MidtermmReview:mCrimemScenem&mCrimemLab
Chapterm1mQuestions:
1. Whatmismthembasicmgoalmofmcrimemscenemprocessing?
Consistsmofmanmexaminationmandmevaluationmofmthemscenemformthemexpressmpur
posemofmrecoveringmphysicalmevidencemandmdocumentingmthemscene’smcondition
minmsitu.
2. Thempolicemutilizemfivembasicmobjectivesminmseeking mtheirmgo
alsmofmpreventingmcrimemandmdisordermandmprotectingmthemlife
mandmliberty mofmtheir mfellowmcitizens.mWhichmtwomofmthemfivem
objectivesmaremmoremcloselymrelatedmtomthemcrimemsceneminve
stigationmandmwhy?
CrimemRepression:mpolicemmustmrepressmthemcriminalmbymactivelyminvestigatingmcri
mesmandmattemptingmtomidentifymthosemresponsible;mandmProtectionmofmPersonalmL
iberty:mpolicemhavemammandatemtomprotectmcitizensmfrommunwarrantedmpoliceminte
rferencemofmtheirmpersonalmliberties.mThempolicemmustmproactivelyminvestigatemthe
mcrimes mreportedmtomthemmandmdomsominmammannermthatmismconsistentmandmrespe
ctfulmofmthemlawmandmthemlibertiesmofmthosemthatmtheymencounter.
3. Whymismphysicalmevidencemmoremobjectivemthanmtestimonialmevid
encemsuchmasmeye-mwitnessmaccounts?
Physicalmevidencemtakesmthemformmofmspecificmitemsmthatmaremfoundmatmamscenem
ofmamcrime.mItmismmoremobjectivemasmitmismreal,mandmtangiblemevidencemthatmcann
otmbemdefined.mPhysicalmevidencemalsomnevermlies.mPhysicalmevidencemestablishesm
amframeworkmofmfactsmthatmaremirrefutablembymanyone.mTestimonialmevidencemcan
mbemflawedmbymhumanmperception.
4. Theminterpretivemvaluemofmevidencemismamfunctionmofmwhat?
Themmeaningmofmevidencemismamfunctionmofmtimemandmthemitemsmsurroundings.mThemvaluemismfarmmoremanmissues
mofmcontectmthanmofmmeremcontent.
5. RynearsonmandmChisumm(1989)midentifiedmfivemwaysminmwhichm
contextmmanifestsmitselfminmthemcrimemscene.mWhatmaremthey?
Predictablemeffects,munpredictablemeffects,mtransitorymeffects,mrelationalmdetails,ma
ndmfunctionalmdetails.
6. BevelmandmGardnerm(2001)mdefinedmthreemquestionsmthatmthemi
nvestigatormshouldmaskmaboutmevidence.mWhatmaremthey?
1.mWhatmismit?m2.mWhatmfunctionmdidmitmserve?
m3.mWhatmrelationshipmdoesmitmhavemtomanymothermitemsmofmevidencemormtomthems
cenemitself?mAndm4.mWhatmdoesmitmtellmusmaboutmtimingmandmsequencingmaspects?
7. Describemandmexplainmthemforensicmlinkagemtriangle.
Themforensicsmlinkagemtrianglemismtomremindmtheminvestigatormthatmeachmitemmdi
scoveredmmustmbemconsideredmasmammechanismmofmlinkingmthemscene,mthemvicti
m,mormthemsuspectminmsomemformmormfashion.mEverympiecemofmevidencemismconsi
deredmagainstmthismconceptmtomdeterminemwhether
,anymlinksmexistmandmifmtheymaremofmevidentiarymvalue.mEverymitemmofmevidencem
mustmbemconsideredmtomseemifmsomemlinkmbetweenmthemthreementitiesmismpossibl
e.
8. Anymgoodmcrimemscenemexaminationmrequiresmfivemkeymingre
dients.mWhatmaremthey?
Knowledge,mSkillsmandmtools,mAmmethodicalmapproach,mflexibility,mandmamcoordinat
edmeffort
9. Describemandmexplainmthem3-crimemscene-
integritymissuesmthatmtheminvestigatormconsiders.
1.mThemadditionmofmmaterialsmtomthemscene:mpostmincidentmartifacts—
canmobscuremtheminvestigatorsmunderstandingmofmthemcrimemandmaremoftenmused
msuccessfullymbymdefensemcounselmtomcastmdoubtmaboutmthemguiltmofmamsuspect.m
Everymcontactmdoesmleavemamtrace.m2.mThemdestructionmofmmaterialminmthemscen
e:mresultsminmthemlossmofmanmitem’smevidentiarymvalue.mEx.mOfficersmarrivingmatmb
urglarymscenemearlyminmthemmorningmaremlikelymtomencountermamdewmtrailmcause
dmbymsuspect,mbutminvestigatorsmwillmnotmseemthemdewmtrail.m3.mThemmovementm
ofmmaterialminmthemscene:mmovementmismoftenmthemresultmofminvestigativemproce
ssingmtechniques,mbutmwhenmsuchm movementm ism NOTm checkedm andm unrecogniz
ed,m itm cloudsm them investigator’smunderstandingmofmthemcrimemscene.
