NOCTI Criminal Justice Notes

How should liquid blood stains be collected and stored?
Blood that is in liquid pools should be picked up on a gauze pad or other clean sterile cotton cloth and allowed to air dry thoroughly, at room temperature. It should be refrigerated or frozen as soon as possible and brought to the Laboratory as quickly as possible. Delays beyond 48 hours may make the samples useless.

How should dried blood stains be collected and stored?
- On clothing, if possible, wrap the item in clean paper, place the article in a brown paper bag or box and seal and label container. Do not attempt to remove stains from the cloth.
- On small solid objects, send the whole stained object to the Laboratory, after labeling and packaging.
- On large solid objects, cover the stained area with clean paper and seal the edges down with tape to prevent loss or contamination. If impractical to deliver the whole object to the Laboratory, scrape the stain onto a clean piece of paper, which can be folded and placed in an envelope. Do not scrape directly into evidence envelope. Scrape blood from objects using a freshly washed and dried knife or similar tool. Wash and dry the tool before each stain is scraped off. Seal and mark the envelope.
- Do not mix dried stains. Place each stain in a separate envelope.
- Never attempt to wipe dried stains from an object using a moistened cloth or paper.

How do you collect blood samples from a live victim?
For typing purposes, have sample drawn into yellow and purple stoppered vacutainers. Note these are distinguished from the BA tubes which have grey stoppers.
If the victim is injured to the extent that a transfusion is necessary, make an effort to obtain or begin necessary procedures to obtain the pre-transfusion sample collected by the hospital. These samples are not retained for long periods by the hospital, so it is important to act promptly. Also, make sure that some bloodstained garment worn by the individual has been air dried and frozen to serve as a secondary standard.

What is the steps in handling and storage of physiological fluid evidence?
Stains and Controls

1. Air dry

2. Package in paper

3. Freeze
Consider special handling of non-absorbent items on (metal or plastic). Any condensation from thawing could disturb or destroy such evidence. Such items should be kept at room temperature and submitted to the lab as soon as possible.

Basic rules of blood storage
- Refrigerate, do not freeze standards collected in yellow stoppered vacutainers.
- Submit to the lab as soon as possible.

What are the basic rules of saliva collection and storage?
- Collect on a sterile gauze pad or swabs, allow to air dry and package in paper. Do not use plastic containers.

Where are seminal stains usually found and what is the proper packaging of them?
- Seminal stains are often, but not always, found on clothing, blankets, sheets. Allow any stains to air dry, wrap in paper, and package evidence in paper bags. Do not use plastic bags.

How do you handle evidence collection in a sex offense case.
the victim should always be examined by a physician. A Sexual Assault Evidence Collection Kit is used to collect evidence from the victim. It is very important that the instructions on the kit be followed with care in order to gain the greatest benefit from the collected evidence.
- Label all garments such as undershorts, panties, or other exhibits and package each garment separately.
- If damp, allow fabric to dry completely before packaging.
- Handle fabrics as little as possible.

Hair collected at a crime scene is collected and packaged, how?
- An examination of human hair can occasionally reveal the possible race of the individual from whom it came and the part of the body from which it originated.
- Human hair can be compared to determine whether or not two samples could have had a common origin. The value of the Laboratory examinations of such specimens will depend upon the amount of hair recovered and the characteristics found in the examinations.
- Recover all hair present. If possible, use the fingers or tweezers to pick up hair, place in paper bindles or coin envelopes which should then be folded and sealed in larger envelopes. Label the outer sealed envelope.
- If hair is attached, such as in dry blood, or caught in metal or a crack of glass, do not attempt to remove it but rather leave hair intact on the object. If the object is small, mark it, wrap it, and seal it in an envelope. If the object is large, wrap the area containing the hair in paper to prevent loss of hairs during shipment.

