Crime Scene Photographs
Quiz
on reading.
Lecture. Hopefully,
you learned from last week that photographs go hand in hand with the
crime
scene sketch and each gives relevance to the other.
Traditionally, crime scenes have been
recorded with 35mm color or black and white film, though digital
cameras are
being used more and more frequently, so this course will ‘focus’ on
digital
cameras (pun intended!).
Although the
step of photographing the scene and evidence comes before measurement
and
sketching, a sketch should accompany the photographs, which is why this
lab
comes after sketching.
Beyond the
mechanics of taking quality photographs, there are a few basic steps to
forensic photography which you must know and use. The
memory card in a digital camera may hold
photographs from several crime scenes and you must have a way to define
where
one case ends and another begins; therefore, the first frame of a crime
scene
will always be the identification frame.
To create
the ID frame, write the date, time, location, case number, and
photographer
name on a form made for this, or a piece of notebook paper, and take a
photograph of it. In this way, anyone
looking at the memory card, or a compact disk made from it, will know
that each
frame after the ID frame belongs to this case.
This case ends where the next ID frame begins. There are rare cases in a dynamic crime scene
when it is necessary to bring shooting frames immediately.
If you have been counting your frames, and
you should, then once the scene settles down you can make your ID frame
with a
notation that “this case starts 7 frames before this frame.”
Each frame
you take must be recorded in your notebook for the eventual report of
your
activities. The frame after the ID frame
should identify the location where you are shooting.
This could be the address on the outside of
the building, the business name, a street sign showing the
intersection, or
some other identifiable landmark. From
here work your way to the subject of the case, preferably following the
route
of the offender, if that is known. Be
sure to take a series of panorama shots of the evidence location, then
get
closer and closer to each piece of evidence, including a ruler or other
measure
when appropriate, and noting each frame in your notebook.
You will
have evidence number stands next to each piece of evidence. Take a photo with and without the number
stand, to prevent an argument that the number stand was covering other
important evidence.
For
someone, like a prosecuting attorney, who is unfamiliar with the area
of your
photos, you will annotate your sketch with a mark showing where you
were
standing when you took the photo, the direction of your lens, and the
frame
number of the photo. The mark should
resemble this:
│---->
17
After you
have taken your photos, remove the memory card, place it in a properly
labeled
evidence envelope and send it to the property room.
Some
cautions.
1. If you take a silly shot, like
the camera accidentally takes a photo of your dirty tennis shoes, do
not delete
it. I know that one of your readings says that it is OK to delete
frames at the scene, but that is poor practice. Note
the frame in your report as an
“accidental.” Any deleted frames will be obvious to a trained
investigator and
you don’t want to have to explain to a jury why you deleted potential
evidence.
2. Do not
change the file names
of photographs to something cutsy, like “knife.” Just
leave them whatever the camera assigns
to them.
3. Use the
highest resolution that
the camera is capable of. If the camera
automatically uses the flash, check the photo and consider retaking the
photo
without flash. Some cameras will “burn”
the subject (overexpose and make it too light) if it is close, or
reflective.
4. Be
careful if the ambient
lighting is fluorescent. Fluorescent
light will produce a yellowing of the photo that distorts colors, which
can be
overcome by forcing the camera flash.
LAB:
Photographs. In two person teams,
photograph a mock crime scene. Teams
that were inside the last lab, will be outside for this lab, and vice
versa. Make a rough sketch and take photos. Turn in your photographs, a subsequent report
with a description of each frame you took, and your sketch. The sketch can be handwritten.
Reading
Assignment for THIS week:
Text: pp. 103-107
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© Christopher Bruno