Unit 1 Flashcards
Observations
What a person perceives using their senses
Inference
A conclusion that has been reached on the basis of experience and/or evidence
Perception
Information received from the senses
Eyewitness
A person who has seen someone or something related to a crime and can communicate their observations
Fact
A statement or information that can be verified
Opinion
Persona belief founded on judgement rather than on direct experience or knowledge
Analytical skills
The ability to identify a concept or problem, to isolate its component parts, to organize information for decision making, to establish criteria for evaluation, and to draw appropriate conclusions
Deductive reasoning
Deriving a conclusion from the facts using a series of logical steps
Circumstantial evidence
(Indirect evidence) evidence used to imply a fact but not support it directly
Direct evidence
Evidence that (if authentic) supports an alleged fact of a case
Class evidence
Material that connects an individual or thing to a certain group
Individual evidence
A kind of evidence that identifies a particular person or thing
Trace evidence
Small but measurable amounts of a physical or biological material found at a crime scene
Locard’s Principle of Exchange
A principle that states when a person comes into contact with an object or another person, a cross-transfer of physical evidence can occur
Chain of custody
The documented and unbroken transfer of evidence
Datum point
A permanent, fixed point of reference used in mapping a crime scene
Paper bindle
A folded paper used to hold trace evidence
Primary crime scene
The location where the crime took place
Secondary crime scene
A location other than the primary crime scene, but that is related to the crime where evidence is found
Triangulation
A mathematical method of estimating positions of objects at a location, given the location of other objects
Crime scene regulation
A multidisciplinary approach in which scientific and legal professionals work together to solve a crime
