Collecting the Evidence

Speak to FAO-

The first procedure followed in a crime scene is to speak to the first attending officer, this is a police officer who is first to attend the scene and find out details, they can identify whether there is any evidence and if any witnesses that are still present. By doing this it enables them to find out enough evidence about the case so that when the forensics come they have knowledge on what has occurred and can find the correct evidence. By speaking to the FAO, information and details on the crime scene can be found out so that the correct evidence can be collected and this can save time. The information and details on the crime scene can be recorded either on paper or computer. It can be recorded by doing things such as writing down the time it occurred and the location. By doing this it can be looked back onto to in the future when the crime is being revisited and the evidence needs to be looked back over. From the FAO there can be sketches recorded, drawing of the scene or photographs. These photographs can be taken by the FAO at the scene when they first arrive. Also they can find and question witnesses because by doing it straight away they can get the most recent information they can. The information is recorded via notes or either typed up on a computer.

When collecting evidence from the FAO, it is mainly information documents and it is either written or typed up on to a computer, from this it is either photocopied or stored and save onto the computer. This is a way to preserve the evidence and keep it safe so that it can be viewed in the future if needed to. Each piece of document written needs to be labelled. A label will be put on describing where it was taken from , who took it and the time it was taken. This is so that it can be looked back through when a certain case needs reassessing. Also by having details from the FAO, such as sketches and photographs it can mean that a reconstruction can be made. This is all physical evidence, this is because it is taken about the crime scene and not from the crime scene. This information is gained from the FAO, who investigates into the case to get it.

The evidence found is analysed in different ways depending on the type of evidence. The video recorded evidence would be analysed by watching the video clip other to see whether there is any useful information or clues. This evidence can be used in court to show clearly who was involved and what they did. By looking at written evidence such as sketches, it means that a reconstruction can be made which can allow more information and analysis’ of the case to be made. Also witness statements can be made when the FAO speaks to the FAO and writes information down from them. The evidence found is presented through notes, sketches or photographs and it can all be stored in a file about the certain case so that it can reviewed whenever needed to be. The benefit of the FAO collecting the evidence is that it can be collected straight away since they are the first person to attend the crime scene. They then can ensure the evidence and information collected is to the best of the witness’s memory because it will be fresh from when it just happened. Another strength is that PPE doesn’t need to be worn by the FAO, when first entering the scene because it will be cornered off afterwards, this therefor saves time. The disadvantages of the witness statement is that it is mainly based on peoples perspective and can be biased depending on the case. Also another disadvantage is that by spending time questioning and searching for witnesses, there is less protection on the crime scene and it means that people could easily sneak around and contaminate it.

The FAO was PC Bruce, when he first attended he decided that sion Jenkins was a witness and questioned him. The FAO also cordoned the scene off, but when interviewing and questioning Sion Jenkins no notes were recorded down. This goes against the correct procedures of the FAO’s role. From this no evidence could be taken. The preservation procedures were missed by PC Bruce because he forgot to write details of the case such as location, time and who was responsibility. Because of this the evidence couldn’t be taken officially and used properly in court. This would then mean that the evidence has been overlooked and can’t be taken in court to give more information on the case. This evidence could have been used to give information to court about what Sion Jenkins, the first witness said about the incident and by the way he explained it could have gave a clue to whether he could be counted as a suspect or not.

Common Approach Path-

This is a path which is placed from the focal point to the end of the crime scene so that forensics can follow the path and prevent themselves from standing on any evidence that could be vital. This protects evidence from being contaminated and protects the forensic from any damage the evidence can cause to them. While the CAP is set up full PPE must be worn and it must be ensured that the CAP is set up properly and does not move. For example if different weather conditions the CAP will be set up differently because it will have to remain in the same place throughout the weather. This is usually done by either the forensics, or the FAO. When doing this procedure it must be ensured that it is noted who did the procedure and at what time, this is recorded in the entry log so that it can be reviewed if needed and if an unofficial personal was doing the CAP, they could be investigated into to. This wouldn’t be a type of evidence but it would prevent evidence getting destroyed such as Blood, weapons, footprints and any hair samples. The CAP mainly prevents evidence found on the floor from being destroyed, because by setting up a path to prevent people standing on it, this prevents contamination. This would prevent evidence such as physical, biological and chemical from being destroyed.  This can be presented by ensuring there is a clear path for the forensics to follow so that they can get evidence from all around the crime scene without having to walk through the crime scene. The strengths of creating a CAP, is to ensure that the forensics are protected from the evidence and the evidence is protected from them. This prevents contamination of the evidence and ensures that it won’t be overlooked in court. Also by wearing PPE while performing this procedure it means that while setting up the CAP the evidence will be more protected than without the PPE. The weaknesses are that it can be time consuming and in harsh weather conditions needs to be done quickly to ensure that the evidence doesn’t get contaminated, for example if it was raining and there was puddles of blood, it would cause it to mix with the rain water and could be washed away. Another weakness is that while setting up the CAP quickly, vital evidence could be overlooked and if the approach path is set up incorrectly it could cause them to destroy the evidence. The value of this evidence could be enough to prosecute the correct person in court and by not correctly setting up an approach path, the evidence could be damaged.

