Basic Nature of Crime Scene Reconstruction

 A forensic science discipline

 Evaluation of a scene and the physical evidence therein to identify what occurred and in what
order it occurred
 Development of actions and circumstances based on evidence discovered and examined in
relation to a particular crime
Can you do a CSR on a crime that is about to happen or a crime that will happen tomorrow or next
week?
--No CSR because we can not predict the future
2 primary methods in inquiring the past
1. History Method
Method of the historian, archaeologist, epideomologist, journalist and criminal investigator
- reconstructing the past events by gathering recorded facts
2. Scientifific Method
In vestigator in general as well as creative artist
- discovering or creating new knowledge
- evolved from the efforts of many workersover the course of several thousand of years
- a way of observing, thinking about, and solving problems objectively and systematically
What do we call with the process of renacting how a crime occuredbasing on a hypothesis
---Crime Scene Reconstruction
-- a procedure necessary for establishing a rational theory of what happened and to determine the
modus operandi of a criminal offender
What do we call with the process of inquiring how series of events occurred in a particular area to
determine the commission of a acrime
--Crime Scene Reconstruction—purpose to establish a rational theory of what happened
2 General/ popular approaches to CSR
1. Deductive approach- involves immediately making a theory first before gathering facts/information of
how the crime was done
Develop a theory—collect data/facts/info to support the theory
2. Inductive approach- involves collecting information first to have basis in formulating a theory about
what happened in violent scene
Collect data/facts/infor----make a theory based on the collected facts/info
2 Kinds/type of crime reconstruction
1. Physical Reconstruction- used of materials or physical instruments in order to understand what
happened but it is supplemented by mental reconstruction
2. Mental reconstruction- flashback what happened based on the testimonies on people who have
personal knowledge of what happened at the crimescene
CRS protocol
1. Recognition of evidence- walkthrough and preliminary investigation and interview people.. most
important
2. Documentation of evidence
3. Collection of evidence
4. Evaluation of Evidence- examining the pieces of evidences including laboratory analysis on the
physical evidences… looks on what the information the eveidence provide and how realible it is
5. Hypothesis- involves the formulation of ideaof how the event occurred
6. Testing- determining how the hyphothesis developed in step number 5 can be validated… test to
replicate the events
7. Reconstruction-
- reporting the results of the analysis
- Results are reported as a range- where the event ( or portions of It)
1. Can be shown to have occurred in a given manner
2. Can be shown to be likely to have occurred in a given manner
3. Can be shown to be Unlikely to have occurred in a given manner
4. Can be shown not to have occurred in a given manner
1. The crime occurred in a definitive manner
2. The crime may likely have occurred in a given manner
3. The crime is unlikely to have occurred in a given manner
4. The crime cannot have occurred in a given manner
1,2,3 heart of any successfully crime scene investigation and form the basis for the actual crime scene
reconstruction

 Analysis (the process of starting with a whole and breaking it down into individual
units of knowledge)
 Deduction (The reasoning process that starts with a general impression and then
explores logical sequences of consequences)
 Induction (Skills, experience and observations are applied to a case, resulting in a
conclusion or hypothesis)
 Typology (Sorting out facts into specific categories of knowledge)

The victim is the focal point of CSR

Induction is a process of reasoning based on a set of experiences or observations
(particulars) from which a conclusion or generalization is drawn. It commences with the
specific and goes to the general.
Deduction is a process of reasoning that commences with a generalization or a
premise and by means of careful, systematic thinking moves to a particular fact or
consequence
Classification is the systematic arrangement of objects into categories (groups or
classes) based on shared traits or characteristics
. The science of classification is called taxonomy
Synthesis is the combining of separate parts or elements
Analysis starts with the whole (whether a material substance, thought, or impression),
and then involves an effort to separate the whole into its constituent parts for individual
study.
A hypothesis is a conjecture that provisionally accounts for a set of facts. It can be
used as the basis for addal investigation and as a guide for further activity.
A theory is a somewhat verified hypothesis, a scheme of thought with assumptions
chosen to fit empirical knowledge or observations
A priori (Latin for “from the previous cause”) is defined: from a known or assumed
cause to a necessarily related effect; from a general law to a particular instance; valid
independently of observation. In some instances, a priori conclusions are reached
through reasoning from assumed principles, which are regarded as self-evident. Thus, it
is deductive and theoretical rather than based on experiment or experience.
A posteriori is a term denoting reasoning from empirical facts or particulars (acquired
through experience or experiment) to general principles; or, from effects to causes. It is
inductive.
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
The first step in reconstructing the past is to identify the problem
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
The first step in reconstructing the past is to identify the problem
PEOPLE
As long as general, specific, or intimate knowledge concerning an individual endures, it
can be acquired by those who know how. People are social beings, and information on
them can usually be found in the possession of family and relatives, work or business
associates, and others who share their recreational interests. It can also be picked up
accidentally through those who were witness to, or the victim of, a crime.
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Any object of a material nature is potential physical evidence

RECORDS

Records are a form of physical evidence