Crime Scene Processing - The Players Flashcards
Define crime.
An act punishable by law
Define crime scene
Any place where an act has taken place that is contrary to the law
Are all scenes crime scenes?
No
What four groups may look into a scene?
Chief Coroner for the Province of ON
Office of the Fire Marshal
Ministry of Labour
Special Investigations Unit
What does the Chief Coroner for the Province deal with?
Death investigations and inquests to ensure that no death is overlooked, concealed, or ignored
SIDS (deaths under 5)
What are findings of an inquest used for?
To generate recommendations to help improve public safety and awareness, as well as prevent deaths in similar circumstances
What is the role of the Office of the Fire Marshal?
Seek out origin and cause of fires
Develop better fire safety practices and public education programs
What type of fires does the Office of the Fire Marshal investigate?
Those involving:
Fatal or critical injuries
Deliberate/malicious setting or arson
Explosions
Losses of $500,000 +
Unusual circumstances
What does the Ministry of Labour deal with?
Occupational Health and Safety
Accidents or fatalities at work
What is the role of the SIU?
Oversight agency of police services
What type of police circumstances does the SIU investigate?
Situations involving:
Death while in police custody
Serious injury while in police custody or during interaction
Allegations of SA during police custody
Why do we need to manage a crime scene?
Allow full investigation
Proper documentation of evidence
Collection of evidence
Admissibility in court
Describe the 911 call.
Received by a dispatcher who quickly receives the important information of the call and relays it to police officers in the field
What type of information should a dispatcher obtain?
Who is calling
Location
What happened
Status of victims
What is the initial response of the responding officer?
Preservation of life/assess the victim
Locate suspects/witnesses
Protect scene
Record and recall
Provide medical assistance if needed
Limit access to the scene
Be aware of potential physical evidence
Decide if other units are needed
What should the first responding officer record and recall?
Time of call
Persons present
Scene details
How can the first responding officer limit access to the scene?
One route in/out
Establish a log book for everyone who enters the crime scene
Tape up scene
Who must attend a death investigation?
Coroner
Who must attend criminal investigations?
Forensic identification services
Who must attend fires with criminal aspect?
Office of the Fire Marshal
Forensic identification services
What are the 5 steps to ensuring a successful scene investigation?
Listen
Observe
Search
Evaluate
Record and document
Who do you LISTEN to?
Victims and witnesses
Officers and other first responders on scene
What information should you get from victims and witnesses?
What is their story?
What did they see?
Do they have suspect description?
What information should you get from officers/first responders?
How did everything look upon their arrival?
What was the radio call information given to them by the dispatcher?
Is it consistent with victim/witness accounts of the events?
Describe observations to make about a scene.
What do you see?
What do you smell?
What is the weather like?
What should you search for?
For any items of possible evidentiary value from least intrusive to most intrusive methods
Victims and witnesses
How do you search for victims and witnesses?
Shooting - keep an ear out for anyone who arrives at hospital with GSW
Canvassing for witnesses
Video surveillance on neighbouring buildings
What is meant by evaluate?
Does it all add up?
Are there other leads that need to be further investigated?
What should you record and document?
What did you do?
What did you collect?
Evidence continuity - seals?
Photos, diagrams, notes, video
What is the path of contamination?
Applies to all emergency responders
Path least likely travelled by the suspect
What is the point of a path of contamination?
Minimizes the disturbance of potential evidence
What can change evidence?
Environmental conditions
Emergency responders
Victims/suspects
True or false: Any changes made prior to FIS arrival must be explained and justified.
True
What three steps can be taken to protect evidence against change?
Scene security
Minimize contact
Plan your approach
When is a warrant required?
A warrant is required in circumstances where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy and investigators have reasonable and probably grounds of a crime
Give examples of things for which officers would need a warrant to search.
Residence
Vehicle
Business
Cell phone
Computers
Files
Apps
Who issues a warrant?
Justice of the Peace
What is the significance of a warrant to investigators?
Gives them a timeframe in which they are able to execute the warrant for
What is the purpose of a search warrant?
To discover evidence that may have been used in a criminal offence
What must be listed in a warrant’s appendix?
Evidence or contraband
What is a Plain View Doctrine?
Exceptions to the search warrant requirements
You are able to seize an object not listed on the search warrant given 2 circumstances
In what 2 circumstances does the plain view doctrine apply?
The officer must possess legal authority to be in the position from which the observation is made
The officer must have probable cause to believe that the item observed is evidence of a crime
What dictates the role of the coroner?
The coroner’s act
What does s. 16(1) of the coroner’s act say?
(1) A coroner may
a) Examine or take possession of any dead body or both; and
b) enter and inspect any place where a dead body is an any place from which the coroner has reasonable grounds for believing the body was removed
What is the role of the forensic investigator in a death scene?
Examining and processing the scene
Photograph the body during autopsy under the direction of the pathologist
Fingerprint and confirm identity of deceased
Notify RCMP of death
What are the 7 methods of identification after death?
Visual (family ID)
Clothing and personal effects
Fingerprinting
DNA
Dental records
Medical surgeries
Tattoos and scarring
What should you consider before closing a scene?
Have you had all of the experts in to provide insight?
Has the post-mortem been completed in order to determine cause and manner of death?
Has a final documentation of the scene been done?
Has a second set of investigators done a walk-through of the scene?
