Gathering And Preserving Forensic Evidence Report Assignment
A1- At the Crime Scene – Roles of Authorised Personnel
SSU and Structure
In a crime scene, science is greatly relied upon, especially in terms of evidence analysis. The Scientific
Support Unit (SSU) are a team of specialists involved in the scientific department in a crime scene.
The SSU has a hierarchy structure. The CSI’s are found at the bottom of this hierarchy, they will pass
any reliable information up the hierarchy to those they report to, for CSI’s this will be the CSM’s,
they will then report to the CS Co-ordinator who reports information and any links discovered to the
Scientific Support Manager. At the top of the hierarchy is the Senior Investigating Officer, who
manages the SSU. Due to this, the SSU starts at the crime scene itself and continuity leads to courts
of law. Some of the SSU, such as Forensic Scientists/analysts will use evidence from the CS, they will
conduct their own analysis on it, and record their findings. The entire analysis and results will go
down as a Lab examination report, which may be used in courts of law. Expert witnesses are
specialist forensic scientists appointed by the court to assist in certain cases, they will present this
evidence in court. This is because expert witnesses are more experienced and greatly knowledgeable
on certain fields and topics. They are crucial in assisting with cases because they are recognised and
acknowledged by the courts. Therefore, their unbiased opinions are accepted. The SSU are
considered part of authorised and CS personnel. This is when certain individuals and teams have
authorised access to enter certain areas such as crime scenes, in which other unnecessary people
cannot. As a result, they are allowed to be on the CS, searching for evidence, and this even includes
collecting certain evidence they think may be vital for and assisting the investigation – performing
the more legal role. As the SSU are highly trained and knowledgeable, they recognise how to
correctly collect and preserve evidence. Authorised personnel are important as it prevents the public
or any other unnecessary personnel from interfering with the crime scene. This could lead to
contamination or damage of evidence, especially when large numbers of the public enter and leave.
They will leave behind some sort of evidence or transfer which ends up mixing with the original
evidence from the crime committed.
FAO and Roles
When a crime has been committed, only certain personnel with authorisation to do so, will be
permitted to enter the crime scene to carry out their roles. The First Attending Officer (FAO) is the
first officer to be present at a crime scene. The FAO has many responsibilities, this includes giving
first aid to victims found with life-threatening injuries as they have a duty to preserve life. This is
always prioritised before any further action. The FAO is vital as they may need to call for other
personnel with the correct training to save lives and give treatment immediately such as paramedics
(ambulance services). In the meantime, they attempt to preserve life or tend to victims rapidly whilst
waiting for the correct personnel to arrive on scene. Evidence at a crime scene must be preserved to
prevent contamination. Therefore, this officer is vital as they have the role of securing the area by
setting up cordons – ensuring no access of the scene to the public.
, CSI/SOCO and Roles
Crime scene investigators (CSI) are the team called to investigate and search a crime. Their
responsibility is to carefully collect, bag, and preserve as much evidence as they can, this includes
DNA such as hair strands, bodily fluids, and fingerprints, which may be used to determine what
happened at the crime scene and who the individuals involved are. It is in their responsibility to limit
any sort of damage or alterations upon this collection. As a result, Personal Protective Equipment is
enforced, so the CSI’s DNA is not mixed with the CS. CSI’s utilise cameras to take many photographs
of evidence, such as clear fingerprints, footprint marks/imprints, and other tangible items which can
be used as proof in court. CSI’s are vital because this collection of evidence is a one-time scenario,
therefore, the evidence should be taken as much as possible to limit insufficient evidence or gaps in
a CS.
CSM and Roles
A crime scene manager’s (CSM) role is to lead a team of CSI’s by working closely with them. It is in
their responsibility to ensure all evidence collected by the investigators, is carried out in a legal,
ethical, and safe manner. A CSM is vital as they have to supervise, observe their actions, give
instructions and commands, and communicate with CSI’s to judge whether they are in the correct
mindset and state to be appropriate for collecting evidence. This is necessary because without doing
so, it may lead to insufficient evidence being collected, evidence not being preserved appropriately
or being damaged in the process and therefore negatively affecting the CS as a whole; increasing the
difficulty to the reason for the crime being committed and the individuals involved.
Police and Roles
Police are an emergency service; Police officers are officers of the law and have a duty to protect
members of the public from harm and attempt to reduce risks where possible. As a result, they also
have a duty to preserve life where necessary. Police officers are vital at a crime scene as they take
statements and interviews from witnesses and individuals who were involved in the crime. This
enables the police officer to piece together the information obtained to create correlations between
the crime to the criminal suspects. Questioning individuals help determine what happened and
where the crime took place, the reasoning behind it, the time, and who the individuals involved,
such as the perpetrator, looked like or names (if known and applicable). Another reason why Police
officers are vital in a crime scene is due to the power they have. This power enables them to make
any arrests of individuals, only if certain evidence is retrieved that links them to being involved in the
crime or to protect others from harm the individual may cause – reducing the escalation of a crime.
This arrest procedure is mainly carried out by the police as they act for the law.
Paramedics and Roles
Paramedics work as part of the ambulance emergency services. Their main consideration and role
are based on health and safety. Paramedics have a duty to preserve life, when called to a crime
scene they immediately get started to see the problem such as injuries by tending to the
individual/s, they will carry out first aid to life-threatening injuries in an attempt to keep them alive.
The paramedics will utilise technical equipment to check for anything fatal and assess the overall
health of the patient or to resuscitate an individual. In addition, drugs such as morphine may be used
to ensure stability of the patient. If needed, paramedics can transport individuals in the ambulance
to hospitals for further treatment. Paramedics are important as they are trained to make these
pressurising decisions and it is their responsibility to make the correct one in order to save one’s life.
Without their rapid response in a crime scene, the death rate of victims would increase significantly.
