Read the CSI Handbook. Available here: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/178280.pdf
Summarize the handbook. What was the most interesting part of it for you? What surprised you the most? What elements or aspects of Psychology do you think relate to these guidelines?
Essentially the book was just a guideline, not a strict unflexable one, as to how to approach a crime scene efficiently. It had a lot of emphasis on organization, leaving things as they were, careful observations, and keeping from contaminating the crime scene. It went through the process start to finish, also talking about how the later showing law enforcement should be debriefed.
One of the most interesting parts to me was how careful officials take to make sure a crime scene is left exactly as is. I knew beforehand that they were careful about it, but every single section went out of its way to stress about it being done. With constant reminders like that in the hand book, it's hard to believe almost how sloppy you here about officials being sometimes. (For example the case we talked about in class involving the sioux falls man).
One aspect of psychology I noticed quickly, or at least came to my mind, was when the handbook mentioned separating the suspects, the witnesses, and civilians. That to me came off immediately as labeling, and my thought after was what kind of affect that would have on those people that were so quickly labeled as whatever group officials decided to label them as. Also, the interregation and asking questions portion of all the officials jobs would be psychologically important as well. Making sure not to ask guided questions that could sway someones answers.
The handbook was about approaching a crime scene the correct way. I understand that the guidelines in this book are not going to be followed by everyone who reads it, nor is everyone going to do the things the correct way but the book talked a lot about the importance of carefully securing a crime scene. It talked a lot about exactly what to do in this certain order. The book talked about the initial response, safety procedures, emergency care, security, boundaries and a lot of stuff that you would do after examining the crime scene.
Before taking this class, I already have watched a lot of shows about Crime scene investigations and how they work. From my understanding, I thought that it was a bit easier than it really is. What surprised me the most and what I thought was the most interesting after reading this book was the complexity of a crime scene and the importance of doing all of these procedures the correct way. I always thought that you secure a crime scene and collect as much evidence and DNA as possible but there actually is a lot of things that need to be done even after the examination of the crime scene.
The aspects of Psychology that I think relate to these guidelines are the eye witnesses and evidence. I say this because once the crime scene has been investigated appropriately, the next job for the team to do is to look for eye witnesses. The team's role is to find out information through these eye witnesses and try to find out why, where, and how the crime was committed and actually relying on these people to tell the truth.
The handbook provides broad guidelines about how a crime scene should be handled. The first responders' duties are slightly different than the detective or crime scene investigator. The most important topic was to be careful not to contaminate the evidence or crime scene in any way. The handbook stressed not altering the scene, approaching the scene as if the crime was still occurring and being extremely detail-oriented with observations.
What was most interesting to me was how extensive the list of crime scene equipment and tools was. I also found it interesting when they talked about containing the crime scene - it is always easier to condense the crime scene than to expand it. This makes the responders' job difficult in that they would have to be thorough with their initial investigation in order to block off the entire crime scene.
Psychology could play a role in this because someone who is new to crime scene investigation may have different biases than someone who has been doing it for 20 years. Detectives can also have cognitive biases towards certain people or certain neighborhoods that change their outlook on the crime and crime scene.
The CSI Handbook is a guideline for crime scene investigators that explains to them in tremendous detail the processes and procedures they need to take in order to ensure that the evidence at the crime scene is collected carefully so it is preserved for analysis. It is important that the crime scene personnel continually keep up with their training and advancements in technology that allow them to leave little room for error, like contaminating evidence and exhibit more accuracy in their findings. The handbook emphasizes the fact that not all crimes and/or crime scenes are the same, but it is crucial to have a routine approach to evidence collection and preservation of the scene. The processes are all laid out methodically so if CSI uses these guidelines, it would be hard to miss step or forget to do something else important. I also think that order of the handbook’s guidelines was very good.
In the first section regarding Initial Response/Prioritization of Efforts, after the actual initial response and writing down all your immediate observations is a good way to start. The second step of safety procedures also enables everyone at the crime scene to protect their physical well being. I think the third step is very important because it is extremely crucial to administer medical help to those who need it as soon as possible without causing at contamination of the crime scene. After getting the people medical assistance, is it important to secure and control the people at the crime scene. At this point, the only people who really need to be at the crime scene are the police, investigators, and others that are connected to the crime like witnesses and possible suspects. Making sure that people who could possibly contaminate the scene need to be removed immediately and it also mentions that securing and separating parties is also essential at this point. The next step is to secure and establish the crime scene(s) by setting up physical barriers. It is important to document all observations and actions of the people around. I thought it was necessary to summarize the initial entry process of the crime scene because it was really important and had less detailed procedure than processing the scene.
Processing the scene is also very important in that depending on the crime and how much evidence there is to collect, there needs to be an adequate amount of help there to make sure the process goes as smoothly as possible. It is also important to prevent contamination and to document everything, as I have mentioned before. It is crucial to prioritize the collection of evidence because the evidence that needs to be collected first like documenting everything visually then collecting biological fluids, and finally fingerprints or trace evidence. The handbook also stresses the importance of handling evidence carefully while it is bagged/contained/preserved properly and labeled correctly to ensure accuracy. Continual communication with team members is also extremely important. It also gives detailed lists of what equipment to bring that way nothing is forgotten.
The most interesting part of the handbook for me was just all the detail that goes into each investigation. It would be really easy to over look a small but important step, and I think this does a good job of making sure this possibility it reduced.
I was surprised by the amount of documentation that goes into these processes, even though I knew there was a lot required. It was every step of every part that requires careful and meticulous observations. It made me realize how essential detail is in these cases and the pressure that these investigators feel to do their job perfectly.
