hello class this is chapter 2 documenting the crime scene note taking photographing and sketching the learning objectives we're going to cover in this chapter are we will explain why notes are important in an investigation identify the characteristics of effective notes summarize the purposes served by crime scene photography describe the minimum photographic equipment an investigator should have available and be skilled in using understand what should be photographed at a crime scene in what sequence identify the various types of photography used in criminal investigations and the circumstances in which they are applied we will explain the specific criteria photographs must meet to be admissible in court list the steps involved in making a rough sketch and describe the requirements for a sketch or scale drawing to be admissible in court proper and careful documentation is absolutely vital throughout an investigation as much as 70 percent of an investigator's job is consumed by paperwork and writing photography plays an important role in documenting evidence and presenting cases in court but that has to be supported with proper paperwork often both photographs and sketches must accompany written notes to provide a clear picture of the crime scene when to take notes first you need to know what to record ask you yourself as you take notes specific questions such as these when did the incident happen when was it discovered was it reported did the police arrive on scene and were suspects arrested next where did the incident happen was evidence found stored do victims witnesses and suspects live do suspects frequent most often and were suspects arrested next who are suspects accomplices make sure to provide complete descriptions that would include gender race coloring age height weight hair including its color style and condition eyes color size whether or not glasses are present nose size and shape ears close to the head or protruding and any distinctive features such as birthmarks tattoos scars beards and clothing and also their voice high low and did they have an accident and any other distinctive characteristics such as walking next who who were the victims associates who was talked to who were the witnesses who saw or heard something of importance discovered the crime reported the incident made the complaint investigated the incident worked on the case marked and received evidence was notified or who possibly had a motive then what what time of crime was committed are elements of the crime what are they what was the amount of damage or value of property involved what happened and you need from that standpoint a narrative of the actions of suspects victims and witnesses and combined information includes under how evidence was found and any preventative measures such as safe locks alarms etc and had they been taken was there any knowledge skill or strength needed to commit the crime what was said did the police officers do what did they do and what further information is needed and what further action is needed next how how was this crime discovered how does this crime relate to other crimes did this how did the time occur how was evidence found how was information obtained then why why was the crime committed was there intent consent or motive was property stolen was a particular time selected next you need information establishing a suspect's innocence as important in establishing a suspect's guilt next make sure to include all evidence both inculpatory and exculpatory finally record everything you observe in the overall scene all services rendered including first aid description of the injured location of the wounds who transported the victim and how you need to make sure that you record complete and accurate information regarding all photographs taken at the scene as the search is conducted record the location and description of evidence and its preservation record information to identify the type of crime and what was said and by whom include the name address and phone number of every person present at the scene and all witnesses take notes on everything you do in an official investigative capacity record all facts regardless of where they may lead because information establishing a suspect's innocence as is is as important as establishing guilt when evidentiary conflicts exist the general rule is that all of the evidence both inculcatory and exculpatory should be reported to the prosecutor for evaluation where to record notes opinions vary about whether it's better to use a loose leaf notebook or separate spiral bound notebooks for each case if you use a loose leaf notebook you can easily add paper for each case and if you are working on it and as the needle rises you can keep it very well organized most investigators favor the loose leaf notebook because of its flexibility in arranging notes for reports and for testifying in court however use of a loose leaf notebook opens the opportunity of a challenge from a defense attorney that the officer has fabricated notes adding or deleting relevant pages this can be countered by numbering each page following by the date and case number or by using separate spiral notebooks for each case the disadvantage of the latter approach is that spiral notebook is often only partially used and therefore expensive and may be bulky for storage if other notes are kept in the same notebook they will also be subject to the scrutiny of the defense a final disadvantage is that if you need a blank sheet of paper for some reason you should not take it from a spiral notebook because most of these notebooks indicate on the cover how many pages they contain now we'll talk about how to take notes note taking is an acquired skill time does not permit a verbatim transcript learn to select key facts and record them in abbreviated form do not include words as a and and and the in your notes omit all other unnecessary words if you make an error cross it out make the correction and initial it do not erase or white it out whether intentional or accidental that ensures any erasure raises