Posted: October 20th, 2022

ESSAY 2 – Read from the text: Gardner, Ross M. Practical Crime Scene Processing and Investigation

• ESSAY 2
INSTRUCTIONS:
Read the following passages:
Read from the text: Gardner, Ross M. Practical Crime Scene Processing and Investigation, Second Edition, 2nd Edition. CRC Press, 20120104. VitalBook file.
(pp xxi-xxii) An interesting sidelight of this jack of all trades issue was the publication in 2009 of the National Academy of Sciences [NAS] report “Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward.” I was asked by the NAS to preview the draft and offer comments. Be aware, this document is not a scientific report. Over half its authors were lawyers. At the very least, 70% of the citations offered in the report are legal opinions, but it is represented as science in every court. One might not agree with how they achieved the conclusions, but they certainly offered some valid criticisms. The recommendations offered by the NAS were commonsense and well-established thoughts in the minds of most forensic science practitioners. We should all agree with their desire to see forensic science become more critical of itself, more professional, and more standardized. What the NAS failed to recognize was that the weakest link in the chain of criminal justice is the crime scene investigator. If evidence is not collected and collected properly, it serves no function in defining the truth. Yet, they offered no directed recommendations on how to resolve the training and development of crime scene investigators. This is the problem for forensic science in the United States. Even if the NAS fails to understand that, we as police professionals must recognize and act on it. There is no more excuse for failing to properly process a scene of crime—none at all. Programs abound to teach basic skills. Professional associations such as the International Association of Identification have crime scene certification programs. If you wish to be competent, then you have the means at your disposal to be competent. We all have a responsibility and are all part of the resolution of this problem. This book is my personal effort at a resolution; I hope it serves your needs.
Read from (see file-https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/228091.pdf). National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward (2009) below (Crime Scene Investigation, Bloodstain Pattern Analysis, and Certification sections):
CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION pp. 56-57
Evidence recovery and interpretation at the crime scene is the essential first step in forensic investigations. Several organizational approaches to crime scene investigation and subsequent forensic laboratory activity exist, sometimes involving a large number of personnel with varied educational backgrounds. Conversely, in some jurisdictions, a single forensic examiner might also be the same investigator who goes to the crime scene, collects evidence, processes the evidence, conducts the analyses, interprets the evidence, and testifies in court. In other jurisdictions, the investigators submit the evidence to a laboratory where scientists conduct the analyses and prepare the reports. Crime scene evidence collectors can include uniformed officers, detectives, crime scene investigators, criminalists, forensic scientists, coroners, medical examiners, hospital personnel, photographers, and arson investigators. Thus, the nature and process of crime scene investigation varies dramatically across jurisdictions, with the potential for inconsistent policies and procedures and bias. Some analysts say that the lack of standards and oversight can result in deliberate deception of suspects, witnesses, and the courts; fraud; and “honest mistakes” made because of haste, inexperience, or lack of a scientific background. In 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court held for the first time in Monell v. Department of Social Services of the City of New York that a municipality can be held directly liable for violating a person’s constitutional rights under 42 U.S.C. section 1983. Partly in response to this liability, most large cities and metropolitan areas created their own professionally trained crime scene units. However, in smaller suburban and rural communities, evidence from a crime scene may be collected and preserved by a patrol officer or investigator. Even in large metropolitan areas, most crime scene investigation units are composed of sworn officers. Recognizing that some agencies did not have the resources to adequately train all personnel in crime scene processing, in 2000 the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and its Technical Working Group on Crime Scene Investigation (TWGCSI) developed Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement, which stated that “successful implementation of this guide can be realized only if staff possess basic (and in some cases advanced) training in the fundamentals of investigating a crime scene.” However, there remains great variability in crime scene investigation practices, along with persistent concerns that the lack of standards and proper training at the crime scene can contribute to the difficulties of drawing accurate conclusions once evidence is subjected to forensic laboratory methods [Italic added].
B. Fisher, Director, Scientific Services Bureau, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Presentation to the committee. April 24, 2007.
See J.I. Thornton. 2006. Crime reconstruction—ethos and ethics. In: W.J. Chisum and B.E.
Turvey (eds.). Crime Reconstruction. Boston: Elsevier Science, pp. 37-50.
436 U.S. 658 (1978).
Available at www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178280.pdf, p. 2.
BLOODSTAIN PATTERN ANALYSIS p. 177
Understanding how a particular bloodstain pattern occurred can be critical physical evidence, because it may help investigators understand the events of the crime. Bloodstain patterns occur in a multitude of crime types—homicide, sexual battery, burglary, hit-and-run accidents—and are commonly present. Bloodstain pattern analysis is employed in crime reconstruction or event reconstruction when a part of the crime scene requires interpretation of these patterns. However, many sources of variability arise with the production of bloodstain patterns, and their interpretation is not nearly as straightforward as the process implies. Interpreting and integrating bloodstain patterns into a reconstruction requires, at a minimum:
• an appropriate scientific education;
• knowledge of the terminology employed (e.g., angle of impact, arterial spurting, back spatter, castoff pattern);
• an understanding of the limitations of the measurement tools used to make bloodstain pattern measurements (e.g., calculators, software, lasers, protractors);
• an understanding of applied mathematics and the use of significant figures;
• an understanding of the physics of fluid transfer;
• an understanding of pathology of wounds; and
• an understanding of the general patterns blood makes after leaving the human body.
Sample Data and Collection
