Essay #2 Revised
Kensie Parmer
Chloe Allmand
ENC213544
03/15/2020
I always knew I wanted to be a part of law enforcement community. I personally was mesmerized by how much evidence plays a role in investigations; like how does a drop of blood, a partial fingerprint, an empty glass, a hair fiber, or a spent bullet lead to the person who committed a crime? The image of the FBI in my head is that of a television crime show: the perfect case and the perfect team to solve crimes with a happy ending. But believe it or not, I am curious how they do their jobs in real life, not the version of a 10pm showing of Quantico. Following analysis, I have discovered that both the FBI’s crime lab and the lab technicians hold an intricate job in analyzing evidence. I will argue how the trace evidence collected at crime scenes is often highly undervalued, but it is essential to the investigation, as well as, the cataloging of the evidence for court cases.
To begin with some context, the FBI’s lab was officially opened in 1932 with the purpose of providing impartial investigative services for all the different federal agencies in civil and criminal matters, with no fees added. The lab applies the newest technology and sciences to the investigation of a crime scene and the crime. The technicians’ work plays a role in solving all different types of crimes- murders, rapes, serial killings, evidence tampering- crimes that have made state headlines, crimes that would have possibly been unsolved or even undetected. David Fisher, author of Hard Evidence, stated that “Not long-ago investigators had to find the smoking gun to convict a suspect. Now all they need is the smoke” (11). Which in this day and age, is possible by the modern advances in societies technology; we can now use the trace evidence found and analyzed to help convict a suspect and not only rely on the actual weapon used- although those are still helpful.
The crime scene is where the event takes place; it’s where the participants, the suspect and the victim, meet. Crime scenes are thorough wide-ranging, tedious, and challenging scientific tasks that requires knowledge, experience, and training. The crime scene warrants numerous investigators to uncover the mystery of what happened there. Usually, only law enforcement officers can be at the crime scenes; specifically, the deputy, forensic personnel, detectives, and sometimes the Medical Examiner. The less people in the crime scene the better, so there is as little cross contamination as possible. The importance of their jobs is how these investigators take a holistic approach to interpret the evidence and piece together fragments of scientific facts to eventually arrive to a testable hypothesis of events. A crime scene is a mystery waiting to be unraveled, a complex puzzle which, out of a multitude of hidden goose eggs, only one thing needs to be discovered. Anything, small or large, that is found at a crime scene can provide that one clue needed to blow the case right open. Lee explains in Henry Lee's Crime Scene Handbook, how the important “crime scene functions involve the recognition, documentation, collection, and preservation of all relevant physical evidence; pattern, conditional, transient, transfer, and associative in nature” (1). Doing this properly will ensure a higher probability of the case being solved because it allows for the crime scenes investigators to create an accurate reconstruction of the scene as well as helping them to properly interpret the data collected. Unfortunately, if the scene is not appropriately handled by the investigators a case can be destroyed and the answers may never present themselves.
The crime lab is a practical and often brutal place that is not meant for testing theories or conducting experiments but instead for analyzing evidence. Every test and piece of evidence analyzed may in fact, change someone’s life forever. The lab technicians analyze all the tiny pieces of evidence and in Harold L. Beddoe’s book Hit-Run Murders: Examination of the Body, he mentions how “Microscopic examination is most frequently involved; while the use of special photographical methods, ultra-violet light, and similar devices may be used on appropriate types of evidence” (285). Their jobs are to find out what the evidence says and what exactly the evidence proves. When walking into one of the labs, you will be met with an image of normal people going about their business or maybe even gathered around a coffee pot in the breakroom, much like that of a large corporation. On the surface, the place would feel just like a laboratory with a million different tests going on at every table. But this is a crime lab. The man accompanied by his lab coat staring down at a comparison scope could be looking at a bloody bullet taken out of the President of the United States.
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Earlier in the essay I mentioned how investigators collected evidence and then transported it to the laboratories for analysis, but the question is what exactly the science behind that means. In broad terms, Forensic science, in the case of the law, is any science that is use for the law to gain impartial evidence. Forensic science is such a vast field because no one single science can answer all forensic questions. In The Handy Forensic Science Answer Book, Patricia Barnes-Svarney expresses how Experts and Forensics Investigators “from many disciplines are needed in order to solve a forensic puzzle- from biology (for example, for autopsy) to accounting (for example, in a white-collar crime case)” (par. 5, n.p). she argues how there are so m any different fields that fall under forensic science like: biology, psychology, ballistics, pathology, geology, chemistry, genetics and within these fields there are even subfields. For example, in chemistry, a person may be an expert in analyzing paints, tools, etc. while another person may be an expert in the analysis of drugs and poisons. Then there is also the computer aspect of forensics, which is known as cyberforensics; this includes processing of evidence using computers and then the analysis of digital equipment for and as evidence.
