Securing the crime scene involves locking down the area, establishing perimeters, and controlling access. It is important to protect the life of victims and secure the scene and evidence. This involves stopping any activity, removing unauthorized people, and installing physical barriers to define the scene perimeter and isolate the area. A pathway of contamination is established and documented to control how evidence is affected. Crime scene security then guards the area, only allowing authorized forensic specialists, investigators, or coroners to enter after logging their presence and purpose.

1. Securing the Crime Scene

2. Securing the crime scene
 Locking down the crime scene
 Setting up crime scene perimeters
 Establishing a path of contamination
 Establishing crime scene security

3.  Duty of the first responder
 need to protect that crime scene becomes a requirement
 first priority is to protect the life
 Second priority is to protect the crime scene and its related
evidence

4. Locking down the crime scene
 Any activity going on in the crime scene should be stopped
 Anyone present in the crime scene should be shifted to some
other place
 A physical barrier is installed
 Defining the edges of the crime scene with demarcations –
establishing a crime scene perimeter
 Also Isolation of the scene of crime

5. Crime Scene Perimeter
 Defines the size of the crime scene
 Includes point of entry and exit
 Wherever the perpetrator would have had some activity to do in the
crime scene
 Area where the suspect and victim had interaction
Something to think about:
If the interaction between victim and suspect spanned for more time
and covered more area. How should the investigator define the size of
the crime scene and establish the perimeter?

6. Crime Scene Perimeter
 Isolating a larger area (or)
 Isolating smaller areas
 One access point ( a typical scenario)
 Setting a perimeter is more difficult in outdoor scenes
 Ultimately not allowing unauthorized entry

7. Path of Contamination
 Impossible to prevent all contamination
 Control and record it
 Recording the changes helps in preserving the integrity of the
crime scene
 Questions victims, witnesses etc on what they might of altered
or contaminated in the crime scene
 If contamination is explained duly the evidence can still be
accepted for analysis

8. Path of Contamination
 establish a designated pathway - known as pathway of
contamination
 Mostly done by the first responding officer or first investigator
 The pathway will be photographed
 Pathway can be marked with tape
 Necessity to deviate from that path- should be document

9. Crime Scene Security
 crime scene security officer
 guarding the crime scene
 Only authorised entry like :
 Forensic specialists
 Search team members
 Assigned investigators, and/or
 The coroner in the case of a sudden death investigation

10. Crime Scene Security
 Crime Scene Security Log
 signed in as they enter and signed out as they depart the
scene
 with a short note stating the reason for their entry
 The log depends on the scene being investigated