The popularity of television programs like CSI: Crime Scene Investigation shows the interest of the public in the investigative techniques used by modern law enforcement. Of course on TV it's all done within a 60 minute time period! The downside to this perception is that “real life” police may have to work under other conditions.
Cannon Falls Police Officers along with a Goodhue County Investigator will set up a mock crime scene to show how it can be handled.
Cannon Falls Police Officers along with a Goodhue County Investigator will set up a mock crime scene to show how it can be handled.
In practical experience, local law enforcement may not have the tools listed on the CSI website like a “Crimescope” (portable high-intensity light in a range of illumination wavelengths... to detect and identify a wide variety of forensic specimens.) or a portable forensic laser system (to locate trace, evidence including fingerprints, fibers, body fluids, bone chips, narcotics residue, etc.) or a laser microdissection scope (used for contamination-free isolation, extraction and precise molecular analysis of single or multiple cells, usually frozen or embedded in paraffin).
But there are methods of investigation that can be used. According to Crime Scene Response Guidelines (http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/) in documenting crime scenes you check for details like the lighting (on or off), whether the drapes are open or closed, or the furniture moved by medical teams.
It’s also important to note what should be present but is not – for example a victim’s wallet. Also, what appears to be out of place – like a ski mask during the summer. And what is the full extent of the crime scene? Not just the area involved but access/escape routes and a vehicle.
What is evidence? Anything that can be used to connect the victim to a suspect. The Guidelines site explains: “Using the "shopping list" approach (collecting all bloodstains, hairs, or shoeprints) will probably not result in recognizing the best evidence. For example, collecting bloodstains under a victim's body or shoeprints from emergency personnel will rarely answer important questions. Conversely, a single matchstick (not usually mentioned as physical evidence) recovered on the floor near a victim's body can be excellent physical evidence since it can be directly tied to a matchbook found in a suspect's pocket.
"Since a weapon or burglar tool is easily recognized as significant physical evidence, it is frequently destroyed by the perpetrator. Sometimes the only remaining evidence is microscopic evidence consisting of hairs, fibers, or other small traces the assailant unknowingly leaves behind or takes with him.”
For more information contact Cannon Falls Assistant Police Chief, Rich Wisniewski at 263-2278, rwisniewski@cfalls.net; Goodhue County Deputy, Thomas Wolner at tom.wolner@co.goodhue.mn.us or Paul and Rosie Schluter at spiritsonghorses@yahoo.com.
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