Crime Scene Investigation and Criminal Trial Cazacu Dan-IFR

grupa 102
The crime scene is the place where an illegal activity has taken place, a crime scene is
generally separated into two categories depending on the seriousness of the crime committed. Less
serious crimes such as burglary, or auto theft would be classified as a volume crime and more serious crimes such as
murder would be classified as a serious crime. Normally a volume crime scene would be investigated by one
examiner, but a crime scene where the social danger is higher is usually investigated by a team of examiners. There is
the necessity to bring a team on the place of a serious crime so that the place or the situation is examined
thouroughly."The location of a crime scene can be the place where the crime took place or can be any area that
contains evidence from the crime itself. Scenes are not only limited to a location, but can be any person, place, or
object associated with the criminal behaviours that occurred."1
Usually the first persons who arrive at a crime scene may be the victim itself, if the crime is related to one of
their goods or his/her property. In the case of a serious crime things may differ, deppending on the situation. The first
people who enter the premises can be a member of the victim's family or a close one. In many other cases the crime
can be reported by passers-by or by neighbours, they can be unknowingly about the seriousness of the event that has
taken place there so there is a great risk that the crime scene could be contaminated. The best case scenario is when a
police officer or a member of the CSI squad are among the first persons who enter the premises.The first person who
enters a crime scene usually tends to become the most important piece of the whole investigation that will be
conducted, some times the investigations can stretch to many years. “Crime scenes are sensitive to initial conditions
and whatever a first responder does in the first few minutes can have consequences for the investigation”2 No matter
what the costs may be for the scene itself, it is outmost important to save the eventual victims that may be found there.
”Saving lives is the top priority of all responding agencies. Contamination of victims/casuaties must be considered as
a part of the initial assessment and effective methods for rescue, decontamination, and medical treatment must be
provided”3 In times of emergency, responders try their best to save the life of a victim as timely as possible. In case of
emergency responders on crime scenes, standard operating procedures and protocols must be carefully considered, but
in general, the responders act as swiftly as they could to provide life-saving measures such as cardiopulmonary
resuscitation and the preparing the victim for transportation to the nearest medical facility.
The crime scene is important because, if dealt with carefully, it can provide the physical evidence which is
needed to build a criminal case against a suspect. The evidence recovered from a crime scene can be used in various
ways, including: to establish if a crime has in fact occurred, as this is not always obvious at first glance, for instance,
in the case of a fire scene it would need to be established if the fire was started either accidentally or deliberately;
identification, evidence can help to identify the victim, offender and any other persons that may be involved in the
crime. The size of a crime scene can vary greatly and the police must be prepared to quickly determine its
boundaries. This task is not as easy as it seems. A crime scene may be a single room, an entire house, everything on a
property, or even a whole neighborhood. The crime scene must be defined, secured and a perimeter needs to be
established, allowing as few people as possible to entry and a scene log should be used to record those that do enter.
“Inside the perimeter of the crime scene a forensically cleared ‘common approach path’ (CAP) is established by using
either scene tape or stepping plates or a combination of both”4. A crime scene can be cordoned off using crime-scene
tape, barricades, automobiles, or even by police officers standing guard Also, anyone who enters the crime scene must
wear protective clothing, including over-shoes, gloves (preferably two pairs as the first can be contaminated just by
putting them on), scene suits, head covers and masks, which must always be changed into before entering or leaving a
crime scene. This is to prevent foreign matter being brought into the crime scene and also to prevent evidence from
being transferred elsewhere; both of which can compromise the investigation. The crime scene is the ‘first link in the
chain of investigation’ and if any evidence is compromised then so is the whole investigation. A crime-scene
investigator begins by doing a walk-through examination, getting a feel for the scene and organizing an approach to
collecting evidence. During this overview, the crime-scene investigator typically doesn’t examine any particular
1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_scene
2
M. Houck, F. Crispino, T. McAdam The Science of Crime Scenes, Academic Press Londra 2018, p.55
3
Idem p.55
4
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/criminology/the-crime-scene-is-most-important-area-of-forensic-science-criminology-essay.php
1
pieces of evidence, but rather looks at the big picture before beginning the tedious work of evidence examination and
collection.
Evidence comes in many different forms such as guns, blood on knives, etc. It can be anything from a
biological sample like blood or everyday items like receipts or bank statements. Other types of evidence
include: fibers, firearms residue, photographs or videos, and fingerprints Forensic scientists analyze this evidence so
they can come up with an explanation for why and how a crime occurred. Ensuring that evidence is collected in an
accurate and timely manner helps officers to better understand what happened at the scene and aids in the
investigation being completed successfully. Only the appropriate personnel with the proper knowledge and training
should be collecting evidence. These individuals include First Responders, Crime Scene Investigators, and other
specialized personnel. Different types of evidence will sometimes need different methods of collection or specific
containers. For instance, paper containers, such as bags, envelopes, or boxes, may be optimal for biological samples.
Paper containers allow evidence that is not completely dry to continue drying. This type of collection protects those
samples from deteriorating. When the evidence is collected properly there is less of a chance that the items collected
will be damaged or contaminated. The development of forensics has improved the level of crimes being solved.
Whenever first responders respond to crime scenes they are with people of different expertise. These people have
different tools that allow them to collect evidence. There is trace evidence such as hairs, soil, fingerprints, footprints,
shoe prints, gunpowder residue, glass fragments, carpet fibres, and similar items that are vital to crime scene
processing. Depending on the crime scene, determines what technicians will be needed to respond to the scene
Forensics uses a variety of different tools and techniques. Therefore, In order for evidence to be used in court it must
be carefully and systematically handled throughout the investigative process; the continuity of evidence must be
sustained from when it is recovered at the crime scene,”throughout its transference to the forensic laboratory and then
into court, where the evidence will be scrutinised by the defence”5  Forensic science does not conform to our general
expectations or requirements of science. “It is messy, conceptually and practically”6; it deals with body fluids and
body parts, explosions, burned-out buildings, and shattered fragments from a wide variety of sources.
“Once crimes have been committed, reported, investigated, and an arrest has been made, there are several
criminal procedures that a defendant will undergo”7 The procedures are:
-Booking, it is the administrative procedure where all the data aquired through the investigation is gathered
-Arraingment it is the suspects first court appearance. During arraignment, the judge reads the charges filed
against the defendant in the complaint and the defendant chooses to plead "guilty," "not guilty" or "no contest" to
those charges. The judge will also review the defendant's bail and set dates for future meetings.
- Preliminary Hearing A preliminary hearing, or preliminary examination, is an adversarial proceeding in
which counsel questions witnesses and both parties makes arguments
-Trial during the trial the prosecutor and the defendand attourney present the opening statements, the evidence
and the eventual witnesses are being called on stand. One of the last procedures of the trial are the closing statements.
- Sentencing during the sentencing phase of the criminal case the judge determines the level of guilt that the
defendant has or the fact that he is not guilty.
- Punishment “A defendant may be punished in one of three ways: fine, probation, or jail time.” 8
- Appeal after being condemned, a person has the right to an appeal, usually during for an appeal to take place the
defence attourney motivates the incorrect following of the criminal procedures or he presents new evidence that can change
the course of the trial.

5
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/criminology/the-crime-scene-is-most-important-area-of-forensic-science-criminology-essay.php
6
https://www.veryshortintroductions.com/view/10.1093/actrade/9780199558056.001.0001/actrade-9780199558056-chapter-10
7
C.V Chervase, English Course for Police, Academia de Poliţie „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Bucuresti
8
C.V Chervase, English Course for Police, Academia de Poliţie „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” Bucuresti
2