credibility questions whenever possible use standard abbreviations such as mph dwi and do not however devise your own form of shorthand also use a digital recorder there is an advantage of recording exactly what was stated with no danger of misinterpretation slanting or misquoting there are some disadvantages of digital recording the most serious is that they can malfunction and fail to record valuable information weak batteries or background noise can also distort the information recorded in addition transcribing recordings is time consuming expensive and subject to error the recordings themselves not the transcription are the original evidence and must be retained and filed [Music] now we'll talk about characteristics of effective notes effective notes describe the scene and events well enough to enable a prosecutor judge or jury to visualize them effective notes are complete accurate specific factual clear arranged in chronological order and well organized the basic purpose of notes is to record the facts of a case accurately and objectively notes must also be legible clear arranged in chronological order as i mentioned earlier and very well organized when it comes to retaining notes if department policy is to keep them place them in a location and under a filing system that makes them available months or even years later as long as the system is logical the notes will be retrievable many officers usually determine where and how notes are filed although their police jurisdiction usually has a system in place and many officers retain notes indefinitely especially for cold cases the use of notes in courts is probably the most important legal application they can help discredit a suspects or defense witnesses testimony support evidence already given by a prosecution witness strengthening that testimony and defend against false allegations by the suspect or defense witnesses they must be legally retrievable and quote unquote discoverable by both the prosecution and the defense now let's look at investigative photography the advantages of photographs are one the basic purpose of the crime scene photography is to record the scene permanently they can be taken immediately accurately and represent the crime scene and evidence create interest and increase attention to testimony they accurately represent the crime scene in court the effective pictures on the jury can never be overestimated photographs are highly effective visual aids that corroborate the facts presented digital photographs are quickly adaptable as email attachments additional technical information is recorded in a text file associated with the image and image degradation is avoided in the use of digital photographic evidence and physical storage space is greatly reduced the disadvantage of photographs is they are not selective they do not show actual distances unless that's been marked specifically in the photograph and they may be distorted and damaged by mechanical errors in shooting or processing now we'll look at the advantages and disadvantages of video a video or dvd played before a jury can bring a crime scene to life and offer some distinct advantage over photographs such as showing distance and including audio capability a slow pan of a crime scene is more likely than a series of photographs to capture all evidence including that in the periphery of you which might seem rather inconsequential at the time many agencies failed to provide adequate training to those tasked with videotaping a crime scene the negative consequences of poor video is that it can damage a case an untrained crime scene videographer may shoot without planning ahead not shoot enough shoot too much resulting in a boring presentation use poor focusing overuse the zoom feature make jerky camera movements including unintentional audio and they could fail to use a tripod or proper lighting departments are advised to purchase a variety of photographic equipment for different applications at a minimum have available and be skilled in operating a polaroid type instant print camera a point and shoot camera a digital single lens reflex camera a fingerprint camera and video equipment and an instant print camera these cameras provide pictures at low cost per image they're simple to operate and the photographer can tell immediately whether the photo is good with a point and shoot camera these have a fixed lens and these have become relatively inexpensive and are easy to use some models are ruggedized to resist water shock and extreme temperature they provide instant feedback regarding a photo's quality with a digital single lens reflex camera also known as a dslr these have interchangeable lenses and they offer significantly higher image quality and resolution but are more difficult to use properly and are often more expensive with accessories they can be adapted to take better photos in more challenging situations with fingerprint cameras these are specially constructed to take fingerprints or take pictures of fingerprints without distortion they provide their own light through four bulbs a tripod and cable release should be used when photographing latent prints this camera can also photograph trace evidence video cameras are used to record alleged bribery payoffs and narcotics buys like for surveillance permanently installed units frequently photograph crimes being committed they have the advantage of immediacy and eliminate a middle processing step in the chain of evidence they can be used for in-station recording of bookings for testing of suspects in driving while intoxicated stops for crime scene investigations and can be mounted on the dashboard of a patrol vehicle then there are accessories these can include an exposure meter flash attachments flood lamps and high intensity spotlights special lenses and filters can be used for different purposes such as photographing evidence distant subjects or an entire room in a single frame what to photograph for videotape photograph the crime scene as soon as possible and photograph the most fragile area of the crime scene first plan a sequence