Securing the Crime Scene Essay -- Crime

When the call comes in that a crime has been committed, the police are dispatched to the crime scene. When the police arrive on scene, they need to take control by apprehending any suspects and looking for witnesses/victims. If the scene is not safe, the first responders must secure the area. If anyone is hurt, they should call for medical personnel as soon as possible. The first police officer on scene is usually in charge until a criminal investigator arrives on scene. Depending on the crime committed, the crime scene could be as small as the interior room of a building or as large as the whole neighborhood. The whole crime scene area needs to be secure so that evidence is not tampered with by anyone. The police officer in charge can start a search for more evidence so that it can be secured by the time investigators arrive on scene. There are five different search methods; the point-to-point movement, ever-widening circle, ever-narrowing circle, zone or sector search, and the strip or grid search (Lushbaugh, and Weston, 2011). Each search is used under different circumstances that all depend on how large the crime scene is and if it has occurred indoors, outdoors, inside of a building, etc. Once a criminal investigator arrives, the police should have the area secured so the investigators can do their jobs. Investigators will enter the crime scene and will have some equipment to preserve evidence on hand. Evidence won’t be removed until proper procedures are followed so that it is not jeopardized. They will number each piece of evidence and take pictures of it. For example, if there was a drop of blood on the ground, a number would be put next to it and a picture would be taken. The pictures will be up close, ... ...y quickly and can document accurately. Investigators can go over the crime scene and look for any evidence that may have been missed. Overall, crime scenes that are committed inside of a building are a little easier to deal with than an outside crime scene. References Department of Justice. (n.d.). All about forensic science. Retrieved from http://www.all-about- forensic-science.com/types-of-crime-scene.html Katz, M., Scheck, O., & Bode, N. (2011). Man stabbed to death outside chelsea nightclub where lebron james partied. Dna info, Retrieved from http://www.dnainfo.com/20110926/chelsea-hells-kitchen/man-found-stabbed-death- Chelsea Layton, J. (2005). How crime scene investigation works. Retrieved from http://science.howstuffworks.com/csi2.htm Lushbaugh, C. A., & Weston, P. B. (2011). Criminal investigation basic perspectives. (12 ed.). Pearson.