7 Job Aid

Job Aid

Notes are detailed and continuous.

Notes must be amended as the investigation continues.

Answer the following questions:

How many? (quantity)

What is it? (name/other identifier)

Where is it? (location)

What does it look like? (color, construction, size, condition)

Is it unique? (serial numbers, signatures, brand, model name, etc.)

Who is at the scene?

Who is a potential witness?

Some minimum requirements for the notes are:

1. Notification and case information
   1. Include both the date and time the crime is reported.
   2. Note the type of crime committed.
   3. Identify the person who reported the crime.
   4. Record the case number.
2. Crime Scene Investigation Team
   1. Duty assignments – notes, video, photography, sketching, evidence collection, processing, searching responsibilities, etc.
   2. Preliminary scene survey information
   3. Start and ending times for scene duties
   4. Evidence searching, processing or enhancement, collection, packaging, and transportation/storage
3. Description of the scene
   1. Weather
   2. Location, address or GPS coordinates, surrounding streets
   3. Vehicles present at beginning or appearing during investigation
   4. Buildings, other major structures
   5. Elements of the crime scene, with special attention to peculiarities
   6. Evidence easily identified prior to preliminary scene survey, and especially the transient – smells, sounds, sights, and conditional – light switches, HVAC controls.

4. Description of people present at the scene including first responders (name and function only), victims, suspects, witnesses, neighbors, etc.
   1. Age, date of birth
   2. Address
   3. Driver’s license or social security number
   4. Occupation and employer
   5. Cell/home phone and work phone numbers
   6. Physical characteristics: height, weight, eye color, hair color
   7. Mental state/sobriety
5. Description of victim – single most important piece of evidence in a death investigation, body may be moved only when authorized personnel approve
   1. Position/location
   2. Lividity/rigidity
   3. Wounds
   4. Clothing, footwear, jewelry, identification
   5. Weapons at scene
   6. Physical evidence on body, patterned evidence, trace evidence, etc.
6. Victim and/or witness statements
   1. Details of the initial statement
   2. Location and time things occurred
   3. Light and visibility conditions
   4. Relationships to the victim, suspect or witness
   5. Mental and physical condition
7. Search details
   1. Time search started and concluded
   2. Identity of searchers
   3. Weather conditions, including light and visibility
   4. Description of search area
   5. Any special equipment or supplies used
8. Evidence collection
   1. What it is
   2. Where it is (include measurements)
   3. Who found it
   4. Any special equipment used to recover it
   5. Who handled it
   6. How it was collected, labelled and packaged
   7. What was done with it