1. The document discusses crime scene investigation, including the purpose and process. A crime scene can provide crucial evidence to help solve a crime.
2. A proper crime scene investigation involves several steps - securing the scene, surveying to determine boundaries, thoroughly examining the scene, documenting all evidence found, collecting physical evidence, and conducting a final search before releasing the scene.
3. Crime scene investigation must be conducted carefully and ethically to preserve evidence, establish the truth, and protect human rights and dignity throughout the legal process.
1. The document discusses crime scene investigation, including the purpose and process. A crime scene can provide crucial evidence to help solve a crime.
2. A proper crime scene investigation involves several steps - securing the scene, surveying to determine boundaries, thoroughly examining the scene, documenting all evidence found, collecting physical evidence, and conducting a final search before releasing the scene.
3. Crime scene investigation must be conducted carefully and ethically to preserve evidence, establish the truth, and protect human rights and dignity throughout the legal process.
1. The document discusses crime scene investigation, including the purpose and process. A crime scene can provide crucial evidence to help solve a crime.
2. A proper crime scene investigation involves several steps - securing the scene, surveying to determine boundaries, thoroughly examining the scene, documenting all evidence found, collecting physical evidence, and conducting a final search before releasing the scene.
3. Crime scene investigation must be conducted carefully and ethically to preserve evidence, establish the truth, and protect human rights and dignity throughout the legal process.
Dr. PUSHPINDER KAUR GAGANDEEP KAUR Dr. SHRUTI BEDI ROLL NO. 1728 Dr. AJAY RANGA L.L.M. SEM. 1, UILS,PU The infusion of technology in crime investigation has been a major breakthrough in the process of advancement of criminal justice. Police utilize scientific tools and techniques to detect a crime, reconstruct the crime scene, identify the alleged offender and establish vital links; the courts, on the other, take account of these physical evidences and determine with enhanced accuracy the innocence or guilt of the offender. Somewhere, the efficiency and effectiveness of the criminal justice functioning has been linked with the extent of use of technological tools in crime investigation. Forensic evidence provides guidance to those conducting criminal investigation and to supply to courts accurate information upon which they can rely in resolving criminal and civil disputes. The term “forensic science” refers to a group of scientific disciplines which are concerned with the application of their particular scientific area of expertise to law enforcement, criminal, civil, legal, and judicial Matters. A scene of crime (occurrence) is the place where the crime is committed or those sites which are connected with the crime or where the evidence thereof is found. For example, in a case of kidnapping, the place from where the person has been kidnapped, the vehicle in which he had been moved, raped or killed, the place where he has hidden and the place where he has been murdered are all scenes of crime. OUTDOOR INDOOR CRIME CONVEYANCE CRIME SCENE SCENE CRIME SCENE Most vulnerable to •Less susceptible •Conveyance is a loss, to loss, means of transport contamination. contamination •Physical evidence Altered, and deleterious recovered may destroyed change. extend beyond easily •Easier to secure conveyance itself Also affected and protect. •Example – Vehicle by burglary, car environmental conditions jacking etc The Investigation of the crime scene thoroughly for the search of evidence and every material that could give a potential clue about what happened and who did it, is called Crime Scene Investigation (CSI). A CSI team consists of Forensic experts and investigators who are well versed in extracting evidence and experienced in carrying out Investigation. The scene of occurrence provides a wealth of clue materials and other evidence which is useful to: Establish corpus delicti Link the criminal, the victim and the scene of occurrence inter se Evaluate the pattern of events Indicate modus operandi, sequence of events Help reconstruction of the occurrence Find the criminal(s), the victim and the evidence Find the number and nature of the weapons Know the transport used Ascertain the routes of ingress and egress To confirm or disconfirm information from other sources. The scene of occurrence is located from the following: Presence of corpus delicti Marks of struggle Account of eye-witnesses Abandoned articles, impressions and prints, bloodstains and stains from other fluids. For example, a stain of ejaculated semen, once established the site of rape. Traces carried over from the scene. For example, once, the plant fragments on the cloth of a child indicated the place of assault. LEGAL ETHICS AND HUMAN General principles DIGNITY Local laws, rules and •Local laws, rues and regulations, regulations govern course of professional conduct. activities of CSI. •To act with care and Relate to issues – how to professionalism, objectivity, open – obtain authority to enter mindedness and impartiality. the scene, to conduct •Priority given to emergency investigation, to handle medical care evidence. •Course of conduct. E.g.. They determine •Control and management of admissibility of evidence media. collected. 1. Approach Scene, secure and protect it- After reaching the crime scene the Planning, organization and coordination of the work at the scene takes place. It is based on an initial scene evaluation. This takes place before the actual forensic work at the scene. Preservation of the scene and its evidence aims at implementing appropriate protective and anti- contamination measures to keep disturbances of the scene and the physical evidence to a minimum. 2. Initiate preliminary survey and determine scene boundaries- The number of crime scenes and their boundaries are determined by their location and the type of crime. The initial responding officer(s) should: a) Establish boundaries of the scene(s), starting at the focal point and extending outward to include: Where the crime occurred. Potential points and paths of exit and entry of suspects and witnesses. Places where the victim/evidence may have been moved (be aware of trace and impression evidence while assessing the scene). b) Secure the scene. Set up physical barriers (e.g., ropes, cones, crime scene barrier tape, available vehicles, personnel, other equipment) or use existing boundaries (e.g., doors, walls, gates). 