I think psychology plays into these guidelines in a few ways. I think the securing and separating people at the scene allows detectives and police to get eyewitness stories while their memories are as fresh as they will be. They can also initially interview possible suspects. All this information comes into play later when people may have discrepancies in their stories or suspects have been determined to have some sort of mental defect. I also think psychology comes into play during the investigation based on the experience the investigator has. I think that psychology does not play a huge role in the initial crime scene investigation, but from all the evidence they gather and all the eyewitness testimony they document, I think psychology plays a big role in tying all the information together during the trial of the accused by explaining perhaps why they did it or why they couldn’t control their actions.
T.A. comment:
Excellent job!!!!
1. The CSI Handbook was a very detailed way to go about processing a crime scene from the moment police are called to the very end when the scene is going through its final survey. The book had 5 main points: Arriving at the scene: initial response/prioritization of efforts, preliminary documentation and evaluation of the scene, processing the scene, completing and recording the crime scene investigation, and the crime scene equipment. Each of these main points were broken down into sub categories going into further detail of how to document the scene, how you are to collect evidence, making sure you leave the scene as you had left it, and how to keep people, including yourself safe throughout the entire time at the scene. This book is almost to the point of being overwhelming with all of the intense detail and flawlessness it takes to make sure everything is done precisely right.
2. The most interesting part of the handbook were all the supplies and equipment that were needed when approaching a crime scene. Granted most of the things were optional, but it seems that you would need a small bus to carry around all the things included on the list. When you see the actors on the Crime Scene shows coming up to a scene, I know they are not carrying all of the essential supplies in their cute little caboodles!
3. Using smell should be common sense, but as a police officer coming up on a crime scene you don’t think of them as sniffing the air for clues such as gasses in the air. Obviously they are going to be using their sight to look around at the scene, but I didn’t even think about using the sense of smell to look for clues. Another thing that surprised me as I had already mentioned above is just the sheer amount of detail and time goes into making sure everything is done perfectly right as not to disturb any evidence or not to miss any clues that could potentially help and solve an investigation. If I were an officer coming up on a scene and having just read this handbook for the first time I would want to show up in a giant suit, tip toeing with my hands tied behind my back as not to accidentally tamper with any of the evidence.
4. I think an element of psychology plays into the crime scene when looking at the people at the scene, whether they are the victim, eye witnesses or even unknowingly the perpetrator. Interviewing the different people at the scene, looking at how they act, what they say, and how they carry themselves can be very important when finding out the truth to every crime scene.
The CSI manual is like reading the directions to put together a swing set. I do understand that it is extremely important to have procedures in place (that can be repeated in a similar fashion) for most crime scenes. And, that is what this manual does…it explains how, what, where, when and why you should go about investigating a crime scene from a law enforcement point of view in a very broad way. (As it should)
The interesting part that I came across was Conduct Scene Assessment. In essence it gives someone a step by step way to asses a crime scene. I really did not think there would be that many different steps (guess I was wrong). The walk trough assessment caught my eye as well. If you can visualize walking trough a crime scene, trying to mentally re-enact what had happened….takes a special person to have that type of thought process as well as putting the clues together to construct a story.
I can’t say there was anything that really surprised me. There is a lot of information to remember for the manual alone, as well as what a CSI individual or team has to do for a living…my hat is off to them.
Is it psychology or sociology that plays a part in CSI? Or both? If you look at it from a psychological stand point you could say that a learned course of action (repetition) is used by crime scene investigators or, any law enforcement for that fact. When you learn how to do something, practicing over and over again, as well as having some creative thinking skills, you get to be very good at what you do.
T.A. comment:
Your blog makes me laugh! Very good!
This handbook offers instruction for crime scene investigations, in which are detrimental to the solving of a crime. Many different factors come in to place when trying to process a crime scene and pinpointing the details of the crime. There are multiple areas in which errors can be made that would cripple the chances of solving the mystery. This guidebook is available to try to reduce that chance.
The guidebook starts out with the initial response of the scene. This is the first step in the whole process of solving the crime at hand. This is one of the most important steps to do in the job because first of all, a secure scene has to be setup in order to preserve the evidence and make sure nothing gets disturbed. This will hopefully allow for an error-free processing of the crime scene. Before a perimeter is setup, the first responding officers have to secure the scene and make sure there is no danger for the officers to come in and investigate. This leads to the second step of making sure the crime scene is completely secure. This includes no additional threats of individual people and of no safety hazards to anyone who will be on the scene. This also includes reporting any information the officer notices when he/she first arrives on scene.
The next couple of parts of the guidebook deal with relations with the people already on the scene. First off, if anyone is in need of emergency medical attention and the officer is trained in the field, than he/she can assist. If EMS is already on scene, the officer is to make sure they don’t disturb the scene, yet are still able to do their jobs. The second half of taking care of the people on scene is identifying witnesses and suspects. The officer is to keep them separate and secure.
The next parts of the guidebook include keeping the scene secure so nothing happens to it and turning it over to a “higher’ entity. This may be something as simple as the investigations unit or something such as the federal authorities. All knowledge and documentation is to be handed over to them in order to be sure they are properly able to control and manage the crime scene.
Another entire section of the guidebook goes over the collection of evidence. The collection and maintenance of evidence is detrimental to the solving of the crime. Evidence can be easily disrupted or disturbed, which would be harmful to the investigation. Chain of custody has to be established and documentation has to be exact in order to ensure a proper investigation is followed.
The final part of the guidebook is a complete check list of the equipment the various people responding to the crime scene need. It is a very long and detailed list as this is a complex issue at hand and each person must be well equipped in order to make sure a proper investigation of the crime scene is taking place.
