Crime Scene Investigation Procedures – Term Paper

A state attorney is one of the crucial people that should be present at any crime scene in their jurisdiction. It is especially important if state regulations require that a state attorney be present at the crime scene. On arrival, the attorney is required to ensure that the crime scene is secure, and each party present in a crime scene is concerned with it (Shiro). Since it’s the role of the attorney to prosecute the suspects in a court of law, he should participate in the collection of evidential material to be used in the prosecution process. In a homicide scene, the state attorney will collect and document any weapon, fabric or cord present at the scene (National Forensic Science Technology Center, 2013). He should also collect and document circumstantial evidence presented by close accomplices of the victim and/or the suspect present at the scene. If there are witnesses present in the crime scene, the prosecutor should engage them for further collaboration in the pursuit of the suspect. Supervising the process of evidence collection is paramount, since only adequate and objective evidential material will lead to successful prosecution of the suspect involved. Later, the attorney is supposed to contact the concerned expert witnesses like a forensic pathologist to facilitate analysis of samples and preparation of forensic report. At the crime scene, the prosecutor should remember to investigate whether the suspect was killed at the spot or was dragged to the scene after being killed elsewhere. He should also consider the chances that the crime scene could have been interfered with before the arrival of crime scene investigators. Therefore, he should look for hidden clues that might help in the investigation.  

References

National Forensic Science Technology Center (NFSTC), & United States of America. (2013). Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for Law Enforcement.

Shiro, G (n. d). “Protecting the Crime Scene”. Retrieved from http://www.crime-scene-investigator.net/evidenc1.html