Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation FBI Crime News (b)
Gathering Evidence
The French criminologist Edmond Locard, considered a pioneer in modern forensic science, asserted that every contact leaves a trace. Meaning any presence on a scene will leave evidence behind—fingerprints, blood, saliva, hairs and fibers, footprints, or tire treads. The job of a crime scene team is to find or uncover those points of contact.
Some evidence will clearly come to the fore—it will be visible to the naked eye or easily uncovered in a careful search. Other evidence will need to be coaxed into view. Evidence teams carry special light sources, chemicals, and tools to help illuminate, reveal, and gather what is invisible—faint dust trails from a person’s shoes, fingerprints on a soda can, or hidden stains.
This part of the job requires creativity, imagination, and extreme attention to detail. Does one wall look freshly painted when the others are worn? Could there be a reason the clutter is cleared off one area of the floor. Using the right tools, the evidence team may find the layer of fresh paint is covering up some writing and the oddly clear section of floor was wiped clean, but trace blood evidence remains.
The ERT Toolbox
Peer into the Evidence Response Team toolbox to see how everyday items and specialized equipment help the team process a scene.