Forensics Unit 2

To formulate a successful strategy for recovering relevant physical evidence at crime scenes, the investigator must ultimately rely on:

Experience.

The removal of any evidence from a person or from the scene of a crime must be done in conformity with the privileges of which amendment to the Constitution?

Fourth.

Tyler v. Michigan (1978) (notes)

Furniture store burnt down. Police came out without warrant but has to have one.

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizure..." is provided for in the United States by the:

Fourth Amendment.

Which statement about note-taking is NOT true?

Note-taking is done after all crime scene processing has been completed.

When biological samples of unknown origin are discovered at a crime scene, investigators:

Should assume pathogens are present and treat the sample as such.

After providing or obtaining medical assistance for the injured and effecting an arrest of suspects (if possible), the first officer arriving at a crime scene should immediately:

Secure the scene.

A rough sketch need NOT include a:

Sketch of the suspect(s).

Success in the recognition and collection of physical evidence is determined primarily by the:

Skill of personnel processing the crime scene.

Digital crime scene photographs require special measures to assure their admissibility in court due to:

The ability to manipulate the images.

The size and location of the crime scene, as well as the events that occurred there, will determine:

The kind of search pattern that is used to locate evidence.

The advantages of tape-recording crime scene notes on an audio tape include all of the following EXCEPT:

The notes can be recorded at the crime laboratory instead of at the crime scene.

Warrantless Border search (notes)

The person or property of a person is searched when they attempt to enter the US from a foreign nation or territory.

Warrantless Consent search (notes)

The person who is searched, or who is in control of property that is searched, agrees to the search.

The search pattern in which one or two investigators start at the boundary at one end of the scene and walk straight across to the other side is:

Line.

Which crime scene search pattern does NOT require more than one investigator?

Line.

Which search pattern is most reliant on the boundaries established?

Line.

Which of the following is a U.S. Supreme Court decision that dealt with the impropriety of the warrantless collection of physical evidence at a homicide scene?

Mincey v. Arizona

Miranda v. Arizona (1966) (notes)

Miranda rights.

Videotapes of the crime scene:

Must be complemented by a hard copy of notes and separate still photographs.

List and describe the roles of the evidence collector at a crime scene.

-Handle evidence correctly so nothing is damaged or contaminated. -Determine and utilize the proper packaging. -Next, start the chain of custody (paperwork). -Collect reference standard.

Discuss what information, specifically about timing, is provided by the state of the following searched crime scenes. a. A young woman is found dead near the front door of her home. She had not reported to work at 8 am. The morning newspaper is on the kitchen table next to a clean, empty plate. The decedent is found wearing pajamas and messy hair. Burned toast is found in the toaster.

-She got her plate out and put bread in the toaster. She collected the paper and set on the table but realized the door was still open so she went back to close the door but someone had gotten in and killed her.

List two possible consequences of failure to protect a crime scene properly.

-Someone can bring stuff in and someone can bring stuff out. -People can damage and contaminate the scene/evidence.

In cooperation with the medical examiner or coroner, what type of evidence is to be retrieved from a deceased victim for examination in the crime laboratory?

-Take the clothes first. -Fingernail scrapings next. -Then head and pubic hair collection (50 head and 24 pubic). -Vaginal, anal, and oral swabs (if necessary). -Bullets (if necessary). -Finally, gunshot residue on hands.

Discuss what information, specifically about timing, is provided by the state of the following searched crime scenes. b. A backpack and empty lunchbox belonging to a missing child is found on a couch in a mobile home owned by a 47-year-old single man with no family in the area. The backpack contains blank homework assigned to the child that day in school. The search reveals action movie posters, three video game systems, twenty-five video games, and drawers filled with candy bars.

-The child was abducted with bait (video games and candy) after school.

Berghuis v. Thompkins (2010) (notes)

Begin talking=gave up "right to remain silent".

All of the following items may be placed in an airtight container EXCEPT:

Blood-stained clothing.

From the choices below, select the one correct physical evidence collection procedure.

Bloodstained garments should be packaged separately in paper bags.

Officers should attempt to locate tool marks at the point of entry during the investigation of a:

Burglary.

Search incident to arrest (notes)

A suspect and the suspect's immediate surroundings are searched at the time the suspect is arrested.

Describe the steps the crime scene investigation team takes during its final survey of the crime scene.

-Do a quick visual overview to see if anything was missed. -Make sure you have/collected all evidence to make sure everything is accounted for. -Get all equipment picked up. -Make sure it is safe to leave it (secure for health and safety).

Which of the following items is likely to contain DNA evidence?

A bed sheet.

Secondary scenes (notes)

A crime scene or scenes separate from the primary scene that became part of the crime by its involvement in activities after the initial criminal act was perpetrated (they must be searched just as thoroughly).

A victim's fingernail scrapings would be correctly packaged in:

A druggist fold.

Probation search (notes)

A person on probation may be required to consent to searches of their person, property, and home as a condition of probation.

Warrantless Exigent circumstances search (notes)

A pressing need to act without delay.

Inventory search (notes)

A search is conducted of items taken into police custody pursuant to a formal policy.

Wheel/ray search (notes)

A search method employed by several (8) people moving from the boundary straight toward the center of the scene (inward) or from the center straight to the boundary (outward).

Grid search (notes)

A search method employed by two or more people overlapping separate line searches forming a grid (large area like forest/field, lots of people, for something like lost kid).

Quadrant/Zone search (notes)

A search method in which the crime scene is divided into smaller sections (zones or quadrants) and team members are assigned to search each section. Each of these sections can be subdivided into smaller sections for smaller teams to search thoroughly (huge areas).

Spiral search (notes)

A search method in which the investigator moves in an inward spiral from the boundary to the center of the scene or in an outward spiral from the center to the boundary of a scene (big area).

Line/strip search (notes)

A search method used by one or two investigators by walking in straight lines across the crime scene (two directions back and forth, for small crime scenes).

Which type of evidence must be packaged separately from other evidence?

All evidence.

Special circumstances at a crime scene may require the use of the following for evidence collection, EXCEPT:

All of the above may be required.

The purpose of the crime scene search is to locate:

All physical evidence.

The location of an item of evidence on a crime scene sketch is shown by its distance from points of reference that:

Are fixed or immovable.

Investigators should collect possible carriers of trace evidence, which may include:

Clothing, Vacuum Sweepings, and Fingernail Scrapings. (All of the above.)

At an arson scene, the collection of a substrate control would require the arson investigator to:

Collect a piece of the surface material near the fire's origin that he or she believes was not exposed to the accelerant.

Crime scene sketches serve a unique purpose in permanently documenting the location of evidence:

Collected and removed from the crime scene.

Plain feel (notes)

Contraband or evidence of criminal activity can be recognized through a suspect's clothing during a lawful pat down.

If the crime scene includes a dead body, the photographer should:

Depict injuries and weapons at the crime scene.

The evidence collector is NOT concerned with:

Determining the natural variations that exist in physical evidence.

Mincey v. Arizona (1978) (notes)

Drug raid leads to shoot out and cop killed, 4-day search without warrant but has to have warrant.

Safety checks (notes)

Entry is made into premises to ensure that people inside are not in danger or in need of medical assistance, with evidence of criminal activity observed incidentally to the safety check.

What is a disadvantage to the spiral search pattern?

Evidence could be missed.

Plain view (notes)

Evidence of criminal activity can be observed by a police officer from a lawful vantage point.

The search pattern that employs two people performing line searches that originate from adjacent corners is:

Grid.

The police are NOT required to obtain a search warrant if they are:

In the process of a legal arrest.

The most basic methods of crime scene recording do NOT include:

Infrared analysis.

Charred debris from an arson scene should be:

Packaged in airtight glass jars.

The collection of standard reference samples at the crime scene is important because they:

Permit comparisons to be made with the evidence.

CAD programs enhance the ability to:

Produce a finished crime scene sketch.

Warrantless Administrative searches (notes)

Routine administrative searches.

The conditions at a crime scene can be compromised by all of the following actions EXCEPT:

Taking photographs at the crime scene.

The center of the crime scene, which is always included within the crime scene's boundary, is:

The area where the crime occurred.

A Walkthrough (notes)

The initial survey of the crime scene carried out by the lead investigator where he or she will gain an overview of the scene in order to formulate a plan for processing the scene.

Warrantless searches are permitted under law in all of the following situations EXCEPT:

The injury or death of a police officer or law enforcement employee.

The successful outcome of a criminal investigation is almost always directly related to:

The manner in which the evidence is collected and preserved.

The manner of collecting and preserving physical evidence at a crime scene is determined by:

The nature of the evidence.

The initial survey of the crime scene carried out by the lead investigator is called:

The walk-through.

The evidence collector must take extraordinary care to avoid potential contamination by transferring DNA onto objects of evidential value by:

Wearing a face mask.

Which search pattern employs several people moving from the boundary straight toward the center of the scene (inward) or from the center straight to the boundary (outward)?

Wheel.

Which crime scene search pattern would absolutely require more than one investigator?

Zone.

Which search pattern would be best suited for a crime scene where many investigators are available to search a large area?

Zone.