David A. Makin - DNA and Property Crime Scene Investigation: Forensic Evidence and Law Enforcement

Forensic Evidence and

Law Enforcement

David A. Makin

Foreword by

Larry S. Miller

First published 2014 by Anderson Publishing

Published 2015 by Routledge
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Makin, David Alan.
DNA and property crime scene investigation / David Alan Makin.
pages cm
ISBN 978-1-4557-7553-8
1. Crime scene searches. 2. DNA fingerprinting. 3. Evidence, Criminal.
4. Forensic sciences. I. Title.
HV8073.5.M155 2015
363.252dc23

2014014252

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN 978-1-4557-7553-8 (pbk)

CONTENTS

Gary Jenkins

Gary Jenkins

Many years ago my first job in law enforcement was as an evidence technician for a small sheriffs office. We called it R&I (Records and Identifications) back thenbefore CSI or crime scene investigation was a household term. I was given an old 4 5 Speed Graphic camera, a flashlight, and a fingerprint kit. I had a few shopping bags and plastic sandwich bags in which to put any evidence I located. My only formal training was reading an FBI monograph on Collecting and Preserving Physical Evidence and working with an experienced criminal investigator. I learned a lot working with that investigator. We took great pains in documenting the scene, and locating and collecting physical evidence on those serious cases involving death or bodily injuries. But when it came to burglaries, larcenies, and vandalism we normally just made a report and, if any latent fingerprints were easily located, took a few dustings and a couple of photographs for the homeowners insurance company and to pacify the victim. Those latent images were normally stapled to the report and filed away with no more time spent on the case. It was only if the perpetrator was caught doing another property crime that we could talk him into fessing up to the other unsolved property crimes.

Times sure have changed, but not by much. Yes, we have more knowledgeable and properly trained investigators. And we have more readily available and affordable technology in our crime scene investigation arsenal. The emergence of the Integrated Automated Fingerprint Information System (IAFIS) has greatly increased our ability to match latent prints at the scene with known prints in a national database. Digital cameras have replaced the old press cameras and 35 mm SLRs. The Alternate Light Source (ALS) and other forensic lights have supplanted the old three-cell flashlights we kept in our back pockets. Even the public is more aware of the advanced technology from watching crime scene television shows and motion pictures where evidence is located and tested in a laboratory within a matter of minutes. And, with increased public knowledge of crime scene investigation technology, there is increased accountability and expectation of police response and action at crime scenes. As many prosecuting attorneys will attest, if the jury feels the police did not do a proper job at the crime scene based on their advanced knowledge from watching crime television shows, it could lead to an acquittal. We have come to call this the CSI effect.

Perhaps the most advanced crime scene investigation technology that has come about in the last few decades is DNA analysis. The public first saw the potential benefits and liabilities of DNA watching the O.J. Simpson murder trial on TV in 1995. Now, hardly a day goes by when someone is not either convicted on DNA evidence or exonerated by it. The technology for DNA analysis is constantly evolving and has become faster and cheaper. One could predict that within a few years DNA analysis will be as commonplace for CSI investigators as that old fingerprint kit I used to carry. It will be a portable, on-scene test.

This book contends that DNA evidence collection should be in commonplace use for property crimes and not just for personal crimes. Yes, there are backlogs of testing for serious personal crimes at many crime laboratories. And, yes, many crime laboratories restrict the testing to serious personal crimes due to cost and time. But that is not to say that collection at the scene should not be performed. When IAFIS went online, many a cold case was solved due to the collection of a latent print at a crime scene years ago by some conscientious R&I officer. Already we have seen nonviolent and property crime cases solved using DNA technology in cases such as illegal tree harvesting, narcotics manufacturing, stolen livestock, counterfeiting, and game poaching. To not collect DNA evidence at the scene of even nonserious property crimes may now be seen as negligence, even if the crime lab doesnt do an analysis. Perhaps we may just staple the swabs to the report like we did with those latent prints until the day when DNA analysis will be commonplace, cheap, and fast. Yes, times sure have changedbut not by much.

Larry S. Miller, PhD
Professor & Chair
Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN, USA

I have been working on this book, or more specifically the broader connections between technology and criminal justice, since I started pursuing criminal justice research nearly 15 years ago. Specific to this book, it is a culmination of 3 years worth of research. As typical, I should work through the exhaustive list of people and institutions supporting and enabling me to dedicate time to this book. While I will do that, I want to highlight specifically the patrol officers, detectives, command staff, forensic technicians and experts, and prosecutors who allowed me to step into their word and view forensic technology through their eyes. Thanking them for the participation seems routine. However, I do not merely value their participation. Rather, each shared their frustration, hopes, and even questionable ethical behavior involving forensic evidence. Their openness to this study introduced new concepts and valuable insight into the challenges, successes, and opportunities to refine our forensic practice. The trust they placed with me is something that I will never forget and truly, without them, this book would not exist and its contribution to the field would be minimal. I also want to thank the individual officers that completed the survey providing remarkable insight in their responses to the open-ended questions on the survey. Anyone who conducts survey research is aware of how rare are these questions completed and many of the officers took considerable time to share policy, procedure, and again their frustrations. To continue highlighting the practitioners involved, I want to highlight Chief Gary Jenkins for his contributions to this book, specifically the two chapters he wrote speaking to the challenges and opportunities of expanded genetic processing. I have been fortunate to collaborate with Gary on multiple projects over the years and his insight on police practice is immensely beneficial. I have worked with many police officers over my career, but Gary is one of the most research-oriented, which speaks to his eagerness to learn more about practices around the nation and even the world adapting them into his agency.