Evidence Rules & Concepts
The location where a crime occurred.
What is a Crime Scene?
Less reliable than physical evidence.
What is testimonial evidence?
Factors are used to determine if the evidence is admissible before being presented to a jury.
What are:
The officer must obtain the evidence legally and preserve it properly.
The evidence must be relevant to the case.
The evidence cannot be unfairly prejudicial, confusing or based on hearsay.
This can occur after a warning has been given when interlopers break a marked crime scene area.
What is the legal authority to arrest?
The first event to take place when documenting a crime scene.
What is photographing the crime scene?
Proves or disproved the existence of a fact.
What is the evidence?
Proves or disproves facts within a case.
What is physical or real evidence?
Protected communications.
What is privileged communication?
This should be done prior to entering any crime scene for legal purposes.
What is determine if the scene is public or private?
The types of photographs used to depict general to specific photographs. These photographs begin at the perimeter and contain an all-inclusive or four-corner view.
What are overall, midrange, and close-up photographs?
Two broad types of evidence.
What are direct and indirect (circumstantial)?
Objects obtained by the defendant committing a crime.
What are the fruits of a crime?
Determines if a criminal act has been committed.
What is the Preliminary investigation?
Supercedes a property owner's expectation of privacy.
What is a search warrant?
Define details of a specific item and require a scale.
What are close-up photographs?
Eyewitness testimony is an example of this type of evidence.
What is indirect or circumstantial evidence?
Items used by a defendant to commit a crime.
What are Instrumentalities?
Securing, protecting, and preserving a crime scene.
What is an officer's first priority?
Keeps track of who, what, where, when, how, and why at any crime scene, as well as, provides proof of crime scene security and validates evidence collected at a scene.
What is the crime scene log?
Only projects 9-12 feet.
What is a standard camera flash?
Proves a fact without inference or presumption, is true in itself, and conclusively established a fact.
What is direct evidence?
Written or printed that can prove or disproved facts in a case.
What is documentary evidence?
The first concern when responding to any crime scene.
What is officer safety?
Determines the amount of resources needed for processing the scene.
What is the crime scene search?
Overlapping photography to show the relationships of items contained in a crime scene.
What is photographic framing?