10. Whatmismthemstandardmthatmtheminvestigatormusesmwhenmp
ursuingmamsolutionmtomcrime,mandmwhymismthismstandardmnece
ssary?
Themprofessionalminvestigator’smstandardmhasmalwaysmbeenmtominvestigatemtomth
empointmofmbeyondmreasonablemdoubtmThatmismthemstandardmofmthemcourt.mTruth
mismonly machievedmthroughmdetailedmstudymandmanalysis,mandminvestigatorsmma
ymnotmachievemthatmstandardminmeveryminvestigationmduemtomlackmofmevidence.
Chapterm2mQuestions:
1. Describemthemdifferencesmbetweenmclassmandmindividualmc
haracteristicsmofmevidence.
Classmcharacteristicsmdescribemtraits/
characteristicsmofmevidencemthatmallowmthemitemmtombemcomparedmwithmamgroup.m
Orm“characteristicmthatmaremcommonmtomseveralmobjects”.mTheymservemforensicsmb
estminmeliminatingmpossibilities—
dependingmuponmthemsimilaritiesmormdifferencesmofmclassmcharacteristics,mitemsmca
nmoftenmbemexcludedm(size,mcolor,mcommonmmanufacturingmpatterns).
Individualmcharacteristicsmallowmforensicsmtomcomparemthemitemmwithmamspecificmo
bjectmofmpersonmandmincludemormexcludemitmasmhavingmoriginatedmfrommit.mIndivid
ualmcharacteristicsmarem“unique”,mresultingmfrommnaturalmvariation,mdamage,mormw
ear.
2. OfmthemavailablemmethodsmformDNAmanalysis,mwhich
mismthembestmformindividualizationminmforensicmworkma
ndmwhy?
ThemdevelopmentmofmShortmTandemmRepeatm(STR)mtechnology;mpermittingmdegra
dedmandmsmallmsamplesmtombemexaminedmtomthempointmofmindividualization.
, 3. Describemhowmtapemismusedmtomcollectmhairmandmfibermevidencem
atmthemcrimemscene.
Chapterm1mQuestions:
1. Whatmismthembasicmgoalmofmcrimemscenemprocessing?
Consistsmofmanmexaminationmandmevaluationmofmthemscenemformthemexpressmpur
posemofmrecoveringmphysicalmevidencemandmdocumentingmthemscene’smcondition
minmsitu.
2. Thempolicemutilizemfivembasicmobjectivesminmseeking mtheirmgo
alsmofmpreventingmcrimemandmdisordermandmprotectingmthemlife
mandmliberty mofmtheir mfellowmcitizens.mWhichmtwomofmthemfivem
objectivesmaremmoremcloselymrelatedmtomthemcrimemsceneminve
stigationmandmwhy?
CrimemRepression:mpolicemmustmrepressmthemcriminalmbymactivelyminvestigatingmcri
mesmandmattemptingmtomidentifymthosemresponsible;mandmProtectionmofmPersonalmL
iberty:mpolicemhavemammandatemtomprotectmcitizensmfrommunwarrantedmpoliceminte
rferencemofmtheirmpersonalmliberties.mThempolicemmustmproactivelyminvestigatemthe
mcrimes mreportedmtomthemmandmdomsominmammannermthatmismconsistentmandmrespe
ctfulmofmthemlawmandmthemlibertiesmofmthosemthatmtheymencounter.
3. Whymismphysicalmevidencemmoremobjectivemthanmtestimonialmevid
encemsuchmasmeye-mwitnessmaccounts?
Physicalmevidencemtakesmthemformmofmspecificmitemsmthatmaremfoundmatmamscenem
ofmamcrime.mItmismmoremobjectivemasmitmismreal,mandmtangiblemevidencemthatmcann
otmbemdefined.mPhysicalmevidencemalsomnevermlies.mPhysicalmevidencemestablishesm
amframeworkmofmfactsmthatmaremirrefutablembymanyone.mTestimonialmevidencemcan
mbemflawedmbymhumanmperception.
4. Theminterpretivemvaluemofmevidencemismamfunctionmofmwhat?
Themmeaningmofmevidencemismamfunctionmofmtimemandmthemitemsmsurroundings.mThemvaluemismfarmmoremanmissues
mofmcontectmthanmofmmeremcontent.
5. RynearsonmandmChisumm(1989)midentifiedmfivemwaysminmwhichm
contextmmanifestsmitselfminmthemcrimemscene.mWhatmaremthey?
