(CSI) Crime Scene Documentation Lesson

Crime Scene Documentation

A written documentation of the crime scene is known as a crime scene report. It includes notes and sketches as well as photographs and video. All components are integral to the investigation and allow investigators as well as those not present at the crime scene to observe the scene for additional clues and for orientation of the evidence. When documenting a crime scene, it is very important that the observations made are objective statements of fact and that no opinion or assumption is included. A crime scene report notes the following basic information:

Crime scene investigation is quite different from how it is often portrayed on television. Because many local crime labs are understaffed and under-funded, evidence is often sent to state major crime labs for analysis. Analysis results are not instantaneous or always conclusive, and many types of evidence analysis takes weeks or months due to the backlog of cases in state major crime labs. Though crime scene investigation does not always yield evidence that can solve the case at the time, it is always essential that it be documented properly in the case that new evidence or leads are revealed later. The crime scene documentation can be reviewed and matched with new information or evidence which just may be the key to cracking the case!

Interactivity: Crime Scene Documentation

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