Crime Scene Investigator's Method for Documenting Impact Patterns for Subsequent Off-Scene Area-of-Origin Analysis

• NCJ Number: 239120
• Journal: Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 62 Issue: 4 Dated: July/August 2012 Pages: 368-388
• Author(s): Ross M. Gardner; Michael Maloney; Celestina Rossi
• Date Published: August 2012
• Length: 21 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article describes a documentation method for crime-scene investigatiors to bridge the data disconnecttion identified in this article and capture sufficient information for subsequent off-scene area-of-origin analysis.

Abstract

Impact blood stain patterns occur across a variety of violent crime scenes. In the hands of a trained bloodstain-pattern analyst, these patterns can provide a wealth of information that may be probative to the court. Unfortunately, trained bloodstain pattern analysts are not always on scene to capture the required information or guide the crime-scene investigator in deciding what stains and measurements to document. This creates a data disconnect that will eliminate the possibility for any future area-of-origin (AO) analysis effort. This article describes a documentation method for crime-scene investigators to bridge this disconnect and capture sufficient information for subsequent off-scene AO analysis. (Published Abstract)