The scene of the crime

Abstract

Only people commit crimes, but they do so through the means of things and these things and people together create the very vast field of physical evidence. Hence any crime must concern itself both with people and with things. However careful a criminal may be to avoid being seen or heard, he will undoubtedly leave a trail behind him because wherever he steps, whatever he touches, whatever he leaves will serve as evidence against him. This article takes a look at the procedure of investigating a crime scene, mainly, steps to take to ensure that the evidence is not messed with and safely collected, what types of evidence can be found at a crime scene and what investigators look out for, and how different types of evidence give clues about the crime and the criminal.