Paint evidence is frequently encountered in hit-and run cases, on tools used by burglars, and occasionally in other types of cases. Paint may be transferred to clothing of pedestrian victims . Examine all areas, with particular attention being paid to areas showing pressure glaze, tears, or other contact.
If found?
do not remove the paint, but mark the garment, carefully wrap it by rolling it in paper and send it to the Laboratory.
- Such paint will at least show the color of part of the responsible car. It must be remembered, however, that many modern cars have more than one color and the paint transferred only represents the color of the particular area on the car that made contact with the victims.
- Rarely will an examination of paint transfer on clothing indicate the make and model of the vehicle involved, since only portions of the top oxidized layer on the cars are usually transferred. In addition, many vehicles are repainted using colors and types of paint which may be different from those specified by the automobile manufacturer

Burglary Cases
- Tools used to gain entry into building, safes, or other places often contain traces of paint, as well as other substances, such as plastic, safe insulation, etc. Care must be taken that such traces are not lost. If such transfers may be present, what
, wrap the end of the tool containing the material in clean paper and seal with tape to prevent loss. In no case should attempts be made to set the tool into marks or impressions found. If this is done, transfers of paint or material can occur and any traces found later will have no significance as evidence.
- Collect specimens of paint from all areas which the tools may have contacted at the crime scene. These samples should include all layers present. Do not destroy the tool mark in collecting the paint. If possible, cut out around the mark, and send it to the Laboratory.

Collection and Preservation of Paint Specimens
- Keep all samples collected in separate containers.
- Small paper bindles can be used to collect and hold many paint samples. A satisfactory method is to tape one side of the bindle to the side of the vehicle, building, or safe just under the area where the sample is to be collected. By holding the bindle open with one hand, and using a clean knife blade, paint can be scraped loose and into the bindle. With-the sample in the bindle, scotch tape can be removed and the open end of the bindle folded several times. It can be placed in a coin or mailing envelope, which can be marked and sealed. Scotch tape may be used to seal the bindle, but such containers should never be stapled.
- Glass vials or other suitable containers are used only as a last resort.
- Never place paint directly into envelopes unless large pieces are enclosed. Most envelopes have unsealed cracks in the corners and loss or contamination can occur.

Flammable Fluids: The search for flammable fluids in arson cases should include a thorough examination of the entire fire scene. This should extend to areas where no burning occurs, since flammable fluids may have been placed in other locations where ignition failed.
Traces of flammable fluid may be found in
cans at the fire scene in arson cases. Mattresses, rugs, upholstery, wallboard, and other objects at the scene may also contain fluids which can be separated and identified in the Laboratory, even though these objects are partially burned. Wood upon which such fluids have been poured and ignited may still contain detectable traces of the liquid, if the wood has not been completely charred by the fire. Even where a large and hot fire has occurred, traces of such liquid are sometimes found where they have seeped into the ground through cracks in the floor or flowed under baseboards and sills.

Recovery of Evidence Samples of glass should be searched for and packaged how?
- Shoes and clothing of suspects or other objects contaminated with glass should be wrapped in paper and submitted to the Laboratory for examination.
- All glass found at hit-and-run scenes should be recovered. The search should not be limited to the point of impact, since headlight glass may be dropped off at some distance away as the car leaves the crime scene. Glass from different locations should be kept in different containers. All glass should be collected because more than one type may be present. In addition, if just a few representative samples are saved, individual pieces that could be physically matched with glass remaining in the headlight shell of the suspected vehicle may be overlooked.

Preservation of Fingerprint Evidence
Most fingerprints submitted will be on paper, glass, metal, or other smooth surfaced objects. When articles containing latents must be picked up, touch as little as possible, and then only in areas least likely to contain identifiable latents, such as rough surfaces.
While gloves or handkerchiefs may be used to pick up such exhibits, any unnecessary contact should be avoided. Although using a cloth to pick up exhibits prevents leaving additional prints on the articles, the cloth will frequently wipe off or smear any prints originally present, unless great care is taken.
Large articles containing latents such as glass, metal articles, and firearms should be placed on wood or heavy cardboard and fastened down with string to prevent shifting and contact with other objects in transit. Where such evidence is to be examined frequently, a pegboard should be obtained on which wooden pegs can be moved as desired to support exhibits and keep them from moving. Bottles and glasses may be placed vertically on a board and placed in the bottom of a box. The base of the bottle or glass can be surrounded with nails to hold it in place, and the top can be either inserted through a hole in a piece of cardboard or held in position with a wooden board nailed to the container's lid.
Papers and documents containing latent prints should be placed individually in a cellophane or manila envelope. Such a container can be sandwiched between two sheets of stiff cardboard, wrapped, and placed in a box for mailing.