Who Says You Can’t Do That?

With today’s challenging economy, we all need to figure out the most cost effective ways to do our jobs. By doing your research and planning accordingly, you’ll stretch your department’s dollars without sacrificing quality.

When it comes to processing a scene, you need to focus on the basics. Knowing what evidence to look for and how to prevent contamination is essential.

Any experienced crime scene officer will tell you that the key to doing the job well is protecting the crime scene.

Being aware of the latest technology and the newest advances can certainly be important to performing your job well, but you don’t want to fall into the trap of thinking that you can’t do your job properly unless your department purchases every piece of high-end equipment.

Impression evidence from tire tracks, footprints, tool marks, extruder marks on different casings, etc. can be just as important in making your case as DNA or fingerprints.

Sometimes the techniques taught in classes and workshops, or the tools or equipment we have at our disposal simply won’t work given the specifics of the crime scene in front of us. When you find yourself in such a situation, you need to think outside the box.

At the heart of every crime scene are two basic questions for the Crime Scene Officer: how do you find the evidence and how do you properly document it once you find it?

Recently scientists have developed a new technique for processing DNA called “touch DNA.” With this technique, scientists can test for DNA without a sample from blood or bodily fluids.

By studying the types of bugs present at the scene and their stage of development, forensic entomologists can estimate the time of death, and in many cases, determine if the body was moved or disturbed and whether the deceased person had ingested drugs.

Understanding what happens after CSOs leave the scene can help you do your job better and also help those who need it most: the victims and the people left behind. Professionals in crime scene clean up can contribute to the work of law enforcement and crime scene officers.