Practical crime scene processing and investigation
(Reserve)

Introduction -- Police goals and objectives -- Evidence defined -- Interpretive value of evidence -- Good crime scene examinations and scene integrity issues -- Investigative ethics --

2. Understanding the nature of physical evidence -- Class and individual characteristics -- Fingerprint evidence -- Serology and biological evidence -- Trace evidence -- Hairs and fibers -- Glass -- Paints and polymers -- Soils -- gunshot residues (GSRs) -- Firearm and ballistic evidence -- Tool mark evidence -- Impression evidence -- General chemical evidence -- Document evidence -- Computer forensics -- Forensic pathology --

3. Actions of the initial responding officer -- Specific objectives of the initial response -- Documenting initial information -- Officer safety -- Emergency care -- Secure and control the crime scene -- Release the scene to appropriate authorities --

4. Processing methodology -- Basic activities of scene processing -- Assessing -- Observing -- Documenting -- Searching -- Collecting -- Processing / analyzing -- A processing model -- The adapted USACIDC processing model -- Initial notification -- Coordination, assessment, and team call-out -- Conduct initial observation -- Deal with the deceased -- Photograph the scene -- Document overall observations -- Sketch the scene -- Conduct a first recheck -- Release the body -- Collect items of evidence -- Conduct a second recheck of the scene -- Conduct a third recheck of the scene -- Check beyond the scene -- Conduct an on-scene debriefing of the investigative team -- Release or secure the scene -- Process and package evidence -- Conduct a formal debriefing --

5. Assessing the scene -- Debriefing the responding officers -- Scene scope and boundary assessment -- Scene integrity and contamination control -- Managing access -- Defining team composition -- Crime scene search considerations -- Search patterns -- Circle or spiral search -- Strip and line search -- Grid search -- Zone search -- Point-to-point search -- Personal protective measures and hazard identification -- Biohazard risks -- considerations for mass crime scene and mass casualty situations -- Pre-event considerations of crime scene supervisors -- Practical on-scene considerations for the mass scene -- Managing the media --

6. Crime scene photography -- What makes good photographs -- Recurring problems in crime scene photography -- Identification problems -- Orientation problems -- Confusion problems -- Incomplete documentation -- Types and purpose of crime scene photographs -- Overall photographs -- Corner or side: you decide -- Evidence-establishing photographs -- What's in a name: evidence-establishing vs. mid-range photos -- Evidence close-up and forensic quality photographs -- Road mapping method of photographic documentation -- Basic methodology to crime scene photography -- Camera control issues -- Video photography --

7. Crime scene sketching and mapping -- Essential sketch elements -- Variations of view in sketches -- Methods for crime scene mapping -- Rectangular coordinates -- Triangulation -- Baseline coordinates -- Polar coordinates -- Triangulation or rectangular coordinates on a grid -- Triangulation on a baseline -- Technology in support of crime scene mapping -- Total station mapping -- Scan station mapping --

8. Narrative descriptions : crime scene notes and reports -- Investigative notes -- Crime scene reports -- Characteristics of the scene -- Conditions of the scene -- Environmental conditions -- Factors pertinent to entry and exit -- Scene documentation -- Collection of physical evidence -- Search for latent fingerprints or DNA -- Additional examinations --

9. Basic skills for scene processing / Ross M. Gardner with don Coffey, Jeremy John and Tom Adair -- Applying light technology -- Shortwave ultraviolet light and reflected ultraviolet imaging systems (RUVIS) -- Longwave ultraviolet light -- Near-UV and violet/blue light -- Crime scene search with blue light -- Orange-red -- Infrared -- Heat energy and thermal imaging -- Choosing an alternative light source -- Recovering fingerprints -- The science of fingerprints -- Classification vs. identification -- AFIS fingerprint systems -- Collecting fingerprint evidence -- Surface characteristics -- Porous surfaces -- Nonporous smooth surfaces -- Nonporous rough surfaces -- Special surfaces or conditions -- On-scene fingerprinting techniques -- Cyanoacrylate fuming (superglue fuming) -- Basic brush-and-powder techniques -- Small-particle reagent -- Adding machine paper technique for human skin -- Crystal violet solution for adhesive tape -- Fingerprints in fire scenes -- Casting impression evidence -- Rubber casting compounds -- Electrostatic dust lifting devices -- Dental stone casting techniques -- Snow prints -- Gelatin and other adhesive lifters --

10. Shooting scene documentation and reconstruction / Ross M. Gardner and Michael Maloney -- Internal ballistics -- Terminal ballistics -- External ballistics -- Bullet defect verification through chemical evaluation -- Defining the bullet impact angle based on defect shape -- Direction of fire -- Use of trajectory rods and lasers to demonstrate bullet flight paths -- Describing zones of possibility -- Trajectory analysis documentation --

11. Applying bloodstain pattern analysis in the crime scene -- Bloodstain pattern analysis -- Theory and underlying principles of bloodstain pattern analysis -- The pattern diversity principle -- The principle of stain shape and vector correlation -- The physically altered bloodstain principle -- Methodology of BPA -- Classifying bloodstain patterns -- Documenting bloodstain patterns -- Presumptive tests for bloodstains -- Luminol enhancement of latent bloodstains -- Fluorescein enhancement of latent bloodstains -- Amido-black enhancement of latent bloodstains -- Infrared photography --

12. The body as a crime scene / Ross M. Gardner and Michael Maloney -- Examination of the corpse in situ -- Assessing -- Observing, documenting, searching, and collecting -- Examination of the corpse at the morgue -- Examination of a live individual -- Understanding basic mechanisms of injuries --

13. Special scene considerations -- Fire scenes -- Fire patterns -- Problems associated with fire scenes -- Fire scene methodology -- Landfill recoveries -- Problems associated with landfill recoveries -- Landfill recovery methodology -- buried and scattered remains -- Buried bodies -- Scattered remains -- Entomological evidence associated with bodies --

14. The role of crime scene analysis and reconstruction

History of the concept of crime scene reconstruction

Underlying principles of crime scene reconstruction

Crime scene reconstruction methodology

Scientific method used to resolve a specific investigative question

Event analysis: reconstructing entire events

Collect data, establish likely events

Establish event segments from the data available

Define associated event segments

Order and sequence the associated event segments

Audit the information

Determine and final-order the events

Final flowchart of the overall incident based on the event and event segment sequence

Appendix A: Crime scene equipment

Appendix B: Risk management.