of shots showing the entire scene using the technique called overlapping first photograph the general area then specific areas and finally specific objects of evidence take exterior shots first because they are the most subject to alteration by weather and security violations this progression of shots or video will reconstruct the commission of a crime take long range shots of the locality points of ingress and egress normal entry to the property and buildings and exterior of the buildings and grounds and street signs or other identifiable structures that will establish location take media marine shots of the immediate crime scene and the location of objects of evidence within the area or room take close range shots of specific evidence such as hairs fibers footprints and blood stains the entire surface of some objects may be photographed to show all the evidence for example a table surface may contain blood stains fingerprints hairs and fibers zoom lenses allow close shots without disturbing the crime scene and close-ups are possible with macro lenses such close range shots usually should include a marker or scale forensic photogrammetry the technique of extrapolating three-dimensional or 3-d measurements from two-dimensional photographs can be used at most crime scenes there are errors to avoid to obtain effective photographs and videos be familiar with your equipment and check it before you use it take photographs and or videos before anything is disturbed if something has been moved do not put it back it is legally impossible to return an object to its original position in other words that will not stand up in court it will say that you were tampering with evidence to minimize distortion or misrepresentation maintain proper perspective and attempt to show objects in a crime scene in their relative size and position take pictures from eye level the height from which people normally observe objects there are a few checklists checklists are critical aspect of law enforcement function especially when it comes to crime scene photography checklists can include the following are the batteries in the camera is the memory media loaded is the camera on is the lens cap removed are spare batteries and memory media readily available checklists help eliminate errors there are different types of investigative photography and we just talked about crime scene photography now we're going to talk about surveillance photography with a well thought out plan surveillance tapes can increase the efficacy of a law enforcement agency surveillance photography is also called trap photography many agencies are switching to digital formats rather than videotapes video analysis is the new dna of law enforcement soon forensic video evidence will have regional forensic video analysis labs which will be a national database of criminals caught on tape enhanced surveillance capability can be provided by using robots small video cameras have also been attached to radio controlled model airplanes that brings us to aerial photography there's the geographical information system or gis that's attached to aerial photography pictometry is computer locking technology that integrates various aerial shots of land-based artifact taken straight down and from numerous angles the software also features extreme zooming capabilities allowing investigators to rotate and zoom in on a particular structure as far as night photography is concerned that takes very special specific photography in terms of film aperture exposure and lenses then there's laboratory photography microphotography takes pictures through a microscope and can help identify minute particles of evidence such as hairs or fibers in contrast macrophotography enlarges a subject for example a fingerprint or tool mark can be greatly enlarged to show the details of ridges or striations there's also laser beam photography which reveals evidence is discriminable to the naked eye for example it can reveal the outline of a footprint in a carpet even though the fibers have returned to normal position there's ultraviolet light photography which uses the low end of the color spectrum which is invisible to human site to make visible impressions of bruises and injuries long after their actual occurrence bite marks injuries caused by beatings cigarette burns neck strangulation marks and other impressions left from intentional injuries can be reproduced and used in evidence in criminal cases by scanning the presumed area of injury with a fluorescent or blue light there are always mug shots historically they're famous of course and the pictures of people in police custody are kept in department files for identification and are known as mugshots they're gathered in files and displayed in groups called rogue's gallery you also have line-up photographs officers can select six to twelve other quote-unquote hits to be used for presentation of the suspect's photo videotapes or photographs of people included in lineups may be taken to establish the fairness of the lineup laptop lineup one software quickly assembles appropriate lineups from a photo database in the field notes the photographs taken should be dated and numbered sequentially include the case number type of offense and the subject of the picture record the photographer's name location and direction of the camera lens type approximate distance in feet to the subject film and shutter speed lighting weather conditions and a brief description of the scene in the picture on the back of the photo write your initials the date the photo was taken what the photo depicts and the directions of north when it comes to filing file the picture and negatives for easy reference pictures in the case file are available to others use a filing system just for photographs and always cross-reference by case number be sure to file digital images approximately or appropriately as evidence or within the department's internal secured hard drive as far as maintaining security record the chain of custody of the film and photographs in the field notes or in a special file mark can