In my case, the common approach path wasn’t set up straight away or quick enough. I know this because Sion Jenkins was found with 128 microscopic blood splatters on his t-shirt and he claims this was later on after they had rang for the ambulance and police for Billie-Jo because afterwards, while the police where on the way, he had claimed to lift her head up and cradle there. This was then supposedly the reason he had the blood splatter on his shirt, but this could have been from a earlier time when he supposedly ‘killed’ her. If the CAP was set up early it would prevent family from seeing her because then they are not destroying any evidence, for example footprints, or the blood that was released. The CAP was eventually set up but should have been set up before the family approached the daughter because Sion Jenkins was later prosecuted for the murder of Billie-Jo Jenkins. This also involves ethical issues because the family should be allowed last moments with their dying family member, but if Sion Jenkins ‘murdered’ her, this would have been a way that he could cover it up. This is another disadvantage of the CAP, the ethical issues involved.

Cordoning/securing the scene-

When we cordon the scene it is putting a protective border around the scene so that no unauthorised personals can enter scene and also so that the scene is kept away from the public trespassing or walking through it. It also means that the crime scene is mapped out and can help forensics know which part they are collecting evidence from. It also can be used to protect the evidence from being contaminated by either people trying to enter, such as the criminal trying to go into the crime scene and contaminate the evidence that can reveal it was them who committed the crime. It can also protect the evidence from harsh weather conditions, such as strong rain, wind or sun. The rain can wash away vital evidence such as blood, saliva or drugs. The wind can blow away evidence such as suspected drug packets, or pieces of hair samples. So by cordoning and securing the scene early it can ensure that the weather doesn’t affect the evidence. This can be secured by putting up tents over the scenes where it has happened. The scene is cordoned off to prevent people such as media, suspects and the public entering. It ensures only the correct people enter the scene and handle the evidence. When cordoning and securing the scene full PPE must be worn. It is preserved by recording down who cordoned off the scene and who secured it. All three types of evidence can be preserved from doing this procedure, biological, chemical and physical. This evidence is analysed differently depending on what is collected. In court it will be presented as a written document, who cordoned off the scene and who secured it. Also what time they did this and where it occurred. The benefits of using this procedure is that all evidence can be preserved and used in court against a person to prosecute them. Another strength is that by wearing PPE when securing the scene it means that it can prevent the evidence from being contaminated when following this procedure. The weaknesses are that it can be time consuming and if it takes a long time it can mean some evidence can still be contaminated while trying to set it up. Another weakness is that if an crime has occurred such as murder, and a person is running away and leaving a trail of blood. It couldn’t all be cordoned off because the crime scene would be too large to cordon it all off.

In the Billie-Jo Jenkins case a tent was put up and the entrance from the side gate round the back garden was cordoned off. This was so that the evidence could be protected and prevent contamination occurring from weather conditions. Because the incident occurred outside a tent was put up so that weather conditions didn’t contaminate the evidence. If the evidence got contaminated it would cause it to be overlooked in court.

Personal Protective Equipment-

This consists of gloves, safety goggles, a full forensic white protective suit, show protectors and a mouth mask. This is used to ensure a forensic is protected from the evidence and the evidence is protected from them. If PPE wasn’t worn correctly it could mean that bodily fluids, such as saliva and hair pieces could fall into the crime scene from the forensic and mix with the already found evidence there. The full PPE ensures that none of the forensics own body features mix in with the evidence they are trying to collect. It is also used so that they are protecting themselves, because if they are handling suspected drugs they would need protection on their hands in case it is harmful chemicals. When wearing PPE is must be ensured that it is put on correctly and every time someone enters the crime scene it must be recorded. By wearing PPE it can ensure physical, biological and chemical evidence are secure and prevented from any contamination. The evidence is analysed depending on what it is, because it is mainly evidence that can be investigated in the science labs. A document will be written to state all the forensics that were involved in the investigation and if they wore the correct PPE. The strengths are that it can prevent evidence from being contaminated and this means that no evidence will be overlooked in court. The weaknesses are that it can make it harder to collect certain pieces of evidence because the gloves can make it harder for smaller objects to be picked up. Instead of this equipment is provided to pick up smaller objects such as tweezers.

