Quality Answers 2026-2027 Updated.
Submitting a question document and handwriting exemplars to a lab - Answer You must have
the questioned document & a sample you want compared
Most critical step in the process of collecting physical evidence - Answer Chain of custody
Information put on evidence to be admitted into court - Answer Agency or entity case unique
case #
Package item # for each collection
Collecting personnel's name & ID #
The date
Short lived evidence - Answer Evidence that will most likely be lost, destroyed, or
compromised once the scene has been cleared. Examples include tire marks, debris field,
gouges, scrapes, fluid trails, blood, Hair, and fibers
The interview mission - Answer Your mission is to obtain all the relevant information the
subject has about a crime or event
cognitive interview - Answer A mind-jogging interview in which the interviewer will use 4
different areas of questioning:
Reconstruct
Witness report
Different order
Change perspective
When a LEO comes upon a dead body - Answer If an individual is clearly dead don't touch
anything and take note of the scene
Medical examiner vs coroner - Answer Medical Examiner: performs autopsies; trained to be a
forensics pathologist.
Coroner: Identify body; notify family; collect/ return any personal belongings on the deceased
to the family; signs death certificate
Indiana law requires an autopsy with who? - Answer A board certified pathologist
, How to become a good interviewer - Answer Time, Training, and Experience
Be silent & listen
Physical evidence definition - Answer Any tertiary item/article that tends to prove or disprove
a point in question- can be primary, secondary, or tertiary evidence
two types of fingerprints - Answer Inked impressions = a controlled copy of a persons
fingerprints
Latent impressions = visible & invisible fingerprints
1903 Fingerprint Case - Answer Fingerprints were used from this case forward as a means of
positive identification instead of using measurements (bertillon method)
3 general types of fingerprints patterns - Answer Loops- radial or ulnar
Arches- plain or tented
Whorls- plain or central pocket
The use of physical evidence - Answer A comparative science
Define "crime scene" - Answer Where the crime happened - where evidence is found
First responders crime scene priority - Answer ID potential safety & health hazards
Establish scene size & security
Plan & communicate
Primary survey
Document & process the scene
Final survey
Recover & preserve evidence
3 corners of an evidence triangle - Answer Scene, suspect, and victim
Persons you may interview during an investigation - Answer Suspect
Witness
Victim