Forensic Science Essay Research Paper The word

Forensic Science Essay, Research Paper

The word Forensic comes from the Latin forensus, meaning of the forum.1 In

ancient Rome, the forum was where lawmaking debates were held, but it was also

where trials were held just like modern day courthouses. From that, forensic

science has come to mean the application of the natural and physical science to

the motion of matters within a legal context2. Forensic Science can be viewed as

a tripartite structure consisting of a Collection, which pertains to the science

investigation, Examination, which pertains to the medical investigation and,

Presentation, which pertains to the courts. A forensic case will involve all

aspects of each of the three structured elements, each being as important as the

other. It is obvious that there needs to be a shared approach for the successful

end of each case. Each step in forensic science must be done in an exact order;

therefore it can be assured that the investigation can have few doubts about

what is being debated. In this paper I will focus my attention on the first

aspect of the three-step structure, Collections and Scientific Investigation. I

will show what should be done at crimes scenes, how crime scenes should be

handled and what steps must be followed to ensure that all evidence is

uncontaminated as when the crime was committed.

The purpose of crime scene investigation is to help establish what happened at

the crime and to identify the responsible person or people. Carefully

documenting the situation at a crime scene and recognizing all-important

physical evidence do this. The ability to recognize and properly collect

physical evidence is often times vital to both solving and prosecuting violent

crimes. It is no exaggeration to say that in the majority of cases, the law

enforcement officer who protects and searches a crime scene plays a significant

role in determining whether physical evidence will be used in solving or

prosecuting violent crimes.

Documenting a crime scene and its conditions can include directly recording

brief details such as lighting, furniture, fingerprints, and other valuable

information. Certain evidence if not collected right away can easily be lost,

destroyed or ruined. The range of investigations can also expand to the fact of

dispute in such cases as suicide or self-defense. It is also important to be

able to recognize what should be present at a crime scene, what to look for at a

crime scene and what might appear out of place. A crime scene often does not

relate to the direct area in which a victim or actual crime has occurred, but

the possibility of escape or access routes should also be checked. Anything,

which can be used to connect a victim to a suspect or a suspect to a victim or a

crime scene, is important physical evidence. Richard Saferstein explains,

Physical evidence encompasses any and all objects that can establish that a

crime has been committed or can provide a link between a crime scene and its

victim or a crime and its perpetrator (31). I will now explain the appropriate

techniques and ways a crime scene and physical evidence should be handled and

examined.

One of the first things an officer should do once he gets to the crime scene is

to take control and secure the scene as quickly as possible. This is to prevent

anyone from ruining evidence and to keep unauthorized person or persons out of

the area such as the media, the public or anyone who doesn’t belong. While this

is being done, an officer should also be alert for useless evidence and note if

there are any possible approach or escape routes. After an officer does this, he

should conclude the degree in which the scene has been protected and make sure

there is enough security in the area. All persons entering and exiting the crime

scene should be logged and kept down to a bare minimum to make sure the purity

of the crime scene when the case goes to court. Each person involved in the

crime scene should have knowledge relative to its original conditions to avoid

from accidental movement of objects, evidence or anything, which might hurt in

the investigation of the crime. When all of this is done, the next step that can

occur is the actual inspection of the crime scene.

The inspection of the crime scene will usually begin with a walk through of the

area along the trial of the crime. The trail is that area, which all noticeable

actions connected with a crime, took place. It is also sometimes marked by the

presence of physical evidence; this may include the point of entry, the location

of the crime, areas where a suspect may have cleaned up and the point of exit.

The purpose of the walk through is to note the location of potential evidence

and to mentally outline how the scene will be physically examined. The first

place investigators should look is the ground they walk on. This is to preven

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