Crime scene investigation involves gathering physical evidence to identify victims and suspects, determine how a crime was committed, and prepare evidence for court. The process is conducted carefully by experts in several fields, with detectives piecing together events and consulting with the CSI unit. Evidence is collected, labeled, and stored, including bodily fluids, injuries, clothing location, broken glass, fingerprints, weapons, and personal items. The rote aspect is critical to any investigation, while the thinking aspect involves figuring out what the evidence means. Evidence is processed in a crime lab by forensic scientists, with medical examiners submitting reports to aid in investigations.
Crime scene investigation (CSI) is the process in which physical evidence is gathered from a crime scene. Its main purposes are to identify the victim and possible suspects, carefully gather evidence suggesting how the crime was committed, and prepare evidence for presentation in court. Experts in several fields are typically employed to ensure that the information collected is truthful and has not been tampered with.
Before the crime scene investigation unit can document a scene, the police typically secure the area and make sure there is no outside interference. If the evidence requires special analysis, a specialist in the field of forensic science can be called to the site. Homicides usually require a coroner to determine cause of death, but lab tests are sometimes needed to be certain. Detectives are also usually on the scene to begin piecing together the events of the crime, which commonly includes interviewing witnesses and consulting with the CSI unit.
The investigation process must be conducted with extreme care and attention to detail. With this in mind, the detectives’ first step is usually to identify the boundaries of the entire scene and explore all possible locations for clues. The detectives then walk the scene carefully, to avoid changing anything since the crime was discovered. The site is then documented, which usually involves making drawings or taking photos or videos. Only during the subsequent collection of evidence are the objects in the scene actually touched. When evidence is collected, it is carefully labeled and stored.
Many different types of clues can be found, depending on the nature of the crime. For example, if a homicide has occurred, the exact location of the body is usually outlined and measured. Bodily fluids, as well as any cuts, broken bones, bruises, and other physical injuries on a murder victim can tell a lot about how he was killed, so evidence like this is carefully noted. The location of the victim’s clothing can suggest information about the crime, such as whether the body was moved from one location to another. In that case, and many others, determining the exact location of the crime is crucial.
Other evidence may include broken glass, fingerprints, weapons and bullets. Personal items such as phones, computers, and journals can also be very helpful in determining what happened. While the perpetrator has gone to great lengths to hide his actions, it is extremely difficult to completely hide all the clues so that a crime scene investigation goes nowhere.
Preserving and gathering physical evidence is called the rote aspect of a CSI and is critical to any investigation. The thinking aspect, on the other hand, involves trying to figure out what the evidence means and how it might explain the crime. The detective is heavily involved in this process, even though his work may extend over a long period of time.
Evidence gathered in a crime scene investigation is normally processed in a crime lab by forensic scientists. Although the two fields overlap, a CSI unit is not necessarily the same as a forensic unit. A medical examiner may be considered part of the forensic team and will typically submit reports of the exact time and cause of death to the detective, to aid in his investigation.
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