-
March 8, 2018
Blood at Crime Scenes, Corporate News, Crime Scene Investigation, Crime Scene to Courtroom, Educational, Featured Products, General Interest, Narcotics & Drugs
There are two reasons lab technicians need to have the right equipment: to protect themselves from the chemicals they’re using or to protect evidence from being contaminated.
But all this equipment looks similar so it can be confusing as to which is what, how they’re different, and what the function is if you’re coming across it for the first time. As a follow-up to our February 2018 Lunch-n-Learn: Comparing drying cabinets, fuming chambers, & workstations, we’ve gone through each...
-
August 29, 2017
Crime Scene Investigation, Crime Scene to Courtroom, Educational, Featured Products, General Interest, Important Links, New Products
In the 1970s, Chinese and Japanese forensic scientists were frustrated by not finding all latent fingerprints or contaminating the fingerprints they found via numerous development steps. They sought to create a new technology that would let them find a print without altering or touching it in any way.
Using Shortwave Ultra-Violet Light (254 nanometer), they found that the UV light would reflect off fingerprints. Using a special imager with a quartz lens, it could convert the light to a visible...
-
July 27, 2017
Blood at Crime Scenes, Crime Scene Investigation, DNA at Crime Scenes, Educational, Featured Products, General Interest
As we covered in Part 1, discovering a clandestine grave takes a well-thought out strategy with input from local officers and cadaver dog teams and the help of local citizens or police cadets to conduct the search. Your efforts and resources will pay off when you find the grave. But once you find it, what do you do next?
Bryan Brendly, a Professor in the Biology Department and Forensic Institute at Guilford College and expert from our recent webinar, “Discovering & Documenting Clandestine...
-
June 7, 2017
Crime Scene Investigation, Educational, Featured Products, General Interest, Marketing
Finding something meant to be a secret in an expansive and difficult terrain can seem like an impossible task. You might even have some information from a suspect but details are often hazy. Their actions were usually done at night and remote locations don’t have many landmarks.
But with the right training and knowledge, thrown in with some tips, it might not seem so daunting. We talked with Bryan Brendley, a Professor in the Biology Department and Forensic Institute at Guilford College about...
-
April 20, 2017
Blood at Crime Scenes, Blood Tips, Corporate News, Crime Scene Investigation, DNA at Crime Scenes, Educational
Sirchie online training webinars can be an effective tool to reinforce your knowledge base and improve your skills. Here’s one recent story.
Tips about Investigating and Documenting Blood Evidence
When you find blood evidence at a crime scene using the three-step method, you need to properly document and photograph it. Photographing evidence, especially blood evidence, is an important skill-set for crime scene investigators and law enforcement. Photographs can tell the story better with...
-
January 24, 2017
Arson Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation, Educational, Featured Products, General Interest
Unfortunately, 2016 saw several wildfires that are now suspected arson cases, such as the recent fires in Tennessee and Northern California. Fire scenes are often some of the toughest scenes to investigate and analyze. Potential evidence has been disturbed or destroyed; the area might not be safe; and they’re naturally dark, making it difficult to spot items of interest.
However, fire scenes should be treated as crime scenes and extensively documented. Arson cases typically go to trial about...
-
June 2, 2016
Arson Investigation, Blood at Crime Scenes, Crime Scene Investigation, Crime Scene to Courtroom, DNA at Crime Scenes, Featured Products, General Interest
The likelihood of an ideal arson or crime scene to photograph are pretty slim. You’re often up against difficult conditions, while at the same time, it’s important to get clean and detailed, photos. It sounds impossible but we’re here to help. Below, we’ve covered five difficult scenes to photograph and the best practices to get that crisp image.
On a side note, you first need to understand how each setting: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, and depth of field (DOF), in your camera works....
-
April 18, 2016
Arson Investigation, Crime Scene Investigation, Educational, Featured Products, General Interest
Investigators and witnesses can describe scenes, sometimes in great detail. However, photographs can tell the story better with objectivity. They freeze time and leave a permanent record of the scene. Despite its advantages, photography remains the least understood and developed skillset for arson and crime scene investigators. Below we’ve covered four photography camera settings you should know about and highlighted why they’re important. All of the settings interact with each other and...
-
Dec 17
Online via Gotowebinar
Crime Scene Investigation, Events, Marketing
Don't miss the opportunity to enhance your knowledge with a new Sirchie training webinar" "Understanding Gun Shot Residue" Thursday December 17, 2015 1-2 PM EST
The increased media focus on gun violence and officer involved shootings creates an opportunity for law enforcement to reassure the public that investigations are conducted properly. Understanding gun shot residue is fundamental to solid investigations that involve discharge of weapons.
In this new Sirchie webinar, you will learn:
•...
-
January 15, 2015
Crime Scene Investigation, Educational
While all evidence at a crime scene is important and must be considered, pattern evidence requires careful analysis — and sometimes specialized training — in order to properly interpret it
Reprinted from Crime Scene Investigator.net
By Det. Morris (MO) Greenburg
Whenever a crime is committed, it is incumbent upon police officers and investigators to determine what happened. As a matter of standard practice, witnesses are interviewed in order to elicit their story. Well, there is one...
-
January 13, 2015
Crime Scene Investigation, Educational
by Nancy Ritter
Glock 42 .380 Cal.
Study finds less than 1.2 percent error rate in matching bullets fired from Glock semiautomatic pistol barrels to the actual firearm.
The NIJ-funded study described in “Study Identifies Ways to Improve ATF Ballistic Evidence Program” looked at the operation of the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN), not at the underlying science of firearm and tool mark examination. This forensic science — sometimes referred to by laypeople as...
-
January 7, 2015
Crime Scene Investigation, DNA at Crime Scenes
Bacterial communities living on an individual's pubic hairs could be used as a microbial 'signature' to trace their involvement in sexual assault cases, according to a study published in the open access journal Investigative Genetics.
Hairs are one of the most common types of trace evidence collected during forensic investigations, but the majority of those recovered from crime scenes lack their roots and contain insufficient amounts of human genetic material to carry out DNA profiling of...
-
December 30, 2014
Crime Scene Investigation
By Liz Zemba, http://triblive.com/
A threatening note penned on toilet paper helped unravel a robbery attempt at a Uniontown pizza shop, according to police.
Eric W. Frey, 29, of Uniontown is charged with walking into Michael Maria's Pizza on East Fayette Street shortly before 8 p.m. Saturday and handing an employee a note handwritten in black ink on a scrap of toilet paper, police said.
Toilet Paper Evidence
The note read, “I have a gun. Give me $300,” according to court documents.
Frey...
-
November 6, 2014
Crime Scene Investigation
(Crime Scene Investigator Network)
Bullet Holes in Plastic and Steel
by Sgt. Jim Davidsaver, Lincoln Police Department
Abstract
When investigating crimes involving gunshots and bullet holes, crime scene technicians must be cognizant of holes and defects in rubberized plastic-composite materials used in most new cars' bumpers, fascias and guard strips and investigate accordingly to determine if the damage was caused by a bullet. Accurate measurements of well-formed bullet holes are necessary...
-
September 30, 2014
Crime Scene Investigation
(This image shows the larva and pupa of Chrysomya megacephala.)
Adult Blow Fly
Credit: Chrysomya megacephala; CC-BY 4.0
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM)
Evidence collected from blowfly maggots could help in the investigation in murder cases.
Estimation of the post mortem interval (PMI) is one of the most crucial matters in autopsies and
entomological specimens have been widely used to determine PMI after 72 hours of death. This is done using the oldest blowfly larvae found and from the...
