Abstract
Thorough and complete documentation of observations at the crime scene is crucial. Failure of complete documentation of evidence at the crime scene may result in challenges at court and unsuccessful prosecution and may affect the credibility and reputation of the first responders.
Any incident, whether criminal or noncriminal must be documented thoroughly. Even accidental injuries can be open to civil litigation such as those made by insurance companies or equipment manufacturers.
Crime scene documentation may include notes, photography, videos, sketches, measurements, or reports. None of which are a substitute for the other.
During documentation, it is vital to be aware that there may be many other people (attorney’s, attorneys’ investigators, crime lab analysts, etc.) who are involved in the case and were not able to visit and assess the scene of the crime by themselves and observe the placement of physical evidence within it. The aim of documentation is to deliver an enduring record of the scene and provide physical proof. It is the fundamental initial step of the chain-of-custody.
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Ghanem, M., Megahed, H.M. (2021). Crime Scene Processing: Documentation and Evaluation. In: Singh, J., Sharma, N.R. (eds) Crime Scene Management within Forensic science. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4091-9_2
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