What Is Evidence?

Question 1

What are the 4 types of evidence?

Answer 1

oral, physical, documentary

Question 2

How is oral evidence presented in court?

Answer 2

verbally or through witness statement

Question 3

What counts as physical evidence?

Answer 3

Any object procured for the court that is not a document and can potentially give information about a crime

Question 4

What are the 3 types of physical evidence?

Answer 4

macro, trace and contact

Question 5

Give 3 examples of macro evidence

Answer 5

weapons, drugs and vehicles

Question 6

State the Edmond Locard quote referring to trace and contact evidence

Answer 6

every contact leaves a trace

Question 7

What is documentary evidence?

Answer 7

documents procured for the court that produce evidence related to a case

Question 8

Name 3 factors that affect the analysis of evidence

Answer 8

preservation, sampling and reports

Question 9

What is the chain of continuity?

Answer 9

a chronological documentation showing the seizure, custody, control, transfer and disposal of gathered evidence

Question 10

What is the purpose of a chain of continuity?

Answer 10

to avoid later allegations of tampering or misconduct which can compromise evidence and potentially an entire case by showing only necessary people had access to evidence

Question 11

Name the containers evidence can be placed into on collection

Answer 11

TE bags, nylon bags, sharps tubes and paper sacks

Question 12

What should be included on the container label?

Answer 12

ID/exhibit number, case number, item description, date, time, location of seizure, who seized the item and their printed name and signature

Question 13

Where should a TE bag be opened?

Answer 13

away from any seals

Question 14

What should happen when evidence is brought into the lab?

Answer 14

the name, signature and date should be recorded when the bag is opened, individuals handling evidence should be kept to a minimum, evidence should be stored in a secure area

Question 15

What should be done if on-scene guidelines cannot be followed?

Answer 15

reasons for action taken must be documented and explained with the SOCO able to successfully provide reasons for all actions taken, including securing the area

Question 16

What is evidence persistence and what does it depend on?

Answer 16

measure of the duration evidence remains in a location prior ot further transfer, degradation or collection, depending on evidence type, location, environment, time interval between transfers and surrounding activity levels

Question 17

What conditions affect the amount of evidence that is transferred?

Answer 17

shedability, number of contacts, contact surface area, pressure and what form the material takes

Question 18

What can be done to help prevent contamination at active crime scenes?

Answer 18

entry/exit logs keep record of everyone who enters and leaves and their purpose, deters people who just want to be nosey, PPE should also be worn

Question 19

Should every item of potential evidence be put in separate bags?

Answer 19

evidence should be kept in separate bags unless there is a clear association between items

Question 20

What is coincidental association?

Answer 20

when objects that have never been in contact with each other have items on them which are analytically distinguishable

Question 21

What is the difference between association and individualisation?

Answer 21

association is the relationship between multiple items of evidence and a source, whereas individualisation is one unique characteristic that is found to exist in both a known and questioned sample

Question 22

Describe the process of identification

Answer 22

physical and chemical characteristics are narrowed into successively smaller classes and then comparisons are made on factors such as colour, material and refractive index etc