Physical evidence in most cases uses contact surface found at the scene of a crime so as to find, collect, and keep evidence that would be used in court to identify the offender. To process protocols at a crime scene, investigators utilize the following procedure: interviewing examining the crime scene, photographing, sketching, and processing of the collected information for the purpose of creating necessary evidence that would bring the offender to justice (Catts, & Goff, 1992).
Interview
On visiting the crime scene, forensic technicians interview the first officer on the site so that he can establish what is happening and what is apparent concerning the scene so that the evidence team can have a basic knowledge of the crime scene. The technicians may also interview the victims at the scene (Baldwin, 2005).
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Examine
Evidence crew takes the visual examination of the crime scene. It is important in providing a key assessment of the intact crime scene, before interruption or destruction of the evidence by anyone. Also, it determines the point of entry and exit, and to single out possible evidence.
Photograph
Photographs are extremely important to the investigation team since they help in the documentation of the crime scene. There are two categories of photographs including items of evidence and overall view. Overall views assist the detective to recognize the original state of the scene, while items of evidence help the investigative team in the documentation of collected evidence (Catts & Goff, 1992).
Sketch
Upon reaching the crime scene, the crime technician drafts sketches of the crime scene to illustrate its outline or ascertain the precise location of evidence in the scene or the victims/deceased.
Process
It is the last stage the technician uses to process the crime scene. It involves identifying, collecting, and assessing of physical and testimonial evidence. After this, the forensic investigator takes the evidence to a crime lab for further processing.
Conclusion
The five processing protocols are applied to any kind of a crime scene, and the steps captured are interlinked (Baldwin, 2005). Forensic investigation is a vital component done by the police or forensic experts in ensuring the evidence collected is reliable and admissible in court.
References
Baldwin, H. B. (2005). Crime scene processing protocol. Retrieved from http://www.feinc.net/cs-proc.htm
Catts, E. P., & Goff, M. L. (1992). Forensic entomology in criminal investigations . Annual Review of Entomology, 37 (1), 253-272.
