Evidence Found: An Approach to Crime Scene Investigation

By David Miranda

Evidence Found: An Approach to Crime Scene Investigation is not another analysis of forensic errors using an "After the Fact" or "Lessons Learned" approach but a "Before the Fact" guide that examines the thought processes that can lead to those mistakes. Plus a few extras tips and tricks from the author’s experience of over 25 years.

Many high-profile crime scene investigations (and routine ones, for that matter) have suffered errors that have had negative impact on the investigation result and in the courtroom. Typically, we examine what happened and develop a useful list of what to do and what not to do, fixing the symptoms but potentially leaving ourselves open to the same error type on the next scene. The reason? Many crime scene mistakes are the result of systemic issues that are repeated due to a failure to include an evaluation of the decision-making process, including our own foundations of knowledge. Through case study and logical argument, this book attempts to provide a framework to recognize, evaluate, and alter negative decision-making patterns, including evaluating our own experience, before they negatively impact an investigation or the overall operation of a forensic unit.

• Enhances the base concepts of evidence search and sequential processing for error avoidance
• Examines the systemic areas/practices of a crime scene investigation where errors can occur
• Includes a Evidence Matrix - a crime scene evaluation tool that aids in sequential processing decisions
• Contains tips on overcoming common crime scene issues, inlcuding night time searches
• Provides courtroom Testimony - communicating comparison findings to a jury

• Language: English
• Publisher: Academic Press
• Release date: Jan 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9780128020944

David Miranda

I worked for the Pasadena (CA) Police Department for 24 years and was a founding member of the forensic unit when it became civilianized. During my tenure, I attained a high level of expertise in several areas including crime scene investigation, evidence processing, fingerprint comparisons, crime scene reconstruction, and courtroom testimony. Prior to retirement, I became the primary trainer of all new hires for crime scene processing, lab processing of evidence, and training to competency in print comparisons. I also worked several years as a part-time in instructor at a local forensic school, with several students going on to employment and current service in the field in various agencies throughout Southern California and one in Michigan. My career included work in several high profile cases such as the 1993 Halloween Homicide and the assisting in the Glendale Train Wreck of 2005. During my tenure, I began work on the Instructor Development Course from the California Peace Officer Standard and Training (California POST) and recently completed the Level 3 Certification. I will be applying for the Master Instructor course in 2015. After retirement from Pasadena, I worked for BAE Systems in the JEFF Program (Joint Expeditionary Forensics Facilities) and deployed to Afghanistan as a contractor for a total of 21 months. This was in support of the Coalition mission. I worked in different labs as an evidence processor as well as a fingerprint expert. I also was privileged to be an instructor of Afghan nationals from the Ministry of Interior of the government of Afghanistan. My field of instruction included developing their expertise in fingerprint comparisons as well as giving them tools to be trainers of future examiners. This relationship also led to the sponsorship of the first members from Afghanistan to the International Association for Identification, 2011-2012. During my employ, I passed the required elements and became a Certified Latent Print Examiner (CLPE). Prior to my career in forensics I attained a Master’s degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary, one of the top seminaries in the world and worked as a ministry professional, obtaining an ordination from the American Baptist Church in 1983. I hold a 1st degree Black Belt in Hapkido. Finally, my first job was as a park construction worker in my hometown of Fort Collins, Colorado. A park I constructed, 95% solo, can be seen on Goggle Maps as Blevins Park, Ft Collins, Colorado.

Book preview

Evidence Found

An Approach to Crime Scene Investigation

David M. Miranda

Table of Contents

Cover image

Title page

Copyright

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

List of Figures

Chapter 1. The Evidence Search—Where It All Begins

Fifteen Minutes of Planning Can Save Hours of Problems

Intention Is a Conscious Choice Not a Default Setting

Case Study 1: Cartridges? What Cartridges?

Chapter 2. Evidence Search Techniques—Tips and Tricks

Situation 1—Knowing Where Evidence Is Not

Situation 2—Field Testing of Theories

Situation 3—Grass, Shell Casings, and Night

Situation 4—Suspects Wearing Gloves (Latent Prints)

Situation 5—Suspects Wearing Gloves (DNA)

