From the Books Flashcards
Crime Scene Analysis
The analytical process of interpreting the specific features of a crime and related crime scenes
Crime Scene Processing
Recognizing, documenting, collecting, preserving, and transporting physical evidence at and from a crime scene
Crime Scene Investigation
Crime scene examination and documentation, laboratory analysis of physical evidence, scientific interpretation of results, and scientific crime reconstruction
Inputs
Basic items of forensic information that should be reviewed before a competent criminal profile can be rendered: videos, photos, investigator reports, ME and coroner reports, etc.
Threshold Assessment
Investigative document that reviews the initial physical evidence of behavior, forensic victimology, and crime scene characteristics in order to provide immediate direction - what is currently understood
Most common method of reconsctruction
Reconstruction by experience
A reconstruction theory may be:
Supported by the evidence
Inconsistent with the evidence
Inconclusive
Pre-Discovery Influences
Time, environmental changes, alterations by staff, staging, victim actions, secondary transfer, decomposition, insects, fire
Post-Discovery Influences
Evidence process, failure to search or recover, coroner/ME, premature scene clean up, storage, examination, chain of custody
Logic
The process of argumentation or a unified discipline which investigates the structure and validity of ordered knowledge; the science of valid thought
Three Basic Principles of Logic
The principle of identity
The principle of the excluded middle
The principle of sufficient reason
The Principle of Identity
Each case should be treated as an individual rather than an extension of other similar crimes; has its own evidence, behavior, and victim-offender interactions
The Principle of the Excluded Middle
Either a crime has occurred, or it hasn’t
The Principle of Sufficient Reason
Everything in the known universe has an explanation for its existence
What type of study is associated with BEA?
Idiographic study
CCM Classifications of Homicide by Motive (4)
- Criminal Enterprise
- Personal Cause
- Sexual Homicide
- Group Cause
Examples of criminal enterprise homicide
Contract Murder Kidnap Murder Product Tampering Drug Murder Insurance-Related Death Felony Murder
Examples of personal cause homicide
Erotomania-Motivated Murder Domestic Homicide Argument/Conflict Murder Authority Murder Revenge Non-Specific
Erotomania
Fantasy of romantic love or spiritual union
Fusion
Offender blends his personality into the victim’s, may see the victim as an imposter or obstacle
Examples of sexual homicide
Organized Disorganized Mixed Sadistic Elder Female
Examples of group cause homicide
Cult
Extremist Homicide
Group Excitement
Examples of arson
Vandalism Excitement-Motivated Revenge-Motivated Crime Concealment Profit-Motivated Serial Arson Serial Bombing
Adductive Reasoning
A conclusion is developed without a full appreciation of the facts
The logical basis of profile structure
Premises and conclusions
Premise
Reasons that support the main claim of an argument
Conclusion
What is inferred from the premise
Arguments must be…
valid (linkage) and sound (true of this world)
Crime Scene Analysis involves these forensic protocols
- Crime scene protocols
- Investigative protocols
- Medicolegal investigation protocols
- Forensic victimology
Post-Conviction Review
A crime scene analysis conducted subsequent to a conviction, as part of the appeals process
Equivocal Forensic Analysis
A review of all physical evidence in a case, questioning all related assumptions and conclusions to preserve objectivity
What can be established with physical evidence (8)
Corpus Delicti Modus Operandi Signature Behavior Linking suspect to victim Linking person to crime scene DIsproving or supporting witness testimony Identification of a suspect Providing investigative leads
Corpus Delicti
“The body of the crime;” the essential facts that show a crime has taken place
BEA Scientific Method
Observe the evidence
Generate a hypothesis
Test the hypothesis against all known evidence and accepted facts
