NCJ Number
132192
Journal
Journal of Forensic Identification Volume: 41 Issue: 4 Dated: (July/August 1991) Pages: 248-254
Date Published
1991
Length
7 pages
Annotation
Three reasons motivate this attempt to encourage the use of crime scene reconstruction: it can assist in locating and recognizing the potential physical evidence; it can provide the jury with as complete a sequence of events as possible based on the results of examination of physical evidence and the analysis of crime scene patterns; and it can eliminate the sending of unnecessary and time-wasting items to the laboratory for analysis.
Abstract
This review of crime scene reconstruction suggests ways to determine what should be considered as evidence in a case and emphasizes the need to establish evidence context, that is, the relationship an item has to its surroundings and what time frame the item has relative to the crime occurrence. The approach Rynearson and Chisum use to classify evidence context by time and surroundings is outlined. Classifications include: predictable, unpredictable, transient, relational, and functional. 4 figures and 4 references