When investigating a crime scene, there are numerous Procedures which are to be adhered to in order to the investigation to be successful in gaining the appropriate evidence to gain a conviction.
The first thing a Scene of Crime Officer will do when entering a crime scene is talk to the First Attending Officer,
The First attending officer is the first police officer at the crime scene, whether they were witness to the crime or if they were the first to respond to a call. The FAO will know the most about the crime scene than anyone else, as they are the only one who has seen the crime scene in detail. They may have important information which could aid the collection of evidence, for example whether someone was killed, or if someone was reportedly dealing drugs - this information would make it easier for the SOCO team to know what is evidence and what is not.
OJ Simpson Trial
Robert Risk, the first attending officer to the OJ Simpson Case was a terrible example of how a First Attending Officer should behave, though careful to avoid stepping in blood, he used the house phone to call the police station - therefore making it difficult to firstly gain fingerprints from the phone handle, and secondly to redial the most recent number, to see if they had phoned anyone.
Securing the Crime Scene
The crime scene must then be secured in order to make sure that no-one without permission can gain access to the scene, and therefore potentially contaminate the scene. This is done by establishing the edges of the crime scene, and then cordon them off using crime scene tape. This is so that any any evidence within the crime scene can be kept safe and not contaminated.
OJ Simpson Trial
During the OJ Simpson Case, the scene was poorly secured, as many of the press were able to see into the crime scene, and take photographs of the scene, causing the police to act in a rash manner to hide the body- therefore contaminating evidence.
However, one could argue that no one managed to gain access to the crime scene, therefore meaning that the scene was at least secure from access.
Crime Scene Entry Log
The Crime Scene Entry Log is in place in order to make sure that everyone who who has entered the crime scene is accounted for, and that there is no-one within the crime scene who shouldn't be. This is so that no-one can enter the crime scene and contaminate the evidence or steal the evidence from the scene. This is carried out by making sure that everyone who enters the scene must sign their name on the entry log to say that they have entered the scene, and then once again to state that they are leaving the scene, that way no one can enter or exit the scene without the police or the SOCO team knowing.
OJ Simpson Trial
Concerning the OJ Simpson Case, there is no evidence of an Entry Log ever being used to determine who was entering the crime scene. Before the Detectives had arrived at the Crime Scene, there were a number of officers who had entered the scene who's names were never recorded, meaning that any of those officers could have contaminated evidence and we would never know it was them.
There was already a racial suspicion throughout the case regarding the Police, and the fact that there was no Crime Scene Entry log simply added fuel to the fire.
Personal Protection Equipment
When at a crime scene it is crucial that all of the essential and appropriate PPE is worn at all times by everyone within the crime scene boundary, both to protect the person from the crime, and also to protect the crime scene from the person. Personal Protection is often a material which allows the body to 'breath' and yet offers protection from anything at the scene. Items witch contribute to full PPE are: Gloves, Goggles and Body Suit which covers the head torso and legs, shoe protectors and finally a mask. There are however lesser severe forms of PPE which simply involve mouth and hand protection depending on the crime scene.
OJ Simpson
Involving the OJ Simpson Case, the correct PPE was not worn by either SOCO Team or the Police investigating the scene., as shown by the numerous footprints left by investigators Mark Firman and Robert Risk at the crime scene ; as had they been wearing shoe protectors, they would have been able to protect the crime scene from themselves.Had they warn the shoe protectors there may have been footwear marks which could have been used as evidence, however due to the contamination as result of Firman and Riske, no evidence could be used. Also, Robert Risk entered the crime scene in order to make a phone call using the phone belonging to Nicole Brown Simpson, at which int he neglected to wear gloves, and as a result destroyed the possibility of using fingerprints from the phone as evidence.
Common Approach Path
A Common Approach Path is set up within a crime scene in order to prevent contamination of any evidence which is on the floor from being stepped on.
The crime scene is examined by the SOCO team, and metal plates are placed in specific places were the is no evidence which can be stood on, this plates are placed around the crime scene so that the SOCO team has access to the entirety of the scene.
OJ Simpson Case
There was no evidence of a common approach path in the OJ Simpson Case, as there was evidence of the Police Officers stepping in blood at the scene and then spread that blood around the scene- meaning that the officers clearly walked through evidence and then wherever else they wanted.
Because there was no common approach path, any of the footprints at the scene could not be used as evidence as they could have been left by the police, or an assailant fleeing the scene. It also means that there could have been various forms of evidence which were carried away on the soles of officers shoes.
Initial Scene Assessment
The Initial Scene assessment is a detailed description of the crime scene in the state it is in before it has been interacted with by both police and SOCO. This description will detail things such as how many windows and doors there are, the nature of the crime, for example whether there is a body present at the scene, or if there are drugs present at the scene.
This is due to the long period of time that can pass between a crime scene being discovered and the case actually being taken to court - as investigations can take a long time. Due to this long period of time, it is best not to rely on memory, as not only can memory be corrupted over time, but the defense attorney will try to dispute any evidence provided - therefore making the evidence much more substantial if there is written record of the initial assessment of the crime scene from the day - showing that memory is not an issue.
OJ Simpson
Though Mark Firman did make some notes regarding the initial scene assessment, upon passing them onto Detective Tom Lange the notes were not considered relevant and as a result were lost. As a result of the initial scene assessment being carried out poorly, this placed doubt into the minds of all those present in the court room and many of the detectives could not easily recall basic details about the crime scene, including where the bodies were found and where the footprints were.
Plan of Premises
Very similar to the initial scene assessment, the Plan of Premises is when one of the investigators draws a sketch of the crime scene in as much detail as possible in order to display visually were everything was, again in order to display to the court room at a later date where everything was.OJ Simpson
There was no plan of pressies at the OJ Simpson crime scene, however there were photographs taken which have both there benefits and their negatives. The photographs give a clearer representation of the actual scene, however they do not capture every cm of the scene, meaning that some details will be missing. There was a point within the court room where Robert Riske was attempting to demonstrate where a bloody footwear mark was, and it was just to the side of the border of the photograph.
Had better photographs been taken, or had Plan of Premises been conducted, this could have been important evidence.
Chain of Custody
The chain of custody is the line through which evidence will travel between the crime scene, the laboratory and the court room. Once a piece of evidence has been collected, the evidence is collected an placed into an appropriate container, which is then signed by the person who collected the evidence, and numbered with the following format: First Initial, Second Initial and then a number signalling whether it was the first, second third or so on piece of evidence to be collected. The evidence is then passed onto someone whom is trusted, and the evidence is placed into a secure van, where the evidence is transported to the laboratory, for the evidence to be tested. All evidence is kept in a vault to keep it safe, and is also kept in condition which will keep the condition of the evidence, for example not to hot that any biological evidence will denature. The evidence is then potentially transported to the police station where the evidence will stay until the trial, where the evidence will be retrieved an kept safe at the court room.