The most interesting and surprising part of it to me was the initial responder part. I was unaware of how important and detailed the first responder must be. I knew the first responder had to secure the scene and “tape it off”, but all of the other factors such as providing medical aid and observing other sources of data was not to my knowledge. There are definitely a lot of things to do for the initial responder. I believe there are many elements of psychology that would relate to this entire guidebook because first of all, it takes a certain mentality in order to be able to do any of these “roles” that are defined in this guidebook. Another aspect of psychology that is involved is the skill and knowledge that each responding officer has that can lead to a good, quality, investigation. For example, the first responder may not cognitively aware of his/her surroundings when they arrive at the scene because adrenaline and other factors. However, the memory and testimony of the initial responder may be a big part in the investigation. I am sure there are many other parts of psychology involved in this guidebook.
T.A. comment:
Excellent job!
1. The CSI Handbook was a layout of principles and procedures on how to effictively approach, invesigate, question witnesses, victims, and possible suspects, and secure a crime scene. The CSI Handbook was a very detailed and organized list on how to deal with the differnet aspects that can occur on a crime scene, which are detrimental in perserving a crime scene properly to accurately refer back to as evidence. There are many different obstructions that can occur on a crime scene in the heat of the moment. From medical personnel, to victims and/or witnesses, or even the police officers. The purpose of this handbook was to list many possible situations, and how to organize and deal with these obstructions without damaging the crime scene; which can be very effective in catching the perpetrator. To put it simply, this handbook was the guideline on how to respond, secure, enter, examine, process, and record the information of the crime scene. It also discussed equipment used at the crime scene to properly and efficiently collect evidence.
2. The section that suprised me the most was the, "Initial Response/ Receipt of Information," section. I guess the reason I found this section one of the most intersting, is because it seemed very vital to lifting and gathering true evidence later on. The responding officer has to be very observant, quick to secure any possible threats, assisting and instructing medical personnel if they are needed on the scene, and secure the scene and record information to the best of their abilites to avoid any possible contamination of the scene. This was so suprising to me, because that is a lot on a person's shoulders! There is a lot to do, with a lot of adernaline flowing, that is very vital for evidence in the crime.
3. I definately think Psychology plays a vital role in separating the witnesses, civilians, and suspects, and gathering information. Also, when detectives come to the scene, they may already have a bias from past cases, but they have been trained in how to properly investigate cases and gather information through the crime scene and questioning. Furthermore, the intial responding officer's knowledge, level of focus, and skills are an important part of psychology that can greatly determine the effectiveness in securing the scene and people involved. If the initial responder is cognitvely unaware of his/ her surroundings or priorities either due to adrenaline, lack of training, or other circumstances, it could greatly deter the organized security and evidence that a crime scene entails. Psychology plays just as big of a role in crime scene investigation, as securing the evidence and people involved in a crime scene itself.
Lindsey Fails
This handbook is exactly as advertised. It is a handbook that lays out the procedure for every role in a new crime scene. They lay out every step for each person and each job that should be done during each step. It focused on maintaining the scene as well as keeping everyone safe as possible, to ensure the scene is assessed correctly and without any contamination.
In every part of the handbook they always mention looking over everything. The people working the scene need to be close to perfect in the collection, documentation, and maintenance of all the evidence collected so that it is not altered and maintained as it was found.
Most of the policies and procedures did not surprise me that much. I knew that there was a lot going on during the initial investigation. However, I was really surprised at all of the equipment that is needed. There were about two pages just listing all of the things they needed at a crime scene. I guess it never occurred to me that there were all of these tools to collect, preserve, and observe evidence.
It was hard more me to pin psych. on one particular part of the crime scene. I think that it plays a part in the police and the witnesses. Witnesses are clearly a big part of everything. They provide information on the appearance of the suspect and how it happened. There maybe some psycological trauma based on how it happened. Police can have the same issue. They may walk on to the crime scene to see a murder and that might mess with their mind and affect how they act. I certainly would be shaken if that happened to me.
This handbook gives a bit more detail, but stresses the important aspects of how to conduct, maintain and preserve a crime scene. Beginning with the initial officers at the scene it stresses the importance of preserving the crime scene; assess what is the crime scene, block it off and insure no alterations are made to it as to not contaminate any evidence. During all this the first priority is safety of all people around. Also, careful observations need to be taken of the total surroundings; people, actions, objects and environment. Once the investigator is on scene they become the person in charge, who will take over these tasks, while also assigning them to other. The will assess the scene in much the same way and determine what other specialty personnel needs to be brought in to determine, preserve and collect evidence. The scene will be processed then by the specialist involved, the investigator and his/her team. At all times, everything going on will need to be being documented, even the entry/exit of all personnel on the case. Evidence will need to be prioritized: timely, methodical and protective collection of evidence. The order in which it is collected is decided upon by the investigator. After the crime scene investigation is completed and recorded, including evidence, a debriefing will occur. Here all personnel at the scene will share information and input on evidence and the scene, request assistance and establish and verify post-scene responsibilities. This debriefing is led by the investigator. Later all documentation for and from the scene and evidence collected will be given to the investigator to put into a case file that can be examined and referenced. It is important to make good thorough observations, maintain the scene, limit any chances for evidence contamination or alteration, and document all aspects of the scene.
I found the most interesting part of this handbook to be in describing how to set up the crime scene. The idea that the boundaries of the scene can be reduced in size easily but not easily expanded. To always start at the center of the crime with the focal point of the scene is understandable. I found it interesting to then pay attention to the potential paths (entry/exit) of people that may have been involved in the crime should come next. I also found some of the items in the evidence collection kits to be interesting, mostly because I don’t know, but want to, what some of these items do for the expert when they are collecting the evidence. For instance, the use of canned smoke in trajectory investigation.
I found the collection of evidence order interesting and somewhat surprising; the close to focal point and out, most transient to least, and least intrusive to most intrusive. The intrusive part was most surprising to me, because if I picture the investigation team taking into evidence something that may be considered intrusive, I would assume it would be of more importance. Therefore, I would think they would want to collect in the opposite order; most intrusive to lease. Perhaps I am misunderstanding this concept though.
