Chapter 2 Terms

Individual Evidence

At each station you must decide and EXPLAIN if the evidence is individual or class evidence. Class or Individual Characteristics. Class. Any characteristics that are common to a group are called class characteristics. Type of fiber is a class characteristic.

Secondary Crime Scene

Crime scenes therefore are considered either primary or secondary. The primary crime scene is where a crime actually occurred. A secondary crime scene is in some way related to the crime but is not where the actual crime took place.

Direct Evidence

Evidence that stands on its own to prove an alleged fact, such as testimony of a witness who says she saw a defendant pointing a gun at a victim during a robbery. Direct proof of a fact, such as testimony by a witness about what that witness personally saw or heard or did.

Primary Crime Scene

The primary crime scene is where a crime actually occurred. A secondary crime scene is in some way related to the crime but is not where the actual crime took place.

Circumstantial Evidence

evidence that relies on an inference to connect it to a conclusion of fact—like a fingerprint at the scene of a crime. By contrast, direct evidence supports the truth of an assertion directly—i.e., without need for any additional evidence or inference.

Chain of Custody

in legal contexts, refers to the chronological documentation or paper trail, showing the seizure, custody, control, transfer, analysis, and disposition of physical or electronic evidence.

Class Evidence

is evidence that can be linked to a group of people rather than individual evidence which can only be linked to one person.

Paper Bindle

is used for so-called trace evidence such as fibers , hair, paint chips, crystallized or dust-like material such as drugs, or other tiny particles.

Trace Evidence

materials that could be transferred during the commission of a violent crime. These trace materials include human hair, animal hair, textile fibers and fabric, rope, feathers, soil, glass, and building materials.

Crime Scene Reconstruction

the forensic science discipline in which one gains "explicit knowledge of the series of events that surround the commission of a crime using deductive and inductive reasoning, physical evidence, scientific methods, and their interrelationships."