The Death Scene Checklist
When investigating a death scene, there are many things to do and many goals to achieve. Having no structure to your investigation is not a successful way of going through the process of checking a scene out. As author Dick Warrington states in his article on forensicmag.com, an investigator must have a checklist. “Good investigators can keep lots of details in their heads. Great investigators document the details.” Another statement in the article, most cases go to a jury trial. In order to do a good job, and specifically, to remember what happened in the case, a checklist goes a long way. Warrington goes through why a checklist may help whether it is in a complex crime scene or just a simple one where a jury trial will make all the difference. An interesting read for someone who is interested in learning more about the correct way to do investigating. Along with the information provided above, there are links that lead to webinars from Warrington on how to use death scene checklists.
For the full article, click here!
Warrington, D. (2013, October 22). Crime scene documentation: The death scene checklist. Forensic Magazine.
[Abstract written by Karl “Kip” Zenowich, ForensIQ Intern]