Dried blood may be found at crime scenes, deposited either through pooling or via airborne transfer (spatter). The patterns left by blood can suggest the kind of injury that was sustained, the final movements of a victim, the angle of a shooting, and more. Bloodstains on artifacts such as clothing and weapons may be crucial to understanding how the blood was deposited, which can indicate the source of the blood. For example, a stain on a garment, such as a shirt, might indicate contact between the person who wore the shirt and a bloody object, while tiny droplets of blood might suggest proximity to a violent event, such as a beating. Analyses Bloodstain patterns found at scenes can be complex, because although overlapping patterns may appear simple, in many cases their interpretations are difficult or impossible. 135,136 Workshops teach the fundamentals of basic pattern formation and are not a substitute for experience and experimentation when applying knowledge to crime reconstruction.137 Such workshops are more aptly applicable for the investigator who needs to recognize the importance of these patterns so that he or she may enlist the services of a qualified expert. These courses also are helpful for attorneys who encounter these patterns in the course of preparing a case or when preparing to present testimony in court. Although there is a professional society of bloodstain pattern analysts, the two organizations that have or recommend qualifications are the IAI and the Scientific Working Group on Bloodstain Pattern Analysis (SWGSTAIN). SWGSTAIN’s suggested requirements for practicing bloodstain pattern analysis are outwardly impressive, as are IAI’s 240 hours of course instruction. But the IAI has no educational requirements for certification in bloodstain pattern analysis.138 This emphasis on experience over scientific foundations seems misguided, given the importance of rigorous and objective hypothesis testing and the complex nature of fluid dynamics. In general, the opinions of bloodstain pattern analysts are more subjective than scientific. In addition, many bloodstain pattern analysis cases are prosecution driven or defense driven, with targeted requests that can lead to context bias. Summary Assessment Scientific studies support some aspects of bloodstain pattern analysis. One can tell, for example, if the blood spattered quickly or slowly, but some experts extrapolate far beyond what can be supported. Although the trajectories of bullets are linear, the damage that they cause in soft tissue and the complex patterns that fluids make when exiting wounds are highly variable. For such situations, many experiments must be conducted to determine what characteristics of a bloodstain pattern are caused by particular actions during a crime and to inform the interpretation of those causal links and their variabilities. For these same reasons, extra care must be given to the way in which the analyses are presented in court. The uncertainties associated with bloodstain pattern analysis are enormous.
135 H.L. MacDonell. 1997. Bloodstain Patterns. Corning, NY: Laboratory of Forensic Science; S. James. 1998. Scientific and Legal Applications of Bloodstain Pattern Interpretation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; P. Pizzola, S. Roth, and P. DeForest. 1986. Blood drop dynamics–II. Journal of Forensic Sciences 31(1): 36-49.
136 Ibid.; R.M. Gardner. 2004. Practical Crime Scene Processing and Investigation. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; H.C. Lee; T. Palmbach and M.T. Miller. 2005. Henry Lee’s Crime Scene Handbook. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press, pp. 281-298.
137 W.J. Chisum and B.E. Turvey. 2007. Crime Reconstruction. Burlington, MA: Elsevier Academic Press. 138 See “Bloodstain Pattern Examiner Certification Requirements.” Available at theiai.org/ certifications/bloodstain/requirements.php
CERTIFICATION pp. 208-210
The certification of individuals complements the accreditation of laboratories for a total quality assurance program. In other realms of science and technology, professionals, including nurses, physicians, professional engineers, and some laboratorians, typically must be certified before they can practice.34 The same should be true for forensic scientists who practice and testify. Although the accreditation process primarily addresses the management system, technical methods, and quality of the work of a laboratory (which includes the education and training of staff), certification is a process specifically designed to ensure the competency of the individual examiner. The American Bar Association has recommended that certification standards be required of examiners, including “demanding written examinations, proficiency testing, continuing education, recertification procedures, an ethical code, and effective disciplinary procedures.”35 In addition to improving quality, certification programs can enhance the credibility of certificate holders. An excellent description of the certification process is contained in the following excerpt from the National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) Web site: In general, certification boards consist of respected professionals in a particular area of professional practice who develop standards for education, training, and experience that are required before one can become ‘certified’ in a particular professional discipline. Successful completion of a written and/or practical examination is also usually required. In essence, ‘certification’ usually means that a particular individual has completed a defined course of education, training, and experience, and has passed an examination prepared by peers which demonstrates that the individual has obtained at least the minimum level of competence required to practice the specific discipline. A number of ‘Certification Boards’ exist for people in various scientific disciplines. . . .36 The professional forensic science community supports the concept of certification. ASCLD recommends that laboratory managers support peer certification programs that promote professionalism and provide objective standards. In 2002, the Technical Working Group on Forensic Science Education recommended certification of an individual’s competency by an independent peer-based organization, if available, from a certifying body with appropriate credentials. In addition, IAI supports certification of forensic science practitioners.37 Some organizations, such as the American Board of Criminalists (ABC), offer examiner certification programs, but some certification organizations appear to lack stringent requirements.38 In response, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences has formed a Forensic Specialties Accreditation Board to accredit certifying organizations. Organizations are invited to participate if they meet established requirements, such as periodic recertification, a sufficient knowledge base for certification, a process for providing credentials, and a code of ethics.39 Currently accredited boards include:
• American Board of Criminalistics
• American Board of Forensic Document Examiners
• American Board of Forensic Toxicology
• American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators
• Board of Forensic Document Examiners
• International Institute of Forensic Engineering Sciences
IAI also has established certification programs in:
• Bloodstain Pattern Analysis
• Crime Scene Investigation
• Footwear
• Forensic Art
• Forensic Photography/Imaging
• Latent Print
• Tenprint Fingerprint 40
Other certification programs exist for (but are not limited to) the following forensic science disciplines

