Criminology task 3
In criminal investigations, two forms of evidence are gathered: physical evidence and testimonial
evidence. Physical evidence is actual and is made up of physical items such as blood, DNA, hair,
footprints, or a weapon. Testimonial evidence, on the other hand, is a statement or uttered words
from a defendant, victim, or witness. These can include first-hand descriptions of victim statements.
Physical evidence is an important aspect of prosecutions and court proceedings, and it may be found
in almost every criminal case. This might be related to Locard's Exchange Principle, which states that
every time someone joins an area, something is added to and taken away from it. To put it another
way, every interaction leaves a trail. This relates to touch between persons as well as contact
between individuals and their physical surroundings. As a result of locard's exchange principle, scene
of crime police always works under the assumption that physical evidence is always left behind at
every crime scene. However, this exchange can pose problems in criminal cases, as illustrated in the
case of Barry George, when a tenth of a millimetre of gunshot residue was discovered in his jacket
pocket, leading to Barry George being wrongfully imprisoned for murder. This gunshot residue was
believed to have originated from police weapons that were taken inside his flat when he was being
searched and wound up inside his pocket owing to Locard's exchange principle, resulting in an
injustice.
However, when dealing with an outside crime scene, tangible evidence might become a difficulty.
Weather conditions, for example, can damage and taint evidence, rendering it unusable in an
inquiry. Furthermore, evidence may be lost or destroyed as a result of adverse weather conditions
such as rain or wind. Outdoor crime scenes frequently draw journalists, which may compromise the
reliability of the evidence due to contamination, and these aspects should be addressed while
examining the evidence discovered. To avoid these problems, officers must protect the crime scene
by erecting temporary buildings and guarantee that the scene is not polluted by wearing bodysuits
and utilising stepping stools when gathering evidence. The impact of an outdoor crime scene may be
observed in the situation, since the victim's body was discovered in a park, exposing it to the
elements and potentially contaminating evidence. Furthermore, the guy who discovered the corpse,
as well as the journalist and responding cops who photographed the victim, might have
contaminated the crime scene. Due to the open nature of the crime site, authorities cannot be
certain that evidence gathered at the scene belonged to the criminal, as anybody accessing the park
would leave a trace, as locard's exchange principle holds. Another significant difficulty with the crime
scene in the scenario is that the body was discovered at night, which means that vital evidence may
have been overlooked or misplaced in the darkness.
When physical evidence is uncovered, it must be handled in a variety of ways. When dealing with
hair and fibre samples, for example, a body suit must be donned to collect evidence. Hairs are sealed
in DNA tubes, while fibres are gathered using adhesive tape and laid on a paper backdrop before
being deposited in an evidence bag. If possible, gather all hair and fibres because a larger sample
allows for more tests. Once gathered, the tagged evidence bags are transported to the lab, where
they are kept apart from one another to avoid contamination. When hair and fibres arrive at the lab,
they are examined under a microscope and may be subjected to a toxicological screening to look for
drug usage in hair.
Hair may inform a forensic scientist about a person's ethnicity, hair colour, drug use, and which
region of the body the hair originated from. If DNA is to be detected, the hair must retain the root.
Different patterns and colours, as well as the substance of the fibre, may be determined in
connection to fibres, which may be relevant for identifying a victim. Within the scenario of Yasmin,
In criminal investigations, two forms of evidence are gathered: physical evidence and testimonial
evidence. Physical evidence is actual and is made up of physical items such as blood, DNA, hair,
footprints, or a weapon. Testimonial evidence, on the other hand, is a statement or uttered words
from a defendant, victim, or witness. These can include first-hand descriptions of victim statements.
Physical evidence is an important aspect of prosecutions and court proceedings, and it may be found
in almost every criminal case. This might be related to Locard's Exchange Principle, which states that
every time someone joins an area, something is added to and taken away from it. To put it another
way, every interaction leaves a trail. This relates to touch between persons as well as contact
between individuals and their physical surroundings. As a result of locard's exchange principle, scene
of crime police always works under the assumption that physical evidence is always left behind at
every crime scene. However, this exchange can pose problems in criminal cases, as illustrated in the
case of Barry George, when a tenth of a millimetre of gunshot residue was discovered in his jacket
pocket, leading to Barry George being wrongfully imprisoned for murder. This gunshot residue was
believed to have originated from police weapons that were taken inside his flat when he was being
searched and wound up inside his pocket owing to Locard's exchange principle, resulting in an
injustice.
However, when dealing with an outside crime scene, tangible evidence might become a difficulty.
Weather conditions, for example, can damage and taint evidence, rendering it unusable in an
inquiry. Furthermore, evidence may be lost or destroyed as a result of adverse weather conditions
such as rain or wind. Outdoor crime scenes frequently draw journalists, which may compromise the
reliability of the evidence due to contamination, and these aspects should be addressed while
examining the evidence discovered. To avoid these problems, officers must protect the crime scene
by erecting temporary buildings and guarantee that the scene is not polluted by wearing bodysuits
and utilising stepping stools when gathering evidence. The impact of an outdoor crime scene may be
observed in the situation, since the victim's body was discovered in a park, exposing it to the
elements and potentially contaminating evidence. Furthermore, the guy who discovered the corpse,
as well as the journalist and responding cops who photographed the victim, might have
contaminated the crime scene. Due to the open nature of the crime site, authorities cannot be
certain that evidence gathered at the scene belonged to the criminal, as anybody accessing the park
would leave a trace, as locard's exchange principle holds. Another significant difficulty with the crime
scene in the scenario is that the body was discovered at night, which means that vital evidence may
have been overlooked or misplaced in the darkness.
When physical evidence is uncovered, it must be handled in a variety of ways. When dealing with
hair and fibre samples, for example, a body suit must be donned to collect evidence. Hairs are sealed
in DNA tubes, while fibres are gathered using adhesive tape and laid on a paper backdrop before
being deposited in an evidence bag. If possible, gather all hair and fibres because a larger sample
allows for more tests. Once gathered, the tagged evidence bags are transported to the lab, where
they are kept apart from one another to avoid contamination. When hair and fibres arrive at the lab,
they are examined under a microscope and may be subjected to a toxicological screening to look for
drug usage in hair.
Hair may inform a forensic scientist about a person's ethnicity, hair colour, drug use, and which
region of the body the hair originated from. If DNA is to be detected, the hair must retain the root.
Different patterns and colours, as well as the substance of the fibre, may be determined in
connection to fibres, which may be relevant for identifying a victim. Within the scenario of Yasmin,