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Within Forensic science falls the evidence that is being investigated, because there are ample amounts of different types of evidence they work with, I will be focusing on specifically trace evidence. Crime scenes house trace evidence or fragments of physical evidence- such as hairs, rope, fibers, paint, soil, and glass- that could be transferred during within the process of committing a crime. The evidence is usually small and difficult to detect, so the crime scene must be blocked off for only the key investigative members so there is less contamination possible. You might think sometimes trace evidence is overlooked due to the new importance of more individualized evidence like DNA but in Criminalists: An Introduction to Forensic Science, written by Richard Saferstein, he talks about how “much can be learned about what happened at a scene through trace evidence, such as whether an item or body was moved or whether someone was assaulted from behind or the side” (Section 5.0, n.p.). As mentioned already there is an abundant amount of trace evidence that can be potentially collected; therefore, a step-by-step process is made. Beginning with a walk-through, investigators will visually analyze the scene then they will collect certain pieces of evidence first as to not contaminate evidence. For example, if they are processing the interior of a vehicle which was involved in a homicide, they will collect trace evidence first, then collect DNA swabs from surfaces, then process for fingerprints, then use Bluestar to presumptively test for blood that is not visible. In a government FBI Archive website, it states how the different “collection techniques include picking, lifting, scraping, vacuum sweeping, combing, and clipping” (5). For example, lifting is the process of using adhesive tape and patting it over and over on an item, picking up whatever loose trace evidence there is. Then the lifts are placed onto a see-through sheet to protect against any contamination and then it is examined to be identified.
Because trace evidence is so vast, I will focus specifically on an example of fibers and how they are collected and analyzed. Fibers can be easily transferred from one thing to another, like clothing, furnishings, vehicles, carpets due to the Locard principle; the Locard Principle is an idea that every time something comes into contact with something else, like a person, place, or thing, it results in an exchange of physical materials. And when it comes to these fibers, they are analyzed all the way down to their color, fiber type, diameter, associated dye materials and they are classified under two categories: synthetic or natural. Natural fibers are made from plant or animal materials while synthetic fibers are man-made, which is by far the most common. At one point in time, fiber analysis used to be one to the most important aspects in the crime lab investigations. William J. Tilstone provides the perfect example to this statement in Forensic Science: An Encyclopedia of History, Methods, and Techniques, by introducing the Wayne Williams case[1] from 1979. Wayne Williams murdered in cold-blood twenty-seven black boys in Atlanta over a span of three years. During the case “the first significant link came from fibers found on one of the bodies that could have come from the trunk of William’s car” (142) and this allowed the investigation to be fully opened. Although now unfortunately, fiber analysis has fallen into the backseat compared to that of DNA testing when it comes evidential value in court and even for reliability purposes. But every little piece of evidence helps, nothing hurts to analyze. In my opinion, hair fibers are the most favorable form of trace evidence because there are so many ways to analyze and trace the fibers.
Now moving away from the crime scene and lab processes comes the court room. Evidence in a case is something that allows issues to become more evident and allows an investigator to get closer to the truth. In a case at least two sides present their side, at least in criminal hearings, and this is where a jury must be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that what happened did happened. From the finding of the crime scene to the judge’s verdict, the legal and investigative processes, should certify that the culpable person is correctly identified, and the not guilty are given the justice they deserve. Admissibility applies to how the evidence is related to the case and can apply to either sides argument. Admissibility, in the case of trace evidence, can also be determined by the method and quality of the piece of evidence and the underlying science behind it. Then Craig Adam in Forensic Evidence in Court : Evaluation and Scientific Opinion, describes how it’s “the responsibility of the scientist to design and carry out experimental measurements, to analyze results and then to interpret what they mean in the context and circumstances of the case” (15). For the legal teams to use trace evidence in court it must be properly handled and analyzed beforehand, and the technicians must be able to explain the results accurately. They must interpret the evidence but not make assumptions or guess what happened because that’s not their jobs; their jobs are to specifically guild results that only the evidence can explain and then the legal teams can then put the pieces together to formulate their stories. This is where the lawyers will have to go back to the paper where all the evidence was cataloged; this paper must have followed the proper chain of custody where each member who touched it or the evidence recorded their names so everything is trustworthy. These lawyers must make sure everything along the way up until the case was completely untampered with and all jobs were executed the correct way.
