The Homicide Crime Scene
First Officer's Duties
Preliminary Investigation
Examination of the Body
Modes of Death
100
This term refers to the area where the body is originally found.
What is the primary crime scene?
100
This occurs when the perpetrator purposely alters the crime scene to mislead the authorities and/or redirect the investigation.
What is "staging"?
100
This is a door-to-door, roadblock inquiry, or brief interview with persons on the street by which detectives attempt to gain information about a specific incident.
What is a canvass?
100
This refers to the stiffening of hands or arms that might take place immediately at the time of death.
What is a cadaveric spasm?
100
This evidence is usually the result of blood vessels rupturing when a victim has been strangled.
What is petechial hemorrhaging?
200
This is the number one rule of homicide investigation.
What is "get it right the first time"?
200
These are the three most common signs of death.
What are (1) breath stoppage, (2) cessation of pulse, and (3) eye reflexes?
200
These three types of emergency situations justify warrantless law enforcement entry to the scene.
What are (1) threats to life and safety, (2) destruction or removal of evidence, and (3) escape?
200
This term refers to the pooling and settling of blood within the blood vessels from the effect of gravity.
What is postmortem lividity?
200
This is the dangerous practice of achieving sexual pleasure through the cutting off of the blood supply to the brain.
What is autoerotic asphyxia?
300
Locard's Principle of Exchange is based on these three facts.
What are (1) the perpetrator will take away traces of the victim and crime scene, (2) the victim will retain traces of the perpetrator and may leave traces on the perpetrator, and (3) the perpetrator will leave traces at the scene?
300
This refers to mysterious police officers who feel the need to draw lines around the body and then disappear when investigators attempt to find out who contaminated the scene.
What is a chalk fairy?
300
This term refers to evidence that results from when the discharge of a firearm contaminates the shooter's hand.
What is GSR, or gunshot residue?
300
These are patterns of gunshot residue found on the deceased's skin that can indicate how far away the gun what when it was fired.
What is stippling?
300
These three investigative considerations may enable the investigator at the scene to determine if the victim died by asphyxia.
What are (1) the presence of new abrasions, bruises, or fingernail marks on the throat, (2) the presence of petechial hemorrhages, and (3) evidence of trauma to the tongue.
400
These two "P's" are the cardinal rule of homicide investigation.
What are preserving the crime scene and protecting the crime scene?
400
The acronym ADAPT stands for this five-step approach to responding to the crime scene.
What are (1) Arrest the perpetrator, if possible, (2) Detain and identify witnesses and/or suspects for follow-up investigators, (3) Assess the crime scene, (4) Protect the crime scene, and (5) Take notes?
400
This term refers to different types of blood stain patterns.
What is spatter?
400
These four “external agents of change” affect the decomposition of a body.
What are (1) insects, (2) plants, (3) animals, and (4) water?
400
This controversial book gives detailed instructions about how to commit suicide.
What is The Final Exit?
500
This type of death investigation is open to interpretation.
What is an "equivocal death investigation"?
500
This is the one rule that should always be followed when transporting a suspect.
What is officers should not interrogate the suspect?
500
These are the five types of physical evidence.
What are (1) transient, (2) pattern, (3) conditional, (4) transfer, and (5) trace evidence?
500
This type of crime scene shows evidence of pre-meditation and planning and makes it more difficult to identify and apprehend a suspect.
What is an organized crime scene?
500
This term refers to when individuals, bent on self-destruction, engage in life-threatening and criminal behavior in order to force the police to kill them.
What is suicide-by-cop, or "copicide"?
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