In my case full PPE was worn while investigating and this ensured that the evidence was collected correctly and this prevented any evidence from being contaminated. The blood from Billie-Jo was found and this was collected using PPE so that any fingerprints or hair strands found in the blood wouldn’t be mixed with any of the forensics fingerprints or hair strands. The tent peg found was identified to be the weapon and no fingerprints were searched for, while analysing it. This could be because they didn’t have correct PPE on while collecting the weapon and their own fingerprints contaminated the evidence.

Initial scene assessment-

This is when the an assessment of the scene is performed, this involves things such as sketches, pictures, notes and the weather conditions of the day. These can either be hand written down and stored in a certain file which relates to the case, or these can either be stored on a computer document and a file will be kept on the computer about the case. This information must be preserved by writing down information about who did the scene assessment, what time and where about. From this only documentation evidence is found out, but by doing the scene assessment it can help the forensics know what the correct evidence they need to collect is. By doing the assessment of the scene it means that forensics can know what has occurred in the crime and have more knowledge on what to collect during the investigation, this then makes it quicker and easier for them to find the correct evidence. This type of evidence, which could be documentation is things such as sketches and photographs, these are vital pieces of evidence because when they are looked back through they can cause a reconstruction of the scene. This can enable them to find out more information about the crime and come to a conclusion on a suspect. The presentation is presented through photographs, taken from a camera, sketches taken from the crime scene investigators and information on things that occurred that day, for example weather or if any other murders occurred that day. The weather can be found out using a weather station and logged down. The strengths of this procedure is that more information and knowledge on the case can be found out by investigating further into the crime scene and the day it occurred on. This gives the forensics knowledge on what happened during that day, which may relate to the crime that has happened. The weaknesses are that the sketches could be drawn incorrectly and people will have different perceptions of how the positions of certain things where and also it’s not a clear representation of the crime scene and could be made up to how a person wants to draw it. Whereas with a picture it is more reliable because it can be clearly shown in court.

Evidence collection-

In a crime scene when the forensics have to collect evidence they must ensure they are wearing full PPE. Evidence is collected from the forensics that is relating to the crime that has occurred. This evidence can identify what has occurred in the crime and who committed it. Evidence is spilt into three different types, biological, physical and chemical. All can be collected in order to solve an investigation. Biological is evidence relating to the human body/ bodily fluids. This can consist of blood, saliva, hair samples semen or fingerprints. Each type of evidence has a specific way of collecting it. For example with more liquid typed biological evidence, such as blood it can be collected using a cotton swab, a sample is swabbed and put into a test tube which is sealed. For samples that are more solid such as hair samples or skin samples, it can be collected using tweezers, it can then be put into either a test tube, plastic bag, or paper bag depending on the size of the sample collected. Finally fingerprints cannot just be picked up and can need a chemical mixture in order for them to become visible. This can be a dusting powder, it comes it different colours so fingerprints can be attracted from different surfaces. It then shows a clear mark of the fingerprint, which is lifted using Jlar tape. This tape is then stuck to a plastic clear cut out and can be put in any bag. When the biological evidence has been picked up and put into a bag, the bag must be labelled. This is called ‘bag and tag’. The label Is used to describe where the object was found, who collected it, what time and what crime scene number. This is so it can be taken into the chain of custody and information on who had it at certain times can be revealed. The biological evidence is all analysed differently, blood is analysed by performing a Kastle Meyer test, a sample of blood is rubbed onto filter paper with ethanol and kastle meyer mixed on it. If a pink colour shows, it means that blood is present. Saliva is analysed by testing on strips of iodine. The bud is rubbed onto the strip and if a blue colour is shown, it means that iodine is present. Semen is analysed by using acid phosphate, a strip is coated In acid phosphate and the semen sample is rubbed onto it, If it is positive it turns to a dark purple or black colour. Fingerprints are analysed by comparing fingerprints found to a suspects or a database on fingerprints. An example of a physical type of evidence is footprints, weapons, or videos. A weapon is collected using PPE gloves, and put into a container where there is no tight packaging touching it, this is so it can prevent blood or any substances on it from being lost in the packaging. From this it is then labelled, describing the location, time and case number. A footprint is collected by using dent stone, this is a substance which is created using mixture and water and poured onto a 3d footprint. It then cools and creates a hard clay model of the footprint shape, this can then be analysed by looking for distinguishing features the footprint model may have. For example this could be the make of the shoe, the shoe size or the amount of wear and tear the shoe has. Chemical evidence can be things such as drugs, gunshot residue or accelerants. While analysing suspected drugs, a chemical test is used called marquis reagent. A sample of the suspected drug is taken using either tweezers, or a spoon to scoop it into a test tube which is sealed and then labelled. The suspected drug is mixed with marquis regent and a colour is formed depending on what drug is present.