Some aspects of psychology would be important when they come into play in the crime scene investigation. The handbook noted that when interviewing to obtain reports, handling, securing and separating victims and witnesses, it is important to be sensitive to them. Perhaps reading people and their actions could be important here. In psychology you learn the importance of observing to collect information, which is a big part of handling a crime scene. We know through psychology that leading, suggesting and such can play an important part in peoples cognitive processes and memories so the way in which information is obtained could need to be done so in a specific way to limit misguidance and increase useful information obtained, observed and documented that will later be used to help form the case.
T.A. comment:
Excellent job!
The CSI Handbook is really just a summary of the correct procedures to go about a crime scene. The handbook starts out by discussing how to approach a scene very carefully. The first chapter discusses the procedures one should follow when arriving at the scene such as: making sure everyone is safe; get medical attention tot hose who need it; establishing boundaries. The next chapters discuss how to handle evidence with care and make sure you get absolutely everything. The last chapter discusses the various tools and equipment needed for the CSI team.
The most interesting part of the handbook to me was reading about all the different types of tools needed to conduct a good investigation. There are a lot of different tools needed and anything is forgotten it could mean that a full investigation will be halted because of it.
Nothing really surprised me in the handbook because it wasn't shocking stuff. It was more "this is it and this is how you do it" kind of thing with really no surprises.
Psychology can play a role in crime scene investigation when the investigators get the scene and start interviewing eyewitnesses or other witnesses. The cops or CSI team must be calm and not be full of adrenaline when they arrive at the scene because this could really affect the way they view the scene and gather evidence.
The CSI Handbook is a guide for all crime scene investigators so that they can do a thorough and professional job when getting called to a crime scene. The handbook is split into five main sections (arriving at the scene, preliminary documentation and evaluation of the scene, processing the scene, completing and recording the crime scene investigation, and crime scene equipment). Each section focuses on the important aspects of what to do during a crime scene investigation. There are parts on safety, emergency care, documentation, etc. The handbook is a very detailed resource for crime scene investigators to use because, like the handbook emphasizes, every crime scene is going to be different. Each section is just as important as the next. All the actions taken from beginning to end need to be a certain way to keep the evidence and crime scene genuine. Each part has certain steps that need to be taken and written down is the principle, policy, and procedure for each step.
The most interesting part of the CSI Handbook to me was the section on securing and controlling persons at the scene. This section gave details on how the initial responding officer(s) should deal with any and all types of people that would be at a crime scene. There were details on how to respond to suspects, witnesses, bystanders, victims/family/friends, and medical and other assisting personnel. What surprised me was that the initial responding officer is not to give attention to unauthorized and nonessential personnel from the scene (e.g., law enforcement officials not working the case, politicians, media). This was surprising to me because I would have thought that police officials would not want those people around, especially media.
As for psychology, I think that it is important for crime scene investigators to have such a detailed handbook of their job because it could be hard not to get emotionally involved in the cases. When working on a case for a long time it can be difficult to keep your own emotions out of it, and I think that this handbook helps, especially when it comes to debriefing and documentation.
This handbook is a description for CSI workers to correctly handle and perform during the occurrence of a investigation. From safety procedures to contamination control to documenting the crime scene, it thoroughly leads us thru all these and more of course.
The area on the boundaries particular interests me from the beginning as it is very specific and requires you to creating established boundaries, knowing that they cant be expanded but reduced in size. The boundaries are specific, as they are looking for exits evidence and the initial spot where the crime occurred. Of course everything has to be strictly documented. Something that made me laugh though, is it says to limit the flow of personnel and animals, for the integrity of the scene. Which makes sense but its not like you can stop animals from coming in, but the people will most likely scare them away. Boundaries are strictly important to the evidence and the scene itself, without them a lot of things could be jeopardized and unable to be brought up in court due to tampering.
T.A. comment:
You did a good job but I would've liked to see a little more detail. Also, the last part of the directions asked for you to relate psychology to the handbook, and I didn't see that in your post.
The CSI handbook is a how to guide for law enforcment officers on what to do when responding and arriving at a crime scene. The handbook gives a step by step guide on what to do and how to do it when you arrive at the scene of a murder.
I thought that the part in the handbook about collecting evidence and controlling the scene of the crime are very interesting. If you think about ti if you dont block off your crime scene some of the evidence that would have possibly been gathered has been contaminated. When a crime scene investigator gathers evidence from the scene of the crime he must insure that everything is properly documented so that nothing will be overlooked. Evidence is a crucial part of any investigation and must be taken care of with the upmost priority.
Psychology can be used in the case of a murder scene to make sure the investigator is able to handle and cope properly with the event that took place. Crime scene investigators have to deal with working with the body or remains of the victim as well as any other possible objects in the area.
The CSI Handbook is a typical government document meant to give a down and dirty guide on how law enforcement should view a crime scene. In my experiences with the Army Reserve, these guides will show you what you “should” do but in all actuality if your not the Crime Scene Investigation Agent that has been trained thoroughly in analyzing a scene, you will more than like just contaminate the area.
To summarize, This book allows one to take a step in the procedures on arriving at a crime scene, and how not to contaminate, how to process the scene, and finally the amount of paper work involved in documenting the findings at the scene.
Most of the information in this book I have had some training in the Army Reserves as Military Police. Granted the way that the military does procedure and in the civilian world have there differences, but I believe there are many similarities as well, like analyzing a crime scene.
The aspects of this guide that we can take away as students of Psychology is that even though we deal with many abstract and non physical details of a person, we must in the realm of law use our powers of analyzing minute details in the physical world as well.
