Photography at the Scene

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Photography at the Scene Ryan Woolsey Crime Scene Documentation 05/17/2012 The first responding officer will take photographs of the scene when a crime scene photographer or specialist is not required or requested. Each agency has different policies concerning what necessitates a specialist or crime scene photographer and what incidents hold exception; these incidents include such cases as domestic violence, traffic accidents, or other such crimes. The first responding officer should also take pictures of major scenes before the specialist arrives. These pictures will provide an accurate detail of what the scene looked like before more officers and investigators arrive at the scene. The scenes integrity would be lost if any items were moved before any pictures were taken. If an item needs to be moved for the purpose of preservation a photograph of the item should be taken before and after the move. If video footage is available then the movement of the evidence should be recorded as well as verbally documented on camera. The photographs are a visual and permanent recreation of the scene just as it was witnessed by the first responding officer at the scene. There are three types of photographs taken at the scene of the crime. The types of photographs are Overall, Mid-Range, and Close-Up. The overall photo shows exactly what it is intended to show, the overall scene of the crime. Areas of interest are targeted in the pictures as well as any vehicles. The Mid-range photo The purpose of the mid-range photograph is to document relationships between items of evidence or areas of importance (such as how close is the gun to the victim or the location of bloodstains to the point of entry). Mid-range photographs are the most common type of photograph shown to juries because they tend to support theories, reconstructions, or statutory elements of the crime

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