Science of Crime Scenes Chapter 2.0 Science of Crime Scenes

What constitutes the crime scene? Crime scenes can occur anywhere busy urban areas or on lonely rural tracts of land inside a house or under water involving one person or thousands This is the paradox of a crime scene: each one is different somehow, each one is the same in some way Science of Crime Scenes

Science of Crime Scenes A definition A crime scene is a location where an illegal act occurred It is not necessarily where the crime was committed, however. A location linked to the commission of a crime, such as where preparations were made, where a body or weapon was discarded, or intermediate locations Some experts classify crime scenes as “primary,” “secondary,” “tertiary”, etc. This can be misleading: the most important evidence may be found not at the primary site but elsewhere Science of Crime Scenes

Which is the “primary” scene? A kidnapper may abduct the victim from her home (first scene) Force her into a stolen vehicle (second or the true first scene, because the criminal had to steal the vehicle before the kidnapping) Drive her to a deserted location (third scene, either way it is counted) To assault her, and then perhaps on to another location where he discards either the car and steals a new one or commits murder and dumps the body (fourth scene). Science of Crime Scenes

Science of Crime Scenes What kind of scene? Another way to classify crime scenes is by the type of offense that has occurred there: “murder scene,” “robbery scene,” and so on A single “murder scene” can cover a wide variety of situations, ranging from single deaths to multiple ones One crime can actually be several: Burglary and homicide Science of Crime Scenes

A matrix of people and locations is best One person: one individual, either victim or suspect, is the direct focus of the investigation; a dead body found in a wooded area, for example. One place: one location constitutes the crime scene; a bank that has been robbed, for example. Multiple people: more than one person is the direct focus of the investigation; a gang of drug manufacturers, for instance. Multiple places: more than one location constitutes a crime scene, thus there are multiple scenes; the kidnapping example offered earlier describes this situation. Science of Crime Scenes

A matrix of people and locations One Person Multiple People One Location “Standard” Consumptive of time Complicated in series Multiple Locations Consumptive of personnel Complicated in parallel Time and personnel consumptive Very complex Science of Crime Scenes

Science of Crime Scenes Staged Crime Scenes Not all crime scenes are “real.” Staged crime scenes are rare (one estimate is less than 1%) Staging is often caught in one of two ways: detection of a gap in logic or events a vague perception that something is amiss The best bet is to follow leads, gathering objective evidence until the fraud can be proven Science of Crime Scenes

Some indications of staging No sign of forced entry or the entry is forced beyond what would be required to gain access. Only one specific item was stolen. No search for any valuables is apparent in a burglary or no items have been stolen. The ransacking is excessive and destructive or too careful of specific items (some may have been set aside to protect them). The victim is posed to suggest/cover up a sexual assault. Survivor of an attack has minor wounds only on the side of the body opposite their own handedness (self-inflicted). Wounds are consistent with being self-inflicted. Science of Crime Scenes