be a small piece of fabric lying there with some blood on it, best guess is the victim left this; it happened when the assailants captured the victim, and she was fighting to escape but failed to do so. Evidence at lab Going through the physical evidence found at the crime scene, the assailants are looking more like professionals. Each piece of evidence points to a planned and well-executed kidnapping, except for the victim getting shot. [ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] The shells are being analyzed for fingerprints, in this air tight sealed container and it's being filled with smoke that will bring any fingerprints that the dust could not find to light. The gun used was a Beretta M9 standard issue for most law enforcement and can be purchased by any civilian, the rounds used were hollow points based on the condition of the rounds pulled from the drywall.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] The tire treads are a match for a large truck; that is commonly used by construction workers or jobs that require heavy-duty towing.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] The

Evidence at a Crime Scene Page Physical |4 blood at the crime scene matches that of the victim who was on hand at the hospital. The boot prints are taking a bit longer to analyze down to an exact brand due to how common the tread of the boots is. Once the evidence has finished being analyzed, it then gets placed back into the evidence bag followed by the name of who accessed the evidence, analyzed it and sealed it according to proper protocol.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] To process the evidence, it takes a few weeks or longer depending on the amount of evidence, and what all needs to be done to each piece of evidence gathered. One drop of blood alone can have ten to fifteen different test done to it.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] Fingerprints are typically ran through databases to find out who is who, the most common database for fingerprints is called Avis it’s a database for criminals then the fingerprint would be ran through other databases if nothing appears from Avis.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] Tiretracks and boot prints also have their own database, in terms of physical evidence.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] Forensics grew over time, and databases were made with a large amount of information detailing whether or not certain things were needed in order to find out what would fit with what crime.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] A database for certain treads of tires can break it down straight to a certain make and model of the vehicle. [ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] Legal issues in regards to collecting Evidence Legal issues when it comes to collecting evidence, can be devestating to a case. An entire case can be dropped by a simple mishandling of evidence; such as not writing the name of who it exchanged to with. [ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] There are other legalities when it comes to handling of evidence as well, rarely it happens some cops will either plant false information at a crime scene, or purposely lose evidence just because they are on a payroll for a major criminal. [ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] The most common though is the mishandling of evidence which

Physical Evidence at a Crime Scene Page | 5 tends to happen if a case has been dragging on and there has been no new leads or such. [ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] Everything varies on a case by case basis. Another common legality that arises with new evidence is when an importance piece of evidence is missing such as the murder weapon or key DNA Evidence other times, it can be something like a material witness disappearing or, all of a sudden the testimony or that piece of evidence becomes inadmissable it all varies in terms of what is going on in regards to the case.[ CITATION Saf13 \l 1033 ] Conclusion Physical evidence is an important factor when looking at what is going on at a crime scene like biological evidence it is heavily documented and monitored with a chain of custody. Evidence is one of the most important jobs that a forensic scientist must look after, each piece of evidence needs to be carefully numbered and catalogged into the system as it goes through the different hands all the way to the lab. Evidence even removed from the evidence lock-up must be catagorized and labeled for even then.

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References Saferson, R. (2013). Forensic Science: From the Crime Scene to the Crime Lab (2nd ed.). New York: Pearson....