Crime Scene Investigation

Abstract

Crime scene investigation plays an important role in many criminal investigations. It is a systematic scientific search of valuable physical evidence such as blood stains, seminal or vaginal stains, fecal matter, fingerprints, hairs, fibers, paints, broken glasses, buttons, gunpowder, etc. left at the crime scene. It is based on the principle of “The Locard Exchange Principle” that is when two things come into contact there is always some transfer of particles. First of all the crime scene area is protected by cordoning the area with a barricade. It must be followed by a thorough search by using different techniques. After the crime scene is surveyed thoroughly, it must be documented properly by different means such as sketching, describing, photography, or videography techniques. Pieces of physical evidence are collected by using picking, lifting, scraping, clipping, vacuum sweeping, and combing techniques. This chapter examines various aspects of crime scene procedures.