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Police CSI Unit

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1. With all the talk about DNA evidence, are fingerprints still important?

Yes. Fingerprint evidence is still very important. Crime Scene Investigators will process the scene using various types of fingerprint powder in an effort to locate latent fingerprints. Latent prints are fingerprints that are invisible to the eye until they are “developed” with an agent (i.e. the powder that allows them to stand out). The most common fingerprint powder we use is black bi-