Unit 3, AC 1.3

Alternative transcript:

is usually found on clothes/bedding and should be left to air dry if it's wet. Then the item has to be put in a sealed paper bag that will go into a polythene bag that's salad and labelled. Items have to be packaged separately and victims of sexual assault should be examined and have sabs taken by a doctor/police surgeon asap. Saliva from bites can be swabbed so a sample is sent for DNA analysis, and skin flakes found at the scene can be sent off too. Hairs on the crime scene may be match to the suspect, or in assault cases a victim's hair can be found on a suspect. Hairs found on clothing should be wrapped in paper/put in a paper bag and then sealed and labelled so it can be sent for lab analysis. Individual hairs from furniture and treated the same way. DNA is extracted from the cells in the hair's root to try and identify victims/suspects. Fingerprints- (palm/toe/sole prints) are unique to everyone so they're a strong form of identification in cases. Prints are skin ridges in our fingers that leave marks/impressions on surfaces, and form from sweat/contaminants on the skin. Latent prints- invisible marks made visible with magnesium powder or a UV light. After they're photographed they should be lifted with an adhesive strip and placed on an acetate sheet. Patent/positive prints- visible to the naked eye and are left in substances like blood/ink/oil/powder/dust. They should be photographed for analysis and preserved for court use if possible. Plastic prints- 3D prints made by pressing fingers into soft materials like wet clay/window frame putty. They're called plastic because their easily shaped or moulded, and should be photographed and have a mould made of the impression if possible. Fingerprints collected from crime scenes can be compared to the ones on police's IDENT1 database of all those arrested to see if there's a match. Impression evidence-_made by suspect pressing something against a surface. This can be fingerprints, bite marks, shoeprints or tyre marks. Bite marks often come from sexual assaults and should be examined, swabbed and photographed by a police surgeon. A cast can sometimes be taken of the mark too so it can be analysed/matched to a suspect by a forensic odontologist. Shoeprints are left in oil/paint/blood, etc and can be matched to a suspect's footwear. Prints in soil should have casts made of them and outdoor prints should be protected from the weather so they can be examined. The National Footwear Reference Collection can be used to see if there's a match to a known offender's footwear. Tyre marks are left in soft soil, roads, etc and can be made by a rotating/skidding wheel. Worn tyres develop unique characteristics which is why they can be compared and matched to a suspect. Trace evidence- any material transferred from the suspect to the crime scene/victim and vice versa. It can be gunshot residue/glass fragments/paint flakes and fibres/soils/insects. Toxicology is also included and covers poisons/drugs/alcohol, and an example of evidence is breathalyser tests. Fibres are natural and synthetic and are transferred from clothing/carpets/seats. They're collected using gloves and tweezers and are then wrapped in paper and sealed in a labelled bag that's sent for lab analysis. Fibres from clothes can be from a variety of fabric mixes and dyes specific to a manufacturer, which helps identify the garment to make a description of the suspect. Paint can be on window frames/doors/cars and objects of different colours and types like rustproof, weatherproof, etc. This helps with identification and matching flakes on a suspect's clothes, tools, etc. Glass fragments are found at break-ins and can be compared to fragments on a suspect's clothes. Smashed windows undergo backwards fragmentation that throws tiny particles on the person breaking it, which can show someone's guilt/presence at the scene. Soil types can vary over even short distances so sample on a suspect's footwear can place them at the crime scene. Insects like blowflies are found on dead bodies and how developed the larvae/eggs are can suggest a time of death to the forensic entomologist examining it. Physical evidence case study- Barry George was arrested, charged and convicted for the murder of the presenter of Crimewatch Jill Dando. The trace evidence against him was a single microscopic particle of gunshot residue found in his coat pocket 1yr after the murder. However he was later acquitted when a forensic expert told the court of appeal that the gunshot residue could've been from the armed police- witnesses came forward and said they saw them at the scene of the rest even though the police never disclosed this. Testimonial evidence: This is a written/verbal statement given in court by a witness- can support either the defence or prosecution. Disclosure means before the court case both the prosecution/defence has to disclose any written statements they've taken and have to give the other side a list of witnesses they intend to call to give evidence. CCTV has to be disclosed too. Giving evidence- evidence agreed/accepted by both sides as true can be read in court without the witness there but they must normally attend in person to testify. Witnesses testify from the witness box where they can be cross-examined by the opposite side to test their evidence. Defendants can't be forced to testify. Vulnerable witnesses included people under 18, have a mental condition/disability, close relatives of someone who died due to the crime, repeat victims (e.g. stalking) and victims of serious crime like sexual offences, witness to gun crime. Them and intimidated witness can testify from video link or recording, or attend court but give evidence from behind a court. Admissibility of testimonial evidence- these are the rules that clarify what evidence is and isn't allowed in court and can or cannot be considered when reaching a verdict. Hearsay evidence is where a witness repeats a rumour they've heard instead of what they saw themselves, which isn't admissible. A forced confession is where violence/threats are used to extract a confession from a defendant, which also isn't admissible. Entrapment is inadmissible as it involves the police tricking the defendant into committing/confessing to a crime (Colin Stagg's case dismissed the Honey Trap). Testimonial evidence case study- Sir Roy Meadow was an expert witness who gave testimony in Sally Clarke's case, where she was being investigated for the murder of her 2 children. He helped get her prosecuted by saying there was a 1 in 73 million chance that both the babies dies from cot death. This was false and The Royal Statistical Society later issued a statement saying so. He also got Angela Cannings convicted in the same way. In the same case Dr Alan Williams (Home Office pathologist) did the autopsies of the boys and failed to disclose key evidence to the defence and changed his opinion that the first baby died from a respiratory infection to smothering. He was severely criticised by judges at the second appeal.