1. Science of Crime Scenes
Chapter 2.0
Science of Crime Scenes

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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