The CSI Handbook serves as a guide for responding officers and CSI team members. It provides information on how to properly handle a crime scene, from initial arrival to collecting evidence to debriefing chief investigators upon their arrival.
What I found most interesting in the handbook was the bit on how to handle medical personnel. The instructions given almost seemed, to me, like instructions on how to handle children. I guess I never really realized that medical personnel don't have to deal with the crime scene, and so don't concern themselves with preserving evidence on and around the victim(s). Police officers and CSI need to remind any emergency medical respondents to be careful to leave any potential evidence in tact (i.e. blood spatter on and around the body, knife/bullet holes in the clothes, etc.).
I honestly didn't find anything in the handbook all that surprising. It all seemed like common sense that simply takes some training and refining to master.
The main aspect of psychology I found present throughout The CSI Handbook was cognitive psychology. Officers need to be extremely observant and have incredible attention to detail. Plus, they need to keep an unbiased perspective in order to see the crime scene in its entirety.
The handbook is a detailed step by step instruction manual on how to properly handle a crime scene. It lays out the proper order of operations for everyone from the first officer on the scene to the lead investigator who will eventually take over. The over riding theme seemed to be the maintanance of the integrity of the crime scene. From the moment that the responding officer steps on to the scene to the time that everyone packs up and heads to the station there is a clear and precise method that is to be followed in order to ensure that all the appropriate steps are taken and that no stone is left unturned.
What surprised me the most was the restrictions placed on all individuals at the scene. Particurally, that no one was allowed to smoke or use any tobacco products, eat, drink, spit or do anything of the sort. While it is completely logical to not allow these things in order to not contaminate any evidence, I can't think of a single detective movie where the officers on the scene were not smoking or drinking coffee. Hollywood portrays the crime scene as somewhat of an informal "circus" of activity where the detectives do as they please. The rigid structure of order that the handbook prescribes, while completely logical, surprised me.
One area where I saw psychology at play in the manual was in the interrogation of witnesses. In class we have learned that witnesses can be easily influenced by events transpiring at the scene and by the testimony of other witnesses. The handbook prescribes practices that attempt to deter if not eliminate this phenomenon. The officer is instructed to separate potential witnesses and to question them separately. By doing this they avoid the possible contamination of eye witness testimony and are actively working to counteractive the psychological effect of memory contamination.
The handbook is basically a set of guidelines to help law enforcement personnel investigate a crime scene correctly and effectively. It explains the five major components of crime scene investigation in detail and gives you a step-by-step procedure on what to do. These five components are: arriving at the scene, preliminary documentation and evaluation of the scene, processing the scene, completing and recording the investigation, and what equipment is needed and suggested for the investigation. For most of these components, a reason and justification are given for following the guidelines along with an overview of what is to be expected of the personnel and a systematic procedure of what is to be done. The handbook’s main points were for law enforcement personnel to be vigilant of the crime scene area, do everything they can to minimize contamination of a crime scene and evidence, document everything that goes on, and be very thorough and organized.
The most interesting part of the handbook was all of the equipment they had listed that is essential to perform a crime scene investigation. I figured it was only the crime scene investigators and evidence technicians that needed the equipment. I did not realize that initial responding officers needed equipment as well. In addition, since I watch CSI, I recognized a lot of the equipment listed in the handbook.
How much the initial responding officer has to do was the most surprising part for me. I did not realize that a lot of the responsibility for the crime scene and investigation is on them. I figured they were just the first ones on the scene and were only responsible for calling other personnel. I was not aware of the numerous duties they have.
One aspect of psychology that I think relates to these guidelines would be perception and cognition. The initial responding officer would have to use his perception and cognition skills to evaluate all the different variables of a crime scene and how to go about processing it. Another aspect of psychology that I think relates to these guidelines would be bias. There may be bias between law enforcement personnel as to how to prioritize collecting the evidence. A more specific form of bias is confirmation bias. The crime scene investigators may already have an idea on how a crime occurred so they may apply the evidence a certain way to confirm their theory. In addition, the initial responding officer may not have enough experience or training and may somehow contaminate the scene or make other serious mistakes.
After reading the guide, it made me appreciate the CSI work much more. When we talk about court cases and murders, the CSI have a lot riding on them. They have to make sure they get everything right and they find every small detail that can help find the criminal. I like when the handbook broke down the subject into different sub categories.
I give the CSI a lot of credit because of all the intricate details they must go through at the scene. For me it would be difficult if I had detectives and police officers hovering over my shoulders. One thing that surprised me was all the items that are needed at the crime scene.
I think that psychology relates really well to this because you deal with the police officers and the witnesses (if there are any). If someone saw the crime and their adrenaline is pumping that could easily tamper with their memory. It would be helpful if the witness had a pen and paper to write everything they saw down but who really carries a pen and paper with them everywhere they go incase they see a crime? I think it would help the witnesses if they repeated everything they saw over and over again in their head.
T.A. comment:
You did a good job on your post. The only thing I noticed was that I didn't see a summarization of the handbook.
I like how the handbook started out by saying that this blog was written for people that have the responsibility of protecting the crime scene, and how the play a big role in how the case will go. This handbook was a step by step guide on how to work your way through a crime scene investigation. It gave the 5 main points from when you arrive at the crime to when you are ready to collect and bag all the evidence. All of these categories had steps that told you what would happen at each step and then summarized each main point at the end of talking about them.
I think something that really surprised me in this but makes perfect sense is to secure the location first and make sure there are no immediate threats to anyone on the scene befefore treating any injured person. I think this is something that I would struggle with because you see an injured person and I feel like it would click immediately to help them first instead of worrying about securing the location, but I guess you always have to think safety first. Something else I found interesting is that you are supposed to control family and other people while still showing compassion. I wonder how often that really works. It seems to me that the intial responders have a lot of responsibility from controlling the whole crime scene and documenting just about everything that can or did see, it seems like too much work for the couple people there and seems to me like something would always get forgotten or left out.
