MUST BE IN APA FORMAT!!

Return to the scenario (ATTACHED BELOW) . Think through how you might process the crime scene.

Using the processing methodology presented in the lecture and the text, explain your actions. Describe each stage and step. Include the type of search you will employ and why.

Finally, take a knife from your home, and complete an 8-step method of identification as discussed in your text. Embed a photograph of the knife (with a scale) in the image you are describing in the paper.

Your response should be 750-1000 words in length following the current APA style.

1. NON-INVASIVE

The non-invasive stage is mere observation. Remember Locard’s principle. As soon as you step into a crime scene, you have forever altered it. Think of non-invasive as standing at the door and looking into a room. You have not entered the room at this point. Rather, observe everything you can before you invade the room.

The first basic activity is to document the scene, and you do that at all five stages. After you have documented everything you can see, smell, or hear, you enter the crime scene.

2. INVASIVE

In this stage, you begin the second basic activity—the search. The CSI documents what they see without moving anything. Simply put, you look with your eyes and not your hands. You look over, under, and around but not in closed things or under layered items. For example, if you can see under a table without moving it, you do so; however, if there is a pile of mail on the table, you do not move it. As you see things of interest, you must analyze those items to determine if they tend to prove or disprove the questions being asked. (Or, as we put it last week: Is that “thing” information or evidence?) In the invasive stage, the CSI has invaded the crime scene but has not disturbed anything other than leaving footwear impressions.

3. NON-DESTRUCTIVE

The non-destructive is somewhat misleading because as soon as anything is moved, you have altered or destroyed the scene. Nonetheless, some movement is necessary. In this stage, you open cabinets, drawers, closets, and containers. You are going deeper into the layers of the scene and documenting what you see. As you go deeper, you continue to analyze the items discovered. This is also when you begin to collect items that you can easily gather without true destruction of the scene. That pile of mail you saw when you first invaded the scene can now be picked up. If one of the pieces of mail is “evidence,” you would collect it.

4. DESTRUCTIVE

The destructive stage is when you dismantle things, use fingerprint powders, chemicals, and other processes that would visibly and physically alter the scene. As with any task, it is always good to have a second set of eyes to check your work—especially during this critical stage.

The last basic activity at a crime scene is going back to see if you missed anything. Going back is not really a specific activity assigned to a specific stage. Rather, it is something you should do at every stage of the crime scene process.

The following chart graphically presents the information above. The four crime scene processing stages are indicated in yellow boxes, representing the movement from the non-invasive stage to the destructive stage. Within these stages (and beyond), the basic activities are indicated with red text, such as “document,” “search,” etc.

In addition to the four stages and basic activities, new information is included, too. Specifically, the blue boxes outline the United States Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) popular processing methodology. This methodology has ranged from 14-23 steps over the years. Each revision has made minor modifications to the labels of the steps; however, the general process remains the same.

The CID steps (in this chart) include (1) initial notification, (2) coordination, (3) assessment, (4) call out, (5) initial observations, (6) deal with the deceased, (7) initial photography, (8) document overall observations, (9) sketch the scene, (10) conduct first recheck, (11) release the body, (12) collect evidence, (13) conduct second recheck, (14) check beyond the scene, (15) conduct third recheck, (16) on scene debriefing, (17) release scene, (18) package evidence, 19) formal debrief.

Gardner, R. M. (2019). Practical crime scene processing and investigation (3rd ed.). CRC Press

TEXTBOOK: ccis.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781351692373?context_token=96271020-9894-013c-1b92-6a10430a8720

PRACTICAL CRIME SCENE PROCESSING AND INVESTIGATION, THIRD EDITION

Ross M. Gardner

Requirements: 3 pages