Situation 6—Magnetic Powder Usage: Metal

Situation 7—Nighttime Evidence Search

Situation 8—Nighttime Evidence Search

Situation 9—Evidence Search Indoors

Chapter 3. Sequential Processing: Determining Evidence Value

Definitions

Crime Scene Layout Analysis

Chapter 4. Sequential Processing: Evaluating Evidence and Process

Definitions

Application of the Concepts to the Decision-making Process

Case Study 1 Analysis

Chapter 5. Sequential Processing: Crime Scene Briefing

Case Study 1: The Video

Case Study 2: Step by Step

Chapter 6. Evidence Processing: The Decision-Making Process

Case Study 1: A Request for DNA

Chapter 7. The Schema of Criminal Investigations: Knowing and Not Knowing

Case Study 1: Understanding Our Own Scope of Knowledge

Case Study 1: Researching the Tool

Case Study 1: Researching the Money

Case Study 2: Redefining What Makes an Expert

Chapter 8. The CSI Effect: A New Approach

Analysis and History of the Phenomenon

Responding to the Phenomenon

Responding: Let the Air Out of the Balloon but Don’t Pop It

Responding: Questions: A Distracting Opportunity

Responding: Forensic Translation

Case Study 1: The Recalcitrant Assistant

Chapter 9. Emergencies: Plan, Respond, Create

Case Study 1: The Need Is Urgent and the Time Is Now

Chapter 10. Courtroom Techniques—Old and New

Are Yes and No Sufficient for Today?

Planning for the First Impression

Who Are You Talking to?

Use the Right Words at the Right Time

Print Comparison Testimony: An Alternative Approach

100% Certainty in Conclusions

Discomfort and Boredom: Do Not Show Them

Public Speaking: Your Secret Terror?

The Other Side

The Prosecution

Testifying to Mistakes

Clerical Errors

Procedural Errors

Substantive Errors

Clerical Error Testimony

Procedural Error Testimony

When Testimony Tries to Deflect the Error

Substantive Error Testimony

Explaining Justified but Misunderstood Decisions

Testifying to Evidence Contamination

Hypotheticals: What Really Is Possible?

Chapter 11. Ongoing Challenges

Reflections on the First Public Meeting of the National Commission on Forensic Science

Applied Science versus Pure Science

Chapter 12. Miscellany

Do’s and Don’ts for First Responders

Additional Tips and Tricks

Chapter 13. Final Thoughts

A Note of Encouragement

Index

Copyright

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Notices

Knowledge and best practice in this field are constantly changing. As new research and experience broaden our understanding, changes in research methods, professional practices, or medical treatment may become necessary.

Practitioners and researchers must always rely on their own experience and knowledge in evaluating and using any information, methods, compounds, or experiments described herein. In using such information or methods they should be mindful of their own safety and the safety of others, including parties for whom they have a professional responsibility.

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Foreword

The field of forensics has never been black and white. The answer to many questions regarding the analysis of evidence can be summed up by the phrase it depends on the case circumstances. Investigation at crime scenes in particular is an ever-evolving matrix of circumstances, and no two scenes will ever be treated exactly alike. Confounding the issue of the situational uncertainty is the fact that crime scene investigation can be conducted by multiple individuals and agencies. Like cogs in a wheel, each person has a different responsibility that fits together with the work everyone else is doing. From sworn First Responders to Forensic Specialists, Criminalists, and other nonsworn professional staff, everyone has their part to play.

For crime scene investigators (CSI), the collection, documentation, and preservation of evidence is the most crucial and significant aspect of their job. It is important for an investigator to think outside the box to successfully perform his or her duty, and that function does not stop at evidence collection; it extends to report writing and potentially testifying in court. A CSI generally only sees the aftermath of a crime, and it is the responsibility of that investigator to help put the pieces of what happened back together. Like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, these pieces will ultimately provide the jury with the big picture they need to make a decision in the case.

In keeping with the demands of the profession, the author of this publication has always been a man who could think outside the box and successfully convey his ideas to others. I first met David Miranda, the author, in a Forensic Science Academy that I attended after college. With his nearly 20 years experience in the field, he had no trouble morphing our group of 40 naive students into a reasonably functioning crime scene investigation team. Firm but not domineering, he instilled within us the importance of efficiency and teamwork. He had years of experience to call upon to impart relevant tips on how to be successful at locating the most probative evidence possible.

Many years have passed since I first met David, and I have followed his footsteps to become an instructor myself. Throughout the years of working with both First Responders and nonsworn professional staff, I consistently find that the most common questions I get involve requests for tips and tricks that I might have on how to better process items of evidence. This publication addresses that specific issue, which differentiates it from the large majority of textbooks available on the market today.

In his desire to reach a broader audience, Dave takes his vast experience working as a CSI in a city police agency, and as an overseas forensic consultant, to present the skills he has acquired. The aim of his text is not to give you a general overview of the job of a CSI, it is to help sharpen your skills as an investigator and present you a different way of approaching a crime scene. He congregates knowledge of specific techniques and successful methods of processing a wide variety of scenes that can only be gained by years of experience in the field.

This textbook covers a plethora of topics, but not in a traditionally covered manner. It expands upon topics not usually covered in crime scene investigation books, such as interagency cooperation and maximizing efficiency in a scene teeming with sworn and professional staff alike. The subject of how to locate and identify evidence is expanded upon with case examples and novel techniques. The dreaded topic of courtroom testimony is also covered, but instead of addressing the conventional basics of how to dress and act in court, the author goes further and tackles how to answer difficult questions and addresses the current challenges to the field of forensic science.