The first thing that I noticed that would be psychological is when they said you should document your own actions, do you document how you really felt or how you should have felt? Finally depending on what the crime scene is, is it something that you may find disturbing and you arent able to fully focus on the job at hand. Also remembering to do everything in the proper manner would become psychological after a while through repition and learning the proper way to do things.
The CSI handbook is basically a procedure list of what you should do when you are called to the scene of the crime. It tels the first responder everything they will need to know in order to maintain an uncontaminated, controlled crime scene. The handbook tells the first responder what they should do before entering the scene, after calling medical personnel, when the detectives arrive, and so on.
One of the things I found interesting about the CSI handbook is that they explicitly tell you not to use the restroom, litter, smoke, change the thermostat, etc at a crime scene. Isn't this common sense? I feel like if someone is collecting evidence they should know enough to avoid doing those things instinctively.
I was also surprised how low on the list taking care of the victim is if you're the first responder. First you have to check out any strange sounds and smells, make observations of the scene, check for people leaving or entering the scene, and then call for medical personnel.
The first responder has to stay at the crime scene for a very long time. I did not realize all they had to do. I figured that once the CSI crew came they took over and the first responder would just give their statement to the detectives and leave. Instead, they have to rope off the scene, control the crowd, inform the detectives and CSI of what is going on, take notes about the scene, and stay until they are told they can leave. I would imagine that they would be at a crime scene for atleast a couple hours, if not more.
I think psychology relates to this when it comes to dealing with the crowd and finding witnesses. You need to know when someone is lying, or too worked up to remember things clearly. You would also need to know some about psychology to figure out what the motivations behind a certain crime are.
I think the most interesting part for me is section a, arriving at the scene initial response, prioritization of efforts.
Reason i chose this first well the initial response is because securing the crime and getting all the witness and gathering all the evidence is highly important.
Like mentioned in the book Not only that, the detectives or initial responding officer has to secure and pay attention to every little detail besides what happened.
What surprised me the most was the principle of securing and control persons at the scene. Reason being is they have to control, identify and remove people at the crime scene and limit the number of people who enter the crime scene and the movement of people is an important function of the initial responding officer(s) in protecting the crime scene. The have to identify the suspects, witnesses, bystanders, victim family, friends and assist medical personnel.
I think that the elements of psychology that these guidelines are the functions of those affecting behavior in a given context, mental characteristics or attitude of people or a group of people.
T.A. comment:
I think you did a good job with your post, but I didn't see a summarization of the handbook.
The CSI Handbook is basically a very detailed set of instructions/ procedures for approaching and assessing a crime scene. It discusses many different situations and includes organized instructions on how to handle different situations from the initial response of the scene and making sure any victims or witnesses are safe and that the scene is clear of unnecessary individuals to securing the scene, documenting and evaluating evidence properly to make sure it is preserved. Securing the crime scene and preserving the evidence is vital and because mistakes can be easily made, detectives must be meticulous.
The most interesting/ surprising part of the handbook for me was just exactly how detail-oriented EVERYTHING is, and how much documenting is part of the process. It is crazy to think that there are so many small-steps and things that could go wrong or be messed up when processing a crime scene—especially interesting is that that one mistake could be the very thing that sets a murderer free. I think I have watched too much CSI, because I picture a crime scene with people taking pictures of a dead body and didn’t picture the documentation and exactly how many concrete directions and steps there are to correctly process a crime scene.
I think the elements or aspects of Psychology that relate to these guidelines have to do with bias and perspective. Different detectives may perceive crime scenes differently depending on which biases they may have about which neighborhoods they are in, what information they already know about the crime or who may be a suspect, and how long much experience a detective has. Psychology also plays an important role when it comes to interviewing witnesses and understanding what things they remember and determining whether or not their memory may have been contaminated.
The CSI Handbook is a federal document instructing personnel, step by step, on the proper way to handle the scene of a crime. One must be cautious and aware of your surroundings, preserve the scene, help the injured, secure the scene, brief the investigators, record excellent documentation of the scene, assess the scene and do a walk through. It also listed a number of items that anyone involved in a crime scene would need in order to properly assess the scene. Ultimately, one must be careful, organized, and safe while dealing with a crime scene.
I was most interested in the amount of items that crime scene investigators and evidence technicians must carry with them. I was also surprised at the number of items in the evidence collection kits. Collecting evidence is clearly a tedious assignment. So much so that the government has decided that a list of guidelines should be implimented on how any first responders should respond in the event of a crime.
I was surprised at importantance of documentation of everything dealing with the crime scene and those involved. Many hours of work go into making sure a clear account of every event is recorded properly. In order to be a crime scene investigator one must enjoy writing and be a very clear oral and written communicator.
Psychology plays many roles in the crime scene investigation process. One must be able to deal with all different types of people. A responder must depersonalize themselves from certian situations. How a person perceives the scene or the crime also plays a large role in how the evidence is collected. Someone must know how to deal with eyewitnesses and which questions to ask and who to ask. A person must be able to stay organized and have self control. I'm sure there are many more areas in psychology that I am overlooking.
The CSI handbook is basically guidelines and procedures to follow when arriving to a crime scene. This handbook is necessary to have in order to keep everyone on the same page that way there are little mistakes made. This handbook not only provides information from initial response, it goes all the way to processing, recording, the equipment they should have available to them, and everything in-between. The handbook literally takes you step-by-step through a crime scene to make sure it is done correctly.
