Evidence Preservation

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Recommended: Procedures preservation of evidence

There are various aspects of evidence collection preservation and documentation and the role digital image capture ad processing plays in it. Contamination is the introduction of something to a scene that was not previously there. This means trace materials are added to a crime scene after the crime is committed. This can happen before, during and after authorities take samples of the evidence from a scene. Many people can contaminate the evidence at a crime scene, including witnesses, suspects, victims, emergency response personnel, fire fighters, police officers and crime scene investigators. Juries expect to see forensic evidence before they make a decision in a case which relies on that evidence. Because of this, attorneys on both sides try to discredit forensic evidence that does not support their clients' …show more content…

This is to keep the pertinent evidence uncontaminated until it can be recorded and collected. Eating, drinking, or smoking should never be allowed at a crime scene. A command post should be set up for such purposes. The post is to be set up somewhere outside the restricted areas. It could be a vehicle, picnic table, hotel room, tent, etc. It can be used as a gathering place for non-involved personnel, a place for investigators to take breaks, eat, drink, or smoke, a communication center, a place for press conferences, a central intelligence area, etc. Protection of the crime scene also includes protection of the crime scene investigators. One person, whether a civilian or a police crime scene investigator, should never be left alone while processing the scene. This is especially true if the suspect has not been apprehended. There are many stories of suspects still hiding at or near their area of misdeed. That is why there should always be at least two people working the scene. At least one of these people should have a radio and a firearm. (Warrington,

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