A crime scene tells a story of an interaction between suspect and victim, and it is the duty of forensic professionals to recreate that interaction based on the evidence that is found and collected. It is no small responsibility that the individual collecting and documenting evidence at the scene of a crime holds the potential to unlock justice for the victim and alter the fate of any potential suspect. This publication provides diagrams and case examples to exemplify ways to approach the scene in a logical and competent manner. For those of you who are interested in being more efficient and successful at crime scenes, this text is for you.

Allison Flattum, MS,     Forensic Scientist

Preface

If you are a forensic practitioner who must respond to crime scenes, day in, day out, and all night long, then this work is for you. If you are someone with authority over the forensic portion of a criminal investigation or the forensic personnel involved, I believe you will find this volume helpful as an evaluative tool to anticipate issues before they negatively impact an investigation. And if you are someone who simply has long had a fascination with the world of forensics, either as a student or someone with a high interest, I believe you will find this informative and perhaps even a proverbial peek behind the curtain to the workings of a forensic investigation.

Forensics was not my original career choice but it was the one I spent the most time in 24 years. I was a founding member of my department’s Forensic Unit when the switch was made from a rotational assignment for sworn personnel to a permanent career position for civilians. At that time, there were not that many career Forensic personnel and most of those were in larger agencies. But medium- and smaller sized police departments, nationwide, were realizing what many larger organizations had already proven: that forensics was becoming a field that was continually developing to the point that a department needed individuals who were solely dedicated to becoming experts in that field and who would be in position to be aware of and incorporate those developments as they happened. During my tenure, I was privileged to witness changes, additions, and developments as the field expanded in scope and impact, such as the introduction of DNA into criminal proceedings, the (now) common use of Ninhydrin over magnetic powder on paper (which does work, by the way, but not nearly as well as the chemical process) and, of course, the challenges currently faced in the field of fingerprint comparisons. I found myself involved in several high-profile investigations such as the 1993 Halloween Homicide in Pasadena, CA, the 2005 Glendale Train Wreck (assisting, by request, the Glendale PD Forensic Unit who were magnificent in the face of competing agencies agendas, but that is another story), a beheading, the usual assortment of mundane and profane scenes that any of us experience after enough years in the business and, of course, the endless hours in court whether sitting in the hall or actually testifying.

Mixed in between all of those events were the usual training classes, workshops, and conventions one attends to keep up with the advances in the field, learn new skills, and network. It was often at those events, in the company of fellow practitioners from other agencies, that I learned some of my best lessons as we traded on our experiences (and of course, the stories behind them). After 24 years with my department, I spent 21 months in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom as a contractor employing my forensic skills in a deployed environment. Due to that experience, I had the privilege of hearing of the experiences of practitioners from across our nation who were also there in support, as well as the privilege of supporting my country’s war effort. My experience in such an environment proved, once and for all, that forensic practitioners are some of the best problem solvers in the world, needing to accomplish forensic tasks, often without all of the supplies traditionally on hand, within a timeline, and in an environment that was not, shall we say, user friendly. This leads us to this book. Over the years, many of our processes have not changed, such as the continued use of black powder on so many nonporous surfaces. Others have changed and continue to do so, such as the introduction of HFE as a carrier for Ninhydrin or the continued development of national standards for the various aspects of our profession. What also did not change over the years was the need to go the random event known as a crime scene and apply our developing protocols and procedures to a dynamic environment, which continue to change. Everyone has experienced the constant of problem solving while applying the latest knowledge to a crime scene event, large or small. And, occasionally, mistakes were made which we all hate. Any and every responsible member of the law enforcement community does, whether the mistakes are high profile or not. We work to prevent them, developing checklists and after-action reports. But one of the things I rarely saw was an examination into the thought process that goes on in an investigation, especially one that resulted in one or more errors. I am not writing of an examination into motivations with implications of corruption or even laziness but about the concept of how do we know what we know? as we apply our training, protocols, and experience in a given investigation. In philosophy, this is known as epistemology, study of the theory of knowledge. A concept rarely associated with crime scene investigation but impacts it, all the same.

Like most social groups, those involved in the field of criminal investigation tend to develop patterns, practices, and habits that are employed repeatedly, mainly because they repeatedly work. And the vast majority of the time, experience confirms that these patterns and practices were appropriately developed and ought to be repeated in each investigation. But when something does not work I saw that, also like most social groups, our foundation of knowledge is the last place that is searched for issues.

There tends to be a focus on the negative results and the specific events that led to them. But there was rarely a look at the foundations of knowledge or experience to see if, perhaps, the