• Document Examination (The American Board of Forensic Document Examiners [ABFDE])
• Drug Analysis, Fire Debris Analysis, Molecular Biology, Trace Analysis, and General Criminalistics (ABC)
• Firearms and ToolMark Identification (Association of Firearm and ToolMark Examiners [AFTE])
• Forensic Odontology (The American Board of Forensic Odontology [ABFO])
• Forensic Pathology (The American Board of Pathology [ABP])
• Toxicology (American Board or Forensic Toxicology [ABFT])

Each of these certification entities has:
• specific educational, training, and experience requirements,
• a series of competency tests—both written and practical,
• participation in proficiency testing,
• continuing education and/or
• active participation by means of publication, presentation, and membership in professional organizations.
33 J.L. Peterson and M. J. Hickman. 2005. Census of Publicly Funded Forensic Crime Laboratories, 2002. U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics. Available at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cpffcl02.pdf.
34 T. Ortelli. 2008. Characteristics of candidates who have taken the Certified Nurse Educator: CNE examination: A two-year review. Nursing Education Perspectives 29(2):120;
P. Nowak. 2008. Get IT-certified: Having employees with the right certifications can help dealers and integrators qualify for business and gain access to IT networks. Network Technology 38(3):123;
S. Space. 2007. Investigator certification. Issues in Clinical Trials Management 8(2):73.
35 American Bar Association, op. cit., p. 7.
36 See http://thename.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=80&Itemid=41.
37 K.F. Martin, President, IAI. Presentation to the committee. September 19, 2007.
38 See M. Hansen. 2000. Expertise to go. ABA J. 86:44-45; E. MacDonald. 1999. “The Making of an Expert Witness: It’s in the Credentials.” Wall Street Journal. February 8, p. B1.
39 See FABS Standards for Accrediting Forensic Specialty Certification Boards at www. thefsab.org/standards_20070218.pdf.
CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
Read and Review the following certification programs:
Indiana Law Enforcement Academy CSI Certification https://www.in.gov/ilea/2445.htm
International Association for Identification CSI and Bloodstain Pattern Analysis Certification: Updated Links as of 2/2/19:

https://theiai.org/crime_scene_requirements.php

https://theiai.org/bloodstain_certification_requi.php
ESSAY 2 ASSIGNMENT:

You are the Captain of the Sheriff’s Department Forensic Science Laboratory that provides professional forensic analysis of physical evidence on a 24-hour, seven-day a week basis. To Help in making this possible, the laboratory operates a mobile crime laboratory that will respond to any crime scene. The crime scene investigators collect, preserve and tag evidence, document the scene with photographs, video tape, crime scene sketching, and analyze evidence.
In addition to processing the scene of the crime, crime scene investigators also provide Helpance in crime scene shooting reconstruction and blood spatter interpretation. The Sheriff’s Laboratory provides crime scene processing to any requesting agency in the county.
You want all of your trained crime scene staff to be certified. Write a 600-word essay on CSI certification and competency and its ethical implications. Consider the following:
• From the Crime Scene Investigation section above, it states, “there remains great variability in crime scene investigation practices, along with persistent concerns that the lack of standards and proper training at the crime scene can contribute to the difficulties of drawing accurate conclusions once evidence is subjected to forensic laboratory methods”. Does this present an ethical issue?
• Is there a lack of standards for crime scene investigations? Is this a problem?
• What are the elements of a certification program?
• What are the elements of a bloodstain pattern training program?
• What about the cost and time of such a certification process?
• Is it worth the cost? Should states or the Federal government mandate certification?
• Should it require an associate, baccalaureate, or no degree?
• Should it require training programs? How long? How often?
• Annual proficiency tests?
• Moot court training?
Your essay should follow the APA format of Title page, Abstract page, Content page(s), and Reference page. Include at least two relevant scholarly references for your reference section. Include in your conclusion 10 bullet points on training, policy and protocol recommendations based on the readings and websites above, crime scene processing principles, and why and how certification is consistent with justice and a Christian worldview

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