Predictablemeffects,munpredictablemeffects,mtransitorymeffects,mrelationalmdetails,ma
ndmfunctionalmdetails.
6. BevelmandmGardnerm(2001)mdefinedmthreemquestionsmthatmthemi
nvestigatormshouldmaskmaboutmevidence.mWhatmaremthey?
1.mWhatmismit?m2.mWhatmfunctionmdidmitmserve?
m3.mWhatmrelationshipmdoesmitmhavemtomanymothermitemsmofmevidencemormtomthems
cenemitself?mAndm4.mWhatmdoesmitmtellmusmaboutmtimingmandmsequencingmaspects?
7. Describemandmexplainmthemforensicmlinkagemtriangle.
Themforensicsmlinkagemtrianglemismtomremindmtheminvestigatormthatmeachmitemmdi
scoveredmmustmbemconsideredmasmammechanismmofmlinkingmthemscene,mthemvicti
m,mormthemsuspectminmsomemformmormfashion.mEverympiecemofmevidencemismconsi
deredmagainstmthismconceptmtomdeterminemwhether
,anymlinksmexistmandmifmtheymaremofmevidentiarymvalue.mEverymitemmofmevidencem
mustmbemconsideredmtomseemifmsomemlinkmbetweenmthemthreementitiesmismpossibl
e.
8. Anymgoodmcrimemscenemexaminationmrequiresmfivemkeymingre
dients.mWhatmaremthey?
Knowledge,mSkillsmandmtools,mAmmethodicalmapproach,mflexibility,mandmamcoordinat
edmeffort
9. Describemandmexplainmthem3-crimemscene-
integritymissuesmthatmtheminvestigatormconsiders.
1.mThemadditionmofmmaterialsmtomthemscene:mpostmincidentmartifacts—
canmobscuremtheminvestigatorsmunderstandingmofmthemcrimemandmaremoftenmused
msuccessfullymbymdefensemcounselmtomcastmdoubtmaboutmthemguiltmofmamsuspect.m
Everymcontactmdoesmleavemamtrace.m2.mThemdestructionmofmmaterialminmthemscen
e:mresultsminmthemlossmofmanmitem’smevidentiarymvalue.mEx.mOfficersmarrivingmatmb
urglarymscenemearlyminmthemmorningmaremlikelymtomencountermamdewmtrailmcause
dmbymsuspect,mbutminvestigatorsmwillmnotmseemthemdewmtrail.m3.mThemmovementm
ofmmaterialminmthemscene:mmovementmismoftenmthemresultmofminvestigativemproce
ssingmtechniques,mbutmwhenmsuchm movementm ism NOTm checkedm andm unrecogniz
ed,m itm cloudsm them investigator’smunderstandingmofmthemcrimemscene.
10. Whatmismthemstandardmthatmtheminvestigatormusesmwhenmp
ursuingmamsolutionmtomcrime,mandmwhymismthismstandardmnece
ssary?
Themprofessionalminvestigator’smstandardmhasmalwaysmbeenmtominvestigatemtomth
empointmofmbeyondmreasonablemdoubtmThatmismthemstandardmofmthemcourt.mTruth
mismonly machievedmthroughmdetailedmstudymandmanalysis,mandminvestigatorsmma
ymnotmachievemthatmstandardminmeveryminvestigationmduemtomlackmofmevidence.
Chapterm2mQuestions:
1. Describemthemdifferencesmbetweenmclassmandmindividualmc
haracteristicsmofmevidence.
Classmcharacteristicsmdescribemtraits/
characteristicsmofmevidencemthatmallowmthemitemmtombemcomparedmwithmamgroup.m
Orm“characteristicmthatmaremcommonmtomseveralmobjects”.mTheymservemforensicsmb
estminmeliminatingmpossibilities—
dependingmuponmthemsimilaritiesmormdifferencesmofmclassmcharacteristics,mitemsmca
nmoftenmbemexcludedm(size,mcolor,mcommonmmanufacturingmpatterns).
Individualmcharacteristicsmallowmforensicsmtomcomparemthemitemmwithmamspecificmo
bjectmofmpersonmandmincludemormexcludemitmasmhavingmoriginatedmfrommit.mIndivid
ualmcharacteristicsmarem“unique”,mresultingmfrommnaturalmvariation,mdamage,mormw
ear.
2. OfmthemavailablemmethodsmformDNAmanalysis,mwhich
mismthembestmformindividualizationminmforensicmworkma
ndmwhy?
ThemdevelopmentmofmShortmTandemmRepeatm(STR)mtechnology;mpermittingmdegra
dedmandmsmallmsamplesmtombemexaminedmtomthempointmofmindividualization.
, 3. Describemhowmtapemismusedmtomcollectmhairmandmfibermevidencem
atmthemcrimemscene.