3. Examination of the scene- all the information must be gathered and noted down. perishable evidences such as shoe-prints, trace evidences should be collected at once so that they may not disappear. Examination must be started from the “trail” area viz. The entry point, exit point, areas which the suspect may have cleaned-up, etc. An outline should be drawn in mind as to the method of committing the crime. 4. Documentation of the scene- Documentation efforts at the crime scene begin the moment that an officer gets a call and continue until the case is closed. It is the most time-consuming but also the most important step. Its purpose is to record and preserve the location and relationship of discovered evidence. 5. Record and collect physical evidence- Recognition, recovery and preservation of physical evidence is the central part of the work at the scene. It aims at locating and identifying a maximum of potentially relevant evidence, and selecting appropriate recovery methods and adequate packaging to preserve the evidence integrity. 6. Conduct the final survey- Be certain that every package containing physical evidence is collected—leave nothing behind. Make a final walk-through to be certain that all potential evidence is bagged and tagged. 7. Releasing the scene of crime- While it is normal for others having an interest in the property to want to regain access, the CSI should not be rushed, coaxed or bullied into releasing the scene until the job is done. The physical evidence collected must be Transported, stored and submitted to the laboratory. Analysis of forensic evidence is used in the investigation and prosecution of civil and criminal proceedings. Often, it can help to establish the guilt or innocence of possible suspects. Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 11, states: "Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence." Articles 20(3) of the Indian Constitution provide that no person accused of any offence shall be compelled to be a witness against himself. Presumption- accused person is innocent till proved guilty. protects the accused by shielding him from the possible torture during investigation in police custody. India guarantees fundamental right against self incrimination and guards against forcible testimony of any witness. The protection is available not only in respect of evidence given in a trial before Court but also at previous stage. available only when compulsion is used and not against voluntary statement, disclosure or production of document or other material. Sec.73 of the Indian Evidence Act empowers the court to direct any person including an accused to allow his finger impressions to be taken. Section 45 and 46 of Indian evidence Act 1872 highlights that: The court when necessary will place its faith on skills of persons who have technical knowledge of the facts concerned. The court will rely the bona fide statement of proof given by the expert concluded on the basis of scientific techniques. The evidence considered irrelevant would be given relevance in eyes of law if they are consistent with the opinion of experts. There are questions as to whether forensic evidence violates Art. 20(3) of Indian Constitution or not? In the State of Bombay v. KathiKaluOghad& Others, the court held that giving thumb impression, specimen signature, blood, hair, semen etc. by the accused do not amount to ‘being a witness’ within the meaning of the said Article. Under Indian Evidence Act, 1872, forensic report is considered as “opinion” tendered by expert. The real function of the expert is to put before the court all the materials, together with reasons which induce him to come to the conclusion, so that the court, although not an expert, may form its own judgment by its own observation of those materials. The credibility of an expert witness depends on the reasons stated in support of conclusion and the tool technique and materials, which form the basis of such conclusion. the court is free to disagree with the conclusions drawn by the expert and rely on other evidences for the purpose of decision. Section 53 of the Criminal Procedure Code 1976 provides that upon arrest, an accused person may be subjected to a medical examination if there are “reasonable grounds for believing” that such examination will afford evidence as to the crime. The scope of this examination was expanded in 2005 to include “the examination of blood, blood- stains, semen, swabs in case of sexual offences, sputum and sweat, hair samples and finger nail clippings by the use of modern and scientific techniques including DNA profiling and such other tests which the registered medical practitioner thinks necessary in a particular case. However, the provision inserted through an Amendment in 2005 is limited to rape cases only. Reasons for reluctance of courts to use forensic evidence in criminal investigation- Indian Evidence Act needs to be amended to make scientific evidence admissible as ‘substantive evidence’ rather than ‘opinion evidence’ and establish its probative value, depending on the sophistication of the concerned scientific discipline. Mismanagement of physical evidence, including improper collection, preservation, non collection of clue evidence, non-maintenances of chain of custody, as well as delayed dispatch of physical evidence for scientific analysis. Constraints faced by allied subsidiaries. Modern techniques of investigation are an area still unknown to the police. In this age of science, we have to build legal foundations that are sound in science as well as in law. Practices and principles that served in the past must give way to innovative and creative methods, if we want to save our criminal justice system. Emerging new types of crimes and their level of sophistication, the traditional methods and tools have become outdated, hence the necessity to strengthen the forensic science for crime detection. There is urgent need to bring about quantum improvement in the situation, more so, when the conviction rate is consistently falling over the years in the country and the forensic evidence, can reverse the trend to some extent. We are not advocating that, in all cases, the scientific evidence is the sure test, but only emphasizing the necessity of promoting scientific evidence also to detect and prove crimes over and above the other evidence.