Introduction
In a populated area or a sufficiently urbanized suburb or rural area, the location of an incident or individual objects and traces is tied to stationary objects, such as buildings or structures, streets and road crossings, and utility lines. If the scene is located in a forest or the steppe, it will be very difficult to fix the place without the knowledge of special anchoring methods. As it is known, clear fixation of the scene is necessary for additional and repeated inspections, verification of testimonies on the spot, and organization of the investigative experiment.
Discussion
The practice of investigation of crimes shows that the specified investigative actions can be carried out after a long period (up to several months, and even years) when the place of interest will be visited by people who are not part of the investigative team conducting the initial inspection. In other words, there may be situations where the investigative team will use criminal case materials and, above all, the protocol of the initial inspection of the scene to re-enter the scene (Fisher & Fisher, 2022). If the place was not recorded using geodetic referencing methods, there is a great risk of long and sometimes unsuccessful searches.
The elements of field forensics include:
- Techniques and methods of detecting, fixing, and recovering traces of crime in open terrain.
- Technical methods of making measurements on rugged terrain and in long-range conditions.
- Methods of referencing objects and traces on the ground (Kellerman & Kellerman, 2017).
Techniques and methods of detection, fixation, and seizure of traces in open terrain do not differ much from normal conditions. Indeed, there is no significant difference between working with footprints in the woods or the garden of a private house or a summer cottage.
All stages of work with the scene are divided into three groups: preparatory, working, and finishing. Each of the stages may include different methods of work, which have their advantages and disadvantages. The frontal round implies the tactic of examining a large area of terrain; usually, it is not a room but an open area. According to this technique, the entire territory is divided into strips, each of which has a starting point and an endpoint (Adler et al., 2018). In most cases, the strips run parallel, so all the beginning and end are the same; they are opposite each other. The width should be chosen so that each part of the area can be well-viewed by a person (Fisher & Fisher, 2022). For convenience, with the help of stakes and rope (tape), these strips are marked materially so as not to make a mistake (Adler et al., 2018). This approach is one of the main methods of scene examination, which is often used when the area of such a scene is large.
The eccentric method is appropriate to use when the boundaries of the area where there are traces of the crime are difficult to determine. In this case, the investigator stands in the approximate center of the area, which is determined by eye. Such a center could be safe if that was broken into by a criminal, a corpse, a table, a closet, or something else which is important for the case (Kellerman & Kellerman, 2017). The movements of the investigator proceed in a spiral, from the center to the periphery. The scale is determined by the officer himself, depending on the details of the incident. Like the previous method, this one is used in most cases in the open area (Fisher & Fisher, 2022). Each of the methods of scene examination is unique in its way and is convenient in a particular case. The eccentric and frontal methods are preferred when examining an open area that is not bounded by clear boundaries.
The concentric method is the opposite of the eccentric method; in this case, the investigator moves in an imaginary spiral from the periphery to the center. It is used in the examination of a room, regardless of its size and architecture. An object or place of relevance to the investigation of the case is also taken as the center here. It can be a corpse, a place of fire, or some point in a room or a house. Besides, this method is applicable for investigating cases involving bomb searching. In such a situation, the boundaries are delineated precisely, so the movement from the edge to the center will not be difficult. Then, when there is no center point, the approximate center point in the room from a geometric point of view is used. In this case, it is more convenient to inspect the entrance door, moving gradually to the center (Fisher & Fisher, 2022). The peculiarity of the concentric method of inspection of the scene is in the study of a closed area, in which the previous two methods cannot be applied.
Conclusion
Thus, the inspection is the first and urgent action that the investigator performs even before the initiation of a criminal case. The results will help to form a general idea of what has been done, whether there is a crime, what the traces are, what to do next, and what are the tactics of the task force. We have analyzed the main stages, types, and methods of scene examination, which create a general impression of the essence of the investigative action. The correctness and completeness of the results depend on the further investigation of the case.
References
Adler, F., Mueller, G. O. W., & Laufer, W. S. (2018). Criminology. Mcgraw-Hill.
Fisher, B. A. J., & Fisher, D. R. (2022). Techniques of crime scene investigation (9th ed.). Crc Press, Taylor & Francis Group.
Kellerman, J., & Kellerman, J. (2017). Crime Scene. Ballantine Books.