Crime Scene Photography
Scenario: Your agency administrator has assigned you to the evening-shift (3:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m.) crime scene unit. Describe the type(s) of camera(s) you will need for this assignment, as well as the accessories and the recording media you will need. Explain the purpose for some of the equipment selection you might make and how it is utilized.
During your tour of duty, you responded to two calls:
Call One: There has been a two-car motor vehicle accident with one fatality. The body was ejected from the vehicle and is located approximately 20-feet from the point of collision. The other victim was transported from the scene with severe head injuries. The accident occurred around noon at the intersection of a four-lane highway with a two-lane road. The weather was bright and clear. These questions need not be stated verbatim within the paper, but addressed as part of the paper.
How would you go about photographing this scene?
Would you use overview, mid-range, or close-up photographs?
Describe the purpose of each type of photograph.
What the photographer should be trying to capture in each one.
Call Two: As a crime scene photographer, you have arrived at a convenience store robbery where there has been a shooting. The time is 10:00 p.m. and there has been a light rain prior to the robbery. You have spoken with the first officers on the scene, conducted a careful initial walk-through of the scene, and found evidence. The following questions need not be stated verbatim within the paper, but addressed as part of the paper.
How you would photograph the following evidence:
Blood spatter on the wall behind the counter
A bullet casing behind the counter
Bloody clothing from the clerk who has been shot and airlifted to the hospital
Medical supply packing left behind by the paramedics near the clothing
A package of cigarettes and a bottle of beer on the counter
Footprints in mud leading from the front entrance to the counter
The order you would use to photograph this evidence.
The information you would include on your photo log.
Discuss in detail the proper method to document this scene using video.
Provide any additional investigatory action that you feel you would have to take with any of the evidence at the scene.