I found it very interesting on how informative this handbook really is. When you think about it, it really does make sense to have everyone follow the same procedures because if everyone did do their own thing the crime scene would be an even bigger mess. Just like a school has a handbook for students to follow guidelines, it only makes sense that the CSI, being so important, have guidelines too. Just the extensive list of things that need to be done seemed overwhelming. I felt as though many of the procedures would be common sense but because we all react differently to situations and like to do things differently, this handbook eliminates that for quality purposes.
Psychology plays a huge role when it comes to these guidelines. First and foremost, it deals with many people. Not only does the CSI have to restrain from forming any opinions, they also have to be able to mentally handle a crime scene no matter what the case may be. Witnesses and any other person(s) that may be at the crime scene will also play a huge role in a crime scene and are relied on to give good information. This can be hard because if witness is running off adrenaline, they may not remember what they see or think they may have seen something they didn’t. When going to interview an eyewitness it is very important to meet with them separate to make sure that other people’s minds do not get distorted. The CSI needs to focus on what has just happened but they also have to be aware of their surroundings and be careful when collecting information that could possibly be used. All of this comes into play during a crime scene plus more, seems more overwhelming than the television portrays.
The CSI handbook is basically a guide to follow when working a crime scene. It is used to try to avoid contamination of the scene, and to make sure that the scene is properly evaluated. The handbook also provides basically a check list of the equipment that you should use to evaluate the scene. Essentially the handbook is used to make sure that everybody knows what's going on, and that every piece of evidence gets collected and analyzed properly.
The thing I found the most interesting and surprising was the various different tools they use at a crime scene. I know there are a lot of things you need to analyze a crime scene but I had no clue that they had everything plus the kitchen sink to work the scene. You don't realize until you see it on paper how many tools they use to work a crime scene. They a lot of things that look like common household items, but yet they prove to be valuable during investigations.
I think psychology plays a huge part in these guidelines in many different ways. The reason I feel this way is because I think the reason the handbook was made was to help eliminate bias, and make sure every crime scene be treated with the same demeanor no matter who the victim is. I think if there was no procedure handbook there might be a few people that might get careless at a crime scene if the victim was a person that was view negatively by the public for whatever reason, this way they can make sure that every scene follows the same steps to make sure the job is done properly. I think the guidelines also help people keep their heads a help them remember every step, because when people see certain crime scenes sometimes it can be very distracting, and sickening that sometimes it helps to have a reminder of what to do.
The CSI handbook is basically a guide to follow when working a crime scene. It is used to try to avoid contamination of the scene, and to make sure that the scene is properly evaluated. The handbook also provides basically a check list of the equipment that you should use to evaluate the scene. Essentially the handbook is used to make sure that everybody knows what's going on, and that every piece of evidence gets collected and analyzed properly.
The thing I found the most interesting and surprising was the various different tools they use at a crime scene. I know there are a lot of things you need to analyze a crime scene but I had no clue that they had everything plus the kitchen sink to work the scene. You don't realize until you see it on paper how many tools they use to work a crime scene. They a lot of things that look like common household items, but yet they prove to be valuable during investigations.
I think psychology plays a huge part in these guidelines in many different ways. The reason I feel this way is because I think the reason the handbook was made was to help eliminate bias, and make sure every crime scene be treated with the same demeanor no matter who the victim is. I think if there was no procedure handbook there might be a few people that might get careless at a crime scene if the victim was a person that was view negatively by the public for whatever reason, this way they can make sure that every scene follows the same steps to make sure the job is done properly. I think the guidelines also help people keep their heads a help them remember every step, because when people see certain crime scenes sometimes it can be very distracting, and sickening that sometimes it helps to have a reminder of what to do.
The CSI handbook is basically a guide to follow when working a crime scene. It is used to try to avoid contamination of the scene, and to make sure that the scene is properly evaluated. The handbook also provides basically a check list of the equipment that you should use to evaluate the scene. Essentially the handbook is used to make sure that everybody knows what's going on, and that every piece of evidence gets collected and analyzed properly.
The thing I found the most interesting and surprising was the various different tools they use at a crime scene. I know there are a lot of things you need to analyze a crime scene but I had no clue that they had everything plus the kitchen sink to work the scene. You don't realize until you see it on paper how many tools they use to work a crime scene. They a lot of things that look like common household items, but yet they prove to be valuable during investigations.
I think psychology plays a huge part in these guidelines in many different ways. The reason I feel this way is because I think the reason the handbook was made was to help eliminate bias, and make sure every crime scene be treated with the same demeanor no matter who the victim is. I think if there was no procedure handbook there might be a few people that might get careless at a crime scene if the victim was a person that was view negatively by the public for whatever reason, this way they can make sure that every scene follows the same steps to make sure the job is done properly. I think the guidelines also help people keep their heads a help them remember every step, because when people see certain crime scenes sometimes it can be very distracting, and sickening that sometimes it helps to have a reminder of what to do.
The CSI Handbook is a book summing up the guidelines and procedures used in the investigation of a crime scene. The CSI Handbook emphasizes the importance of organization, systematic procedures, and most importantly, the responsibilities of people involved when investigating crime scenes. The CSI Handbook placed an emphasis on the idea of contamination and NOT contaminating a crime scene, causing it to be invalid and unreliable. Along with the contamination issues, it is equally important that all people remain safe and secure while investigating and arriving to a crime scene. Another important topic discussed relates to contamination, and that is preserving evidence and artifacts found at a crime scene. It is most important to do this successfully so evidence can be analyzed in the future by professionals.
What I found most surprising about the CSI Handbook were the amount of people with different roles to accomplish the task of investigating a crime scene. Not only are there several roles involved, all seem equally important.
There does seem to be an aspect of psychology involved in the investigation of a crime scene. Most importantly, it takes one a certain mentality of tactile, particular, and precise judgement to investigate a crime scene successfully. Also, when dealing with the witness of the crime committed, it is clear psychology plays the most important role. As we have learned, the witness is easily manipulated and vulnerable to external people, events, and information.
The CSI handbook basically is a guide for personnel that may be working a crime. I wouldn't say that it is a strict code that one must follow, but instead a specific procedure that should be followed. This guide first starts out with explaining the procedures for an initial response and prioritization of efforts. It explains safety procedures and the responsibilities that one must have while at the scene. The book talks about thoroughly walking through a crime scene while being careful to not contaminate anything that may have been left as evidence. While doing this the book really stresses the safety of personnel working, and the safety of those around. It is important to make sure that the scene is clear from harm and that anything found should be properly documented. Along with documentation, the guide gives information on the transportation, packaging, and submition of evidence. After learning of all of this, the guide then begins to talk a little bit about crime scene equipment used by CSI and officers.
What I found most surprising about this handbook was the fact that it is so simple. I thought that in order for someone to work a crime scene, they would have to read extensive amounts of information. It was rather nice to have an easy read.
There definitely is an aspect of psychology that can be related to crime scene investigations. As learned in class, people are very easily confused when it comes to remembering exactly what has happened. Stories may vary from one person to the next who witnessed the crime. When it comes to witnesses and having a successful investigation, it is hard to do this because of memory.
The CSI handbook is a guide to personnel working a crime scene. Instead of being strict procedures, it really is somewhat very relaxed in explaining how things should be properly done. The CSI handbook begins to explain the initial response of arriving at the scene of a crime. When arriving, it gives guidence of what should be prioritized. Safety procedures are very important in this handbook and they explain how one should control and secure the area that is being investigated, secure persons at the scene, and secure boundaries. The handbook talks about the documentation and a walk-through of the scene which is rather important. Very importantly, the handbook stresses the idea that the scene can not be contaminated. If things are contaminated then evidence could possibly be lost and ruined. The handbook explains the inventory, packaging and transport as well as the submition of evidence. After all of this is covered, the handbook lists certain crime scene equipment that can be used by CSI and officers.
I thought that this was interesting because it was so brief and simple. I feel that if someone was to learn how to effectively investigate a crime scene, they would have to read this long extensive report for guideline.
There is definitely an aspect of psychology that is involved with crime scene investigations. This whould be all about memory. People that are involved may have a complete different story than another person that was involved, therefore psychology can tell us that people are manipulated and often do not recall things properly.
The CSI handbook is a guide to personnel working a crime scene. Instead of being strict procedures, it really is somewhat very relaxed in explaining how things should be properly done. The CSI handbook begins to explain the initial response of arriving at the scene of a crime. When arriving, it gives guidence of what should be prioritized. Safety procedures are very important in this handbook and they explain how one should control and secure the area that is being investigated, secure persons at the scene, and secure boundaries. The handbook talks about the documentation and a walk-through of the scene which is rather important. Very importantly, the handbook stresses the idea that the scene can not be contaminated. If things are contaminated then evidence could possibly be lost and ruined. The handbook explains the inventory, packaging and transport as well as the submition of evidence. After all of this is covered, the handbook lists certain crime scene equipment that can be used by CSI and officers.
I thought that this was interesting because it was so brief and simple. I feel that if someone was to learn how to effectively investigate a crime scene, they would have to read this long extensive report for guideline.
There is definitely an aspect of psychology that is involved with crime scene investigations. This whould be all about memory. People that are involved may have a complete different story than another person that was involved, therefore psychology can tell us that people are manipulated and often do not recall things properly.
The CSI handbook is a guide to personnel working a crime scene. Instead of being strict procedures, it really is somewhat very relaxed in explaining how things should be properly done. The CSI handbook begins to explain the initial response of arriving at the scene of a crime. When arriving, it gives guidence of what should be prioritized. Safety procedures are very important in this handbook and they explain how one should control and secure the area that is being investigated, secure persons at the scene, and secure boundaries. The handbook talks about the documentation and a walk-through of the scene which is rather important. Very importantly, the handbook stresses the idea that the scene can not be contaminated. If things are contaminated then evidence could possibly be lost and ruined. The handbook explains the inventory, packaging and transport as well as the submition of evidence. After all of this is covered, the handbook lists certain crime scene equipment that can be used by CSI and officers.
I thought that this was interesting because it was so brief and simple. I feel that if someone was to learn how to effectively investigate a crime scene, they would have to read this long extensive report for guideline.
There is definitely an aspect of psychology that is involved with crime scene investigations. This whould be all about memory. People that are involved may have a complete different story than another person that was involved, therefore psychology can tell us that people are manipulated and often do not recall things properly.
The CSI handbook is a guide to personnel working a crime scene. Instead of being strict procedures, it really is somewhat very relaxed in explaining how things should be properly done. The CSI handbook begins to explain the initial response of arriving at the scene of a crime. When arriving, it gives guidence of what should be prioritized. Safety procedures are very important in this handbook and they explain how one should control and secure the area that is being investigated, secure persons at the scene, and secure boundaries. The handbook talks about the documentation and a walk-through of the scene which is rather important. Very importantly, the handbook stresses the idea that the scene can not be contaminated. If things are contaminated then evidence could possibly be lost and ruined. The handbook explains the inventory, packaging and transport as well as the submition of evidence. After all of this is covered, the handbook lists certain crime scene equipment that can be used by CSI and officers.
I thought that this was interesting because it was so brief and simple. I feel that if someone was to learn how to effectively investigate a crime scene, they would have to read this long extensive report for guideline.
There is definitely an aspect of psychology that is involved with crime scene investigations. This whould be all about memory. People that are involved may have a complete different story than another person that was involved, therefore psychology can tell us that people are manipulated and often do not recall things properly.