D CRIME SCENE EQUIPMENT

This list accompanies NIJ’s Crime Scene Investigation: Guides for Law Enforcement.

First responding officers : Crime scene personnel
Optional items:
Blood collection kit.
Bloodstain pattern documentation kit.
Excavation kit.
Fingerprint kit.
Impression kit.
Pattern print lifter kit.
Trace evidence collection kit.
Trajectory kit.
Essential items for first responding officers. Initial responding officer(s) must have the following items readily available. Officers may want to consider keeping them in police vehicles:

Bindle paper.
Biohazard bags.
Consent/search forms.
Crime scene barricade tape.
First-aid kit.
Flares.
Flashlight and extra batteries.
Markers (e.g, business cards, chalk, spray paint or some other marker to place by noted evidence items).
Notebook.
Paper bags.
Personal protective equipment (e.g., gloves, booties, hair covering, overalls and mask).
Essential items for crime scene personnel. Responding crime scene officer(s) must have the following items readily available. Officers should keep them in police vehicles or readily available toolkits.

Bindle paper.
Biohazard bags.
Bodily fluid collection kit (sterile swabs, distilled water, — optional presumptive tests, and sterile packaging that allows the swabs to air dry).
Camera (plus memory cards, back up battery, remote flash, tripod and remote cord).
Evidence seals/tape.
Flashlight(s) with extra batteries.
Footwear casting materials.
Graph paper and pencils, small ruler or straight edge.
Latent print kit.
Measuring devices (e.g, measuring wheel, tape measures of varying lengths).
Multifunction utility tool.
Notebook.
Paper bags (various sizes).
Permanent markers.
Personal protective equipment (e.g., gloves, booties, hair covering, overalls and mask).
Placards.
Plastic resealable bags (various sizes)
Scales for photography.
Spray paint, chalk, etc.
Syringe/knife tubes.
Tweezers(disposable).
Optional items. Officers may need to use other items, and may wish to have them readily available in their police vehicle. These items include:

Audio recorder.
Biohazard labels.
Bloodstain pattern examination kit.
Business cards.
Backup camera.
Chalk.
Cutting instruments (knives, box cutter, scalpel, scissors).
Directional marker/compass.
Disinfectant.
Distilled water.
Entomology (insect) collection kit.
Evidence collection containers (e.g., jars, paper bags, resealable plastic bags, metal paint style cans).
Evidence identifiers.
Evidence seals/tape.
Extension cords.
Fingerprint ink pad and pint cards for elimination prints.
Flags (surveyor type) for marking evidence and setting up search patterns.
Forensic light source (alternate light source, UV lamp/laser, goggles).
Generator.
Gunshot residue kit.
High-intensity lights.
Labels.
Laser trajectory kit.
Magnifying glass.
Maps.
Marker stickers such as numbers, letters, arrows, scales.
Marking paint/snow wax.
Metal detector.
Mirror.
Nail clippers and orange peeler (for collecting debris under suspect fingernails).
Phone listing (important numbers).
Pocket knife.
Presumptive blood test supplies.
Privacy screens.
Protrusion rod set.
Rakes.
Razor blades or knife (knife must have blades that can be broken off after each use).
Reflective vest.
Refrigeration or cooling unit.
Respirators with filters.
Roll of string.
Rubber bands.
Screen sifters.
Sexual assault evidence collection kit (for victim and suspect).
Shoe print lifting equipment.
Tarps to protect evidence from the weather.
Templates (scene and human).
Thermometer.
Tool kit.
Traffic cones.
Trajectory rods.
Waterless hand wash (towelette with germicide).
Examples of Evidence Collection Kits

A blood collection kit might include:

Coin envelopes.
Disposable scalpels.
Distilled water.
Ethanol.
Evidence identifiers.
Latex gloves.
Photographic ruler (ABFO scales).
Presumptive chemicals.
Sterile gauze.
Sterile swabs.
Test tubes/test tube rack.
A bloodstain pattern documentation kit might include:

ABFO scales.
Calculator.
Laser pointer.
Permanent markers.
Protractor.
String.
Tape.
An excavation kit might include:

Cones/markers.
Evidence identifiers.
Metal detectors.
Paintbrushes.
Shovels/trowels.
Sifting screens.
String.
Weights.
Wooden/metal stakes.
A fingerprint kit might include:

Black and white film.
Brushes.
Chemical enhancement supplies.
Cyanoacrylate (super glue) wand/packets.
Flashlight.
Forensic light source.
Lift cards.
Lift tape.
Measurement scales.
One-to-one camera.
Powders.
An impression kit might include:

Impression
Bowls/mixing containers.
Boxes.
Dental stone (die stone).
Evidence identifiers.
Measurement scales.
Permanent markers.
Snow print wax.
Water.
A pattern print lifter kit might include:

Casting materials (casting material, distilled water if needed for casting material, casting frames, mixing bowl if needed for casting material, polymer type casting material with various size spreader tips.)
Chemical enhancement supplies.
Electrostatic dust lifter.
Gel lifter.
Wide format lift tape.
A trace evidence collection kit might include:

Acetate sheet protectors.
Bindle paper.
Clear tape/adhesive lift.
Electrostatic dust lifter.
Flashlight (oblique lighting).
Forceps/tweezers.
Glass vials.
Slides and slide mailers.
Trace evidence vacuum with disposable collection filters.
A trajectory kit might include:

Calculator.
Canned smoke.
Dummy.
Laser.
Mirror.
Protractor.
String.
Trajectory rods.

Description

Now let’s see what all things are required during a field investigation which need to be a part of your DESK:-

First and foremost the ruggedized case which you can just grab and go. The very first thing that a good field investigation kit is required to be built around is the waterproof military standard hard case which contains everything you need and more for your crime scene investigation.
One write Blocker to rule them all – This is one of the most essential elements of your DESK. This needs to be able to handle all sorts of interfaces and work at high enough speeds to save time at the scene of the crime. At this point there are two options – one can carry a number of different write blockers with the additional cables and adapters or one can go in for an all in one write blocker that can handle most of the interfaces out there. This single composite handy unit reduces the number of things one has to carry. Depending upon the circumstances, this allows the IO to preview the data at the crime scene itself and conduct an on-site investigation in order to find potential evidence. So the all in one writeblocker is the preferred choice.
Disk Duplicator. As it is a field investigation, speed is of the essence. The need for speed is very critical in these cases. The faster you image a hard drive, the less time you’ll spend during the investigation. Therefore it is very essential to use a very high end portable disk duplicator like the Falcon Neo. It will help you create an image at the crime scene itself, saving you a lot of time and some extra effort. The Falcon Neo works at speeds exceeding 50GB/min and using that can make the difference between a few hours of productive effort or an all nighter to collect the data.
A Triage Tool is another essential for the crime scene. It helps you identify and zero in on the potential evidence that needs to be seized from the incident location.
Hard disks are inherently fragile and easily damaged. As repositories of digital evidence improper transportation can cause irreparable damage to both the data and your case. Hence it is essential to prevent in-transit damage to hard disk drives. Hence a rigid case is required at the time of the seizure so that the evidence hard drive is saved from any transportation damage caused by intentional or unintentional rough handling.
One of the key requirements when it comes to mobile forensics is that of isolating the phone from the telecom or wifi network at the time of seizure. Faraday Bags are used for this. Though these may appear to be normal bags/pouches but they are actually made of special material which doesn’t let electromagnetic waves pass through and hence isolates the gadget from any kind of external communication. This prevents external access after seizure and hence protects against possible tampering. These come in various sizes and can be used for Phones, tablets, laptops etc.
Camera. As you enter the crime scene the very first thing after securing the area is to document what you see there. This step includes clicking pictures, making notes and sketching. So there is a need for a good quality camera for you to capture those minute crime scene details, which could be critical at the time of the trial.
A whole bunch of different connectors and adapters which you may require during the field investigation.
A good tool kit with Screwdrivers of different sorts, pliers etc is one of the most essential items when it comes to seizing electronic evidence.
Last but not the least is the Tablet containing the Digital Evidence Seizure Application – This application provides the facility to fill the seizure memo (the IF4 form) in digital format. A very special feature of this application is that it uses OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology where you just need to click a picture of the evidence (such as a hard disk or a mobile phone) and it will automatically recognise and fill in the details like make, model, serial number etc in the IF4 form. This reduces a huge amount of manual work as well as helps mitigate the chance of errors which may occur while filling the seizure memo manually.
The bag and tag kit – all miscellaneous packing and labeling material for documenting and transporting the evidence while maintaining the chain of custody.

Reviews

There are no reviews yet.

Be the first to review “D CRIME SCENE EQUIPMENT”

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *