Evidence refers to anything that can be used to find out whether a crime has been perpetrated. Evidence may tie a perpetrator to a scene, support or deny an alibi or statement, identify the offender or victim, exonerate an innocent individual, induce a confession, or warrant further investigation.
All evidence is not the same. Depending on its characteristics and reliability, evidence can be subdivided into numerous categories. For instance, a person's account of a crime falls into a different category than a piece of hair or fiber left behind at the scene.
Evidence can be categorized as follows:
Direct-Direct evidence establishes a fact. Circumstantial-Circumstantial evidence requires that a judge or jury make an indirect judgment about what occurred. Physical-Physical evidence refers to any nonliving, inanimate objects such as fingerprints, tool marks, or paint smudges. Biological-Biological evidence involves organic, living items such as blood, urine, or saliva. Reconstructive-Reconstructive evidence is evidence that allows criminal investigators to gain better knowledge of what transpired at the crime scene. For instance, a broken lock can indicate a break-in. Associative-Associative evidence links a suspect to the crime scene. This can include fingerprints, hair, or fibers. Class characteristics-Characteristics of evidence that is unique to a large group of objects. Individual characteristics-Characteristics of evidence that is unique to one person or a small group of individuals.
Once evidence is categorized, the next step in forensics is to analyze the evidence. The reason they analyze the evidence is make identifications and comparisons. Identification involves what specifically a certain item or substance is. Is the white powder heroin or cocaine? Is the brown stain spaghetti sauce or blood? A comparison is made to ascertain whether a known and a suspect item or substance have something in common. For instance, did the hair or blood come from the offender? Do the shards of plastic embedded in the victim's clothing match the plastic turn signal housing of the suspect's car? A forensic scientist can conclude if the two substances are a positive or a negative match.
Once crime scene investigators analyze a piece of evidence, they will derive a linkage, or tie between a perpetrator and a person, place, or object. For instance, the offender's fingerprint or saliva at the scene of a burglary or rape strongly ties the offender to the scene of the crime.
Crime Scene Forensics - Categorizing the Evidence Found at a Crime Scene
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