Crime Scene Investigation

Question 1

Admissible evidence

Answer 1

Evidence is allowable and can be accepted by the court.

Investigators must:

• Establish relevance of evidence
• Demonstrate reliability of evidence, through the integrity of the chain of evidence process

Question 2

Four categories of biological material

Answer 2

Body fluids

Trace Biological

Hairs

Toxicology

Question 3

What category of biological material is this (There are four)?

Blood, semen, saliva

Answer 3

Body fluids

Question 4

What category of biological material is this (There are four)?

epithelial calls (e.g. skin or mouth cells) transferred through contact

Answer 4

Trace biological

Question 5

What category of biological material is this (There are four)?

hair shaft

Answer 5

Hair

Question 6

What category of biological material is this (There are four)?

Drugs in blood, urine

Answer 6

Toxicology

Question 7

Name 7 types of blood stains

Answer 7

Pooled blood

Dripped blood stains

Spattered blood stains

Arterial spurting

Back spatter

Latent blood stains

Cast off blood stains

Question 8

Describe each bloodstain pattern

1. Pooled
2. Dripped
3. Spattered
4. Arterial spurting
5. Back spatter
6. Latent blood stains
7. Cast off blood stains

Answer 8

1. Person lying in one position for a period of time
2. Indicate direction and movement of victim or assailant
3. Indicate impact or blows: may not be visible to the naked eye
4. indicates injury type
5. From a firearm wound
6. Not evident to naked eye
7. From the implement or weapon

Question 9

Yes/ No

Q. Can blood stain pattern analysis be completed retrospectively from photographs?

Answer 9

A. No

Question 10

Chain of evidence

Answer 10

A record of all the people who have had custody of an exhibit since it was first discovered.

Question 11

Contamination

Answer 11

Occurs when material is added to an exhibit post incident

E.g human or animal enters the scene

Question 12

Control Sample

Also known as reference sample

Answer 12

Samples of known origin that can be compared with materials found on items being examined.

e.g. a DNA sample from a known person can be compared with an unknown sample from the scene to assist with ID

Question 13

Cross Contamination

Answer 13

exchange of traces of forensic material between the offender, the crime scene, the victim and other people.

e.g. when an officer who has dealt with the victim subsequently interviews the suspect

Question 14

Degrade

Answer 14

Overtime, all biological material will degrade naturally.

E.g. A body decomposes after several weeks in a shallow grave

Question 15

Deteriorate

Answer 15

Forensic evidence will deteriorate under certain conditions.

E.g A bloodstain sample collected from the dashboard of an abandoned car has deteriorated by being exposed to direct sunlight over several days

e.g. an exhibit growing mould in a plastic bag

Question 16

Transfer

Answer 16

In a forensic context, transfer means the exchange of material traces between the offender, the crime scene and the victim that can occur during and post incident

Question 17

Entomological samples

Answer 17

Entomology is the science of studying insects.

e. g. When insect samples are collected from a body they can assist with estimations of time since death
e. g. When insect samples are collected from a cannabis plant, or from a package of organic material, they can assist with identifying the region of origin of the material

Question 18

Forensic material

Answer 18

May be of a biological or physical nature.

Question 19

golden hour

Answer 19

Term for the period immediately following the commission on an offence when material is abundant and readily available to the police.

Question 20

Impressions

Answer 20

An impression is evidence of a biological or physical nature that is left at a crime scene.

Example impressions may be left by:

• footwear impressions in soil, in a garden or under a window
• a car tyre on soft mud
• a finger print on a counter, a fabric impression on a car bumper
• a tool mark at a place of forced entry

Question 21

What needs to be done before you make an attempt to lift an impression?

Answer 21

Photograph it in situ

Question 22

Define intangible and give an example

Answer 22

unable to be touched, not having physical presence

Example: an email

Question 23

By doing the following, what are you protecting?

• access to crime scene is controlled and documented
• forensic examination is conducted by personnel with an acceptable level of the scientific method and who are suitably trained or qualified
• the ‘chain of evidence’ is secure

Answer 23

Integrity of evidence.

The ultimate test of of the integrity of forensic evidence is when it is presented in court

Question 24

Latent samples

Answer 24

Means hidden or concealed.

It is used to describe fingerprints or footprints that are present but not visible to the human eye until they are revealed through the use of powders or chemicals or special lighting

Question 25

Persistence

Answer 25

Length of time forensic material is able to be detected following a crime

Question 26

Wiping crime scene blood away / washing the surface will affect the _________

Answer 26

persistence

Question 27

Physical fit

Answer 27

fitting two or more objects to see if they were originally part of the same item

Question 28

Primary transfer

Answer 28

Direct transfer of forensic material from one party to another.

Question 29

What kind of transfer is this? Fibres from a victim's woollen jersey are transferred to the offenders jacket during a physical struggle

Answer 29

Primary transfer

Question 30

Secondary transfer

Answer 30

Indirect transfer of evidence to a third party

Question 31

What kind of transfer is this? woman dances with male A, who is wearing a red wool jersey

Answer 31

Primary transfer

Question 32

What kind of transfer is this? woman dances with male A, who is wearing a red wool jersey. She gets red wool fibres on her top. She then dances with male B. Some of red fibres are transferred from her top to male B's shirt

Answer 32

Secondary transfer

Question 33

Does the relevance of forensic evidence reply upon what people said or observed?

Answer 33

No

Question 34

Toxicology

Answer 34

Analysis of body samples for alcohol, illicit drugs or poisons. It includes the detection of drugs in urine, blood, hair and fingernails

Question 35

Trace evidence

Answer 35

Microscopic or minute samples of evidence

Question 36

Three zones of a crime scene

Answer 36

Hot Warm Cold Zoning a crime scene helps to avoid contamination of the scene and the evidence it holds.

Question 37

Describe the Cold Zone

Answer 37

Outer cordon of the scene Place where OC scene manages the scene and the staff involved, e.g. briefings, meals, maintaining scene records

Question 38

Describe the Warm Zone

Answer 38

Transition area - Scene examiners put on and take off protective clothing - Scene examiners access equipment - the O/C exhibits receives and records exhibits

Question 39

Describe the Hot Zone

Answer 39

The scene requiring examination and evidence protection. Closely controlled by OC scene Exhibits are collected and packaged for forensic analysis in the hot zone

Question 40

Where would you package forensic evidence collected at the scene? WARM ZONE HOT ZONE IN THE EXHIBIT ROOM COLD ZONE AT ESR

Answer 40

Hot zone

Question 41

At a serious crime scene- What four things will the OC investigation expect in a briefing from the officer in initial charge of the incident?

Answer 41

- What has occurred - What action has been take? - What has not been done? - What needs to be done?

Question 42

True or false Police have an authority to close a high way in a non emergency situation

Answer 42

False

Question 43

Traffic: When is a road or lane deemed to be closed?

Answer 43

If normal travel at the normal speed for the area and scene is disrupted

Question 44

Traffic True or false: Having a detour in place means the road is open

Answer 44

False

Question 45

What does a vehicle with an "H" presented on the front of the vehicle?

Answer 45

Heavy motor vehicles classified as "High Productivity"

Question 46

Can "High Productivity" vehicles be detoured from their approved route? Yes / No / Depends

Answer 46

Depends- Generally: No. They must remain parked until the route specified in the permit is clear HOWEVER may use an alternative detour route if they are able to reduce the vehicle / combination back to standard dimension, or standard mass (or both standard dimension and standard mass).

Question 47

After a closure, who is responsible for re opening the road?

Answer 47

The agency that closes the road | Unless responsibility is transferred to another agency