Drug	Colour
Cocaine	Mustard yellow/green
Heroin	Red/Pink
Amphetamine	Pure yellow
Ecstasy	Blue/purple

The results from a evidence analysis is presented by a documentation being produced, this is then presented in court and can be used against a person in court. The strengths of using evidence that can be analysed is that a range of results can be found out from the one piece of evidence, this can be enough to prosecute the right person and ensure that enough evidence is shown to make a fair trial. The weaknesses are that if there is a lot of evidence present, it can be time consuming to know which is the correct evidence to analysis and can be time worthy.

In my case there was biological and physical evidence found. There was no chemical evidence found or searched for because the case was not relating to drugs or gunshot residue, which are main parts of chemical evidence used in cases. The biological evidence found was blood splatters on Sion Jenkins t-shirt, which were matched up to be Billie-Jo Jenkins blood. The physical evidence found was a tent pole which was known to be the ‘weapon’, this is because there was marks on Billie-Jo Jenkins body to represent that the tent peg had hit her and battered her.

Evidence log-

This is a log which is taken by the exhibits officer. It describes all the evidence that has been collected and who it has been collected by. It also describes what time the evidence has been collected and where it was found. This is similar to labelling the evidence found, but by labelling and creating an evidence log it is double protection and information on the evidence that allows people to know where it has been. When filling out the label, a person could lie about the correct information, so the evidence log ensures it is more specific and trustworthy. The procedure for this is that a person will be present with the evidence log and each time a piece of evidence Is found it is noted down before it is put into a file. This can involve all types of evidence such as physical, biological and chemical. It can be analysed by a forensic who will use it to look specifically at the evidence collection and who has been involved in collecting the evidence. This can give clues and information on the evidence. This Is presented in a documentation form and can be shown in court, to allow them to find information out from the different people who collected the evidence, for example if the evidence was overlooked because it had been contaminated by analysed who handled it at certain time, it can help this. The strengths of this are that it can ensure the evidence is collected by the right people and that if there is any anomalous result from the evidence, it can be identified why. The weaknesses are that it can be time consuming and hard to keep track of all the evidence if a lot has been found.

In my case on Billie-Jo Jenkins, I found out that an evidence log was taken but not enough evidence was taken in my case. For example no fingerprints were searched for, no DNA samples or footprints. If these where looked for, it could of gave more information on who was present at the murder of Billie-Jo and could of cleared Sion Jenkins.

‘Chain of custody’-

This is relating to the evidence collected, it is used to keep track on who had access to the evidence and what they were doing with the evidence. This allows court to have knowledge on the evidence and see whether at any stage of the ‘chain of custody’ it could have been contaminated. When the evidence is collected, it is labelled so each time the evidence is analyse by someone else they will also produce a label explaining the time that collected the evidence, what they did to it and who they are. This can involve all types of evidence, for example biological such as blood which needs further laboratory analysis, chemical evidence such as drugs which needs analysing to see how pure the drugs found are and physical evidence such as weapons to see if any DNA is present. The evidence can be taken through the chain of custody to labs for further analysis which are done by scientist or forensics. This can then be presented in court by using the label which explains information of who has been involved in analysing the evidence. The strengths of using this is that it can prevent contamination occurring throughout the analysis of the evidence, because if this happens it means that the evidence can be overlooked and could be a strong piece of evidence to prosecute the correct person. A weakness is that false information could be filled out which could change the results of the analysis of the evidence.

In my case, the shirt that Sion Jenkins wore, which had 128 microscopic blood splatters on it was taken to an aerosol chemist in a lab for further research, they concluded from this that the splatters are from the lungs exhaling the last breath and releasing blood.

CS entry log-

This is done while a crime scene investigation is occurring and is a log which explains who has entered the scene and at what time, this can involve witnesses, unauthorised personnel’s or forensics. Each person’s name is noted down explaining what time they entered the crime scene and what their role was. This entry log is written into a document and is preserved by keeping safe in a file which relates to the case. By ensuring no one else enters the crime scene it can prevent contamination occurring to any evidence which could be vital. This can involve preventing contamination of physical, biological and chemical evidence. This is presented in court using the entry log book which explains details on who entered the crime scene. The strengths of this are that it can prevent evidence from being contaminated and if any evidence is contaminated then it can be tracked down and information found out on who caused the contamination. The weaknesses are that if a large amount of people where round the area when the crime scene had occurred it would be hard to ensure they are all kept away from the crime scene.

In my case, Sion Jenkins was found next to Billie-Jo Jenkins and in the crime scene, because of the ethical issues involved in an entry log and the fact the family can’t be allowed in the crime scene it is hard to prevent. Sion Jenkins claimed that the blood splatters where caused by Billie-Jo’s last breath as he hugged her, this made it difficult to tell whether this was true or because he was the one who ‘battered’ to death. If the entry log was made early and Sion Jenkins wasn’t allowed to see Billie-Jo it might of prevented the evidence of the microscopic blood being on his shirt being overlooked.