In an interview with Shannon Durling, a Forensic Technician for Hernando County Sheriff’s Office, we discussed the importance of the logging evidence form the crime scenes. Durling had stated how “once evidence is collected, it is packaged, and a property sheet is filled out. The property sheet contains the case number, the date and time the evidence was collected, the address the evidence was collected from, a list of all items, and the person who collected the items”. The evidence sheets are then submitted to the Property and Evidence Unit and it is recorded when they received the items. If any evidence must be examined, it will need to be “checked out”. Property and Evidence then records when the item was returned, all to maintain a chain of custody. We also discussed how this documentation process can be a key for the legal sides of a criminal investigation. It can take years for a case to actually go to trial; proper documentation is important so you will be able to remember and review all aspects of the scene and evidence, and be able to state everything you did years after it happened. The chain of custody is a paper trail of exactly where the evidence went and who handled the evidence so there are no discrepancies if the case goes to court. If the chain of custody is broken, vital evidence could completely lose its credibility and become useless in court. While not all cases go to court, investigators still treat every case as if they will go to court and they make sure to always do everything the correct way.
Unfortunately, trace evidence does pose many disadvantages. One being its very labor-intensive. Contrary to popular television shows like Quantico, the discovery of fibers could be from multiple people or locations and often can be hundreds of them. Then the each of these samples must then be individually analyzed under a microscope which can take months, rather than the ideal day or week. In a case this this time constraint can stretch the case proceedings to a painstakingly long period when different pieces of evidence could be easier. There are plenty of disadvantages of trace evidence in the courtroom due to the complexity of the analysis and collection. But in today’s ever advancing technological era, Max M. Houck explains in Trace Evidence Analysis: More Cases in Mute Witnesses, how the amount of new standard instrumental techniques “can be applied to the analysis of more than one type of trace evidence; these include infrared microscopy, microspectrophotometry, and scanning electron microscopy in conjunction with elemental analysis…”(13). With the new technology it has made it possible for multiple tests to be run at the same time as well as more than one piece of evidence to be analyzed at the same time which speeds up the process. There are still plenty of other disadvantages such as how trace evidence cannot be individualized to one person. This means that it cannot lead to the direct identification of someone like DNA can. So, the trace evidence brought into the courtroom must be extremely relevant to the case and be must provide something to the case, whether it be providing the needed evidence to exonerate someone or to provide reasonable doubt against the accused.
As mentioned throughout the essay, trace evidence is an important part of crime scenes and in finding out what happened. Once the evidence is found and it is documented, the cataloging is just as important as the actual physical evidence is in court cases. And with a solution to the difficulties posed when analyzing trace evidence, advances in the technology, for both finding the evidence as well as distinguishing it from other things, are making their way into forensics labs. Advancements such as potable machinery like mobility spectrometers to just advancements in software in the physical labs. Although these enhancements do not guarantee success in the courtrooms, they do help with speeding up the collection of evidence, contamination is limited more, and for all around easier analysis. Also, the developments allow for stronger evidence to be generated and thus the more accurate forensic tools will provide advantages for every law enforcement facets. Thus, I think trace evidence is vital to understanding a crime scene and putting the right person behind bars, and to do that the cataloging of the evidence is just as vital for court.
Works Cited
Adam, Craig. Forensic Evidence in Court: Evaluation and Scientific Opinion. Wiley-
Blackwell, 2016. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsebk&AN=1285819&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Barnes-Svarney, Patricia L., and Thomas E. Svarney. The Handy Forensic Science Answer
Book: Reading Clues at the Crime Scene, Crime Lab and in Court. Visible Ink Press, 2019. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1846768&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Beddoe, Harold L. "Hit-Run Murders: Examination of the Body." Journal of Criminal Law,
Criminology and
Police Science, vol. 49, no. 3, 1958-1959, p. 280-284. HeinOnline, https://heinonline.org/HOL/P?h=hein.journals/jclc49&i=296.
Durling, Shannon. Personal Interview. 10 March 2020.
Fisher, David. Hard Evidence: How Detectives inside the FBI’s Sci-Crime Lab Have
Helped Solve America’s Toughest Cases. Simon & Schuster, 1995. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat05720a&AN=fsu.020894707&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Houck, Max M., and Max M. Houck. Trace Evidence Analysis: More Cases in Mute
Witnesses. Elsevier Academic Press, 2004. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat05720a&AN=fsu.021466656&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Lee, Henry C, Timothy Palmbach, and Marilyn T. Miller. Henry Lee's Crime Scene Handbook.
San Diego, Calif: Academic, 2001. Print.
Saferstein, Richard. Criminalists: An Introduction to Forensic Science. Pearson Education, Inc.,
Upper Saddle River, NJ (2007). http://www.forensicsciencesimplified.org/trace/TraceEvidence.pdf
The FBI Archives: Laboratory Services, Volume 1- Number 3, October 1999.
Tilstone, William J., et al. Forensic Science: An Encyclopedia of History, Methods, and
Techniques. ABC-CLIO, 2006. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cat05720a&AN=fsu.025522873&site=eds-live&scope=site.
[1] More information regarding the case. “The Atlanta Child Murders: A Case Study in Fiber Analysis” 26 Feburary 2016. http://portfolio.gdrsd.org/katarzynaj2017/2015/02/26/the-atlanta-child-murders-a-case-study-in-fiber-analysis/
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