identify the film as it is removed from the camera each time the film changes possession record the name of the person accepting it when it comes to the admissibility of photographs in court there are certain criteria that must be met for that evidence to be admissible first a material photograph must relate to a specific case and subject second a relevant photograph helps explain testimony and third a competent photograph accurately represents what it purports to represent in regards to crime scene sketches they should accurately portray the physical facts relate to the sequence of events at the scene establish the precise location and relation of objects and evidence at the scene help create a mental picture of the scene for those not present be a permanent record of the scene and be usually admissible in court the rough sketch is the first pencil drawn outline of a scene and the location of objects and evidence within that outline it is not usually drawn to scale although distances are measured and entered in the appropriate locations sketch all serious crime and crash scenes after photographs are taken and before anything is moved sketch the entire scene the objects and the evidence the area that needs to be sketched depends on the crime scene it can be a large scene or very small area and try to include original floor plans materials needed for the rough sketch include clipboard paper pencil long steel measuring tape carpenter type ruler straight edge eraser compass protractor and thumb tacks plain white or graph paper is best today's contemporary crime scene specialist is likely to be equipped with a gps system for extreme accuracy however you always need to make sure you have a compass to measure true north in case that equipment is not available there are several steps involved in sketching a crime scene step one is once photographs have been taken and other priority steps in the preliminary investigation have been performed you can begin sketching the crime scene observe and plan and decide where to start step two is to measure and outline the area always measure from fixed objects always position north at the top of the paper and then determine the scale use the largest simplest scale possible step three plot objects and evidence plotting methods and rectangular coordinate methods should be used in other words you use two adjacent walls as fixed points from which distances are measured at right angles this locates objects by measuring from one wall at a right angles and then from an adjacent wall at right angles this method is restricted to square or rectangular areas the baseline method establishes a straight line from one fixed point to another from which a measurement is taken at right angles take measurements along either side of the baseline to a point at right angles to the object to be located you should also use the triangulation method this is uses when straight line measures from two fixed objects to the evidence creates a triangle with the evidence in the angle formed by two straight lines this is commonly used outdoors but can be used indoors also then the compass point method uses the protractor to measure the angle formed by two lines you can also use a cross projection method where the room is flattened out much like a box cut down at the four corners and open flat this presents the floor and walls as though they were one surface step four is to take notes and record details step five is to identify the scene prepare the legend this legend should contain the case number type of crime name of victim or complainant location date time investigator anyone assisting scale of the sketch direction of north and the name of the person making the skip step 6 is to reassess the sketch when filing the sketch you want to place the rough sketch in a secure file because it may be used later to question witnesses or suspects and always keep this risk sketch in its original form and it may be needed as evidence for testifying later in court the finished scale drawing overview should be done in ink drawn to scale we talked about the materials needed this should be mated at the police station and it can be simple or complex it depends on the scene and all the objects involved newer technology provides computer assisted drawing forensic software programs such as crime zone are easy to use and can create diagrams with great precision and attention to detail giving the draw drawing greater credibility in court software graphics have been used to diagram the trajectory of bullets to document the scene of carjacking and to help a jury visualize the location of witnesses victims and suspects at the scene of a shooting speed and portability are two other features investigators look for when selecting a cad program when it comes to admissibility of sketches and drawings in court an admissible sketch is drawn or personally witnessed by an investigator and accurately portrays a crime scene a scale drawing also is admissible if the investigating officer drew it or approved it after it was drawn and if it accurately represents the rough sketch however the rough sketch must remain available as evidence as i mentioned earlier well-prepared sketches and drawings will help judges juries witnesses and other people to visualize crime scenes now let's summarize some of the things we went over in this chapter first we talked about how investigative notes and reports are critical parts of criminal investigation next make sure to record all relevant information concerning the crime even things that seem innocuous or minute in detail they can be key evidence photography has become increasingly important in criminal investigation as we discussed and we also talked about how videos are now well established as an investigative tool and finally we talked about in addition to photographs how crime scene sketches are often used class that's everything for chapter two i encourage you to contact your instructor if you have any questions about anything that we've covered thank you for your time and attention and we'll see you next class