Chapter 11---IACP

_____________________and other electronic devices are increasingly used to commit, enable, or support crimes perpetrated against people, organizations, money, and property.

Computers

1. Actions while en route to the crime scene. While en route to the location, officers must be alert to the possible presence of perpetrators or perpetrators' vehicles fleeing from the scene. 2. Initial actions upon arrival. Upon arrival at the location, officers should, if possible, first verify that a crime has been committed. 3. Assistance to victims and protection of witnesses and bystanders. Administering first aid to and summoning medical assistance for any victim's present must be a top priority of responding officers. 4. Arrest of the perpetrator. If the perpetrator is at the scene and probable cause for arrest exists when an arrest warrant has been issued, the perpetrator should be arrested in accordance with the departmental policy and local law. 5. Follow-up communications. As noted above, initial communication at the time of the officers' arrival at the crime scene is essential. 6. Identification of witnesses and vehicles. The identification and preliminary interviewing of witnesses are extremely important considerations for officers arriving at a crime scene. 7. Briefing investigators and superiors. Officers should be prepared to brief investigators and other authorized personnel when they arrive on the scene

First Officer's Responsibilites

Whose responsibility are the following: • Be prepared to inform superiors of their findings • Assist victims • Secure and protect the crime scene • Apprehend the perpetrator • Collect and preserve evidence • Interview witnesses • Perform other necessary operational functions

Police Officers responding to a Crime Scene

_______________________________ of the scene are therefore crucial because both avert the possibility of contamination, loss, or unnecessary movement of physical evidence.

Protection and preservation

____________________________, also known as Locard's theory or the transfer of evidence theory, was first put forward by twentieth-century forensic scientist, Edmond Locard. Locard was the director of the first know crime laboratory, located in Lyon, France. Locard's exchange principle states: "With contact between two items, there will be an exchange."

The Locard exchange principle

______________________________entry into the crime scene may: • Destroy or contaminate important evidence. • Introduce items or substances into the crime scene that may lead investigators. • Provide defense attorneys with a basis for discrediting the investigators or the findings of a crime laboratory.

Unnecessary or improper

Any officer responding to a crime scene must understand that the proper management of a crime scene has at least three distinct aspects, They are:

administrative, operational, and legal.

Conversely, _____________________ makes a suspect with a crime, such as fingerprints, footprints, blood stains, and fibers.

associative evidence

It is usually a good idea in any case to adhere to the following guidelines when considering the collection of _________________: • Good photos and videos should be taken of bloodstains. • Samples should be taken from all locations where blood is found. • Blood samples can easily rot, so they should be swabbed and air dried before storage.

blood

All crime evidence rooms must be equipped to maintain evidence from crimes contaminated by bodily secretions such as _____________________

blood, semen, urine, and feces.

Evidence that has been collected must be safeguarded until the case goes to court. The total accounting of evidence is known as the ____________________.

chain of custody

The term ______________________ simply refers to evidence that establishes that a crime has been committed, such as pry marks on a doorjamb.

corpus delecti

After the responding officers have completed their preliminary examination of the scene, the scene should be secured to protect it from _______________________________________. In general, the following actions should be taken: 1. The area to be declared a crime scene must be defined. 2. Backup should be requested to help restrict access to the defined crime scene and to control onlookers. 3. The interior of the crime scene area should be cleared. 4. Record actions previously taken at the scene. 5. Restrict access to the scene.

encroachment by unauthorized persons

• Physical evidence. • Direct or prima facie evidence. • Indirect or circumstantial evidence. • Testimonial evidence. • Trace evidence. • Demonstrative evidence. The above listed are all examples of ____________________

evidence

(1) to determine the facts of the crime, (2) to identify the law breaker, (3) to aid in the arrest of the perpetrator, and (4) to aid in the criminal prosecution of the perpetrator. The above listed describe 4 objectives of

evidence discovered at crime scene

Investigators must remember that a crime scene is a location where ________________________________________.

evidence of a crime may be found

Generally speaking, all objects at the scene should remain untouched, particularly __________________________.

firearms, bullets, and shell casings

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is the primary constraint on the seizure of property by ____________________.

government agents.

Many crimes result in the formation of ___________________. Such crimes include burglary and rape, but almost any crime could produce such evidence.

impression marks

Generally, the term preliminary investigation is defined as an _________ by officers to establish facts and circumstances of a suspected crime and to preserve any evidence related to that crime.

initial inquiry

The ____________________ to a call by the responding officer is a critical phase of any criminal investigation.

initial response

To the extent practical, the __________________ should develop a plan for processing the crime scene. 1. Evaluate measures and steps that have been taken to include safety procedures, perimeter security, and access control 2. Conduct a crime scene walk-through 3. Determine the need for a search warrant before collection of evidence 4. Assess the overall crime scene before evidence collection 5. Identify evidence collection and document team members 6. Identify protective equipment and clothing that are required to safely process the crime scene. 7. Identify a separate area, if necessary, for equipment and personnel staging 8. Assign one officer whose primary responsibility is recording and collecting items of evidence 9. Determine the evidence search method to be used 10. Develop a collection plan for identified items of evidence detailing the process and the order of collection.

investigator in charge

The official determination regarding the death of the victim and circumstances surrounding the death is typically made by the ________________.

medical examiner

The _____________________ search patterns include the spiral search method, grid search method, strip- or line-search method, and quadrant- or zone-search method.

most common

A _______________ of situations may present themselves to officers at a crime scene, so they should be able to adapt to different circumstances.

myriad

-searches conducted incident to arrest. -With consent of the individual having authority over the premises -property in "plain view" of the officer making a lawful search though the property was not named on the search warrant. -Property un-covered during the lawful "stop and frisk" of a subject -property seized in hot pursuit of a criminal in order to safeguard the officer -property seized under exigent circumstances in which there is a likelihood that it will be destroyed or removed if time is taken to obtain a search warrant. All of the above are circumstances where a warrant to search or seize property ________________

need not be obtained

In summary, investigators must possess _________________________that enable them to sift through detailed and fragmented pieces of information. As with organizational skills, personality traits can aid in communicating with people in the community who may possess valuable information.

organizational skills

In the event that the responding officer must move the body, its position should be documented through the use of both _________________________.

photographs and sketching

When seizing a handgun as evidence, officers should never attempt to ________________ the weapon by inserting a pen or pencil into the barrel.

pick up

In the event that a body is located on the scene, the officer must make a _____________________________ of the cause of death or injury.

precursory determination

In most situations, this precursory investigative phase is known as the _______________.

preliminary investigation

Evidence samples that may be subject to DNA testing must be kept in a frozen state to avoid deterioration, and samples destined for blood typing and certain other forensic tests should be ________________

refrigerated.

The _____________________ should enter the crime scene only for the limited purposes of: • Determining that a crime has been committed • Aiding victims • Apprehending perpetrators • Securing the area

responding officers

Regardless of the method used, the search of the scene should be conducted in a ___________________.

systematic way

The crime scene represents the _____________________ that places most responsibilities on the first officer arriving at the scene.

ultimate situation