How does the investigator decide which evidence is significant?

The crime scene investigator’s experience, knowledge, and capabilities are critical for deciding which items at the crime scene are actual evidence, because if all physical objects at the scene were gathered for analysis, the lab would be overwhelmed with insignificant testing unrelated to the case.

How does a detective build a case?

Officers will try and gather evidence at this time which comes in the form of physical evidence put in a bag, fingerprints, pictures, drawings/charts, handwritten witness statements, blood samples, damaged items, etc. These officers and deputies make the decision whether to file charges.

What types of evidence do detectives look for?

A wide variety of physical evidence can be collected at a scene that is deemed valuable (“probative”) for collection and investigation: biological evidence (e.g., blood, body fluids, hair and other tissues) latent print evidence (e.g., fingerprints, palm prints, foot prints)

Do detectives investigate crime scenes?

Detectives may take command of a crime scene and assign specific tasks to the officers. Detectives examine crime scenes to find clues and evidence, taking care not to disturb the crime scene.

What are the four phases of criminal investigation?

These include collection, analysis, theory development and validation, suspect identification and forming reasonable grounds, and taking action to arrest, search, and lay charges. In any case, as unpredictable as criminal events may be, the results police investigators aim for are always the same.

What is the detectives primary role during a court case?

Once the trial begins, the police detective presents the evidence to the jury under cross-examination from both the prosecutor and the defense attorney. He answers any questions about how the evidence was gathered and what the evidence is and tries to act as an advocate for the victims of the crime.

What types of evidence found at the crime scene are most likely to provide evidence?

Fingerprints are by far the most common type of physical evidence found in most crime scenes, though there are a number of other types of evidence that must be identified and collected from the crime scene as well, including biological and trace evidence, as well as evidence left by the use of firearms or other weapons …