NATS 1575 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Forensic Entomology, Forensic Pathology, Routiers

• School: York University
• Department: Natural Science
• Course: NATS 1575
• Professor: Rajeshwari Iyer

Document Summary

As automobiles run on gasoline, crime laboratories run on physical evidence. Physical evidence encompasses any and all objects that can establish that a crime has been committed or can provide a link between a crime and its victim or a crime and its perpetrator. But if physical evidence is to be used effectively for aiding the investigator, its presence first must be recognized at the crime scene. Forensic science begins at the crime scene. If the investigator cannot recognize physical evidence or cannot properly preserve it for laboratory examination, no amount of sophisticated laboratory instrumentation or technical expertise can salvage the situation. Here, investigators must recognize and properly preserve evidence for laboratory examination. It must be emphasized that the techniques of crime-scene investigation are not difficult to master and certainly lie within the bounds of comprehension of the average police officer. The first officer to arrive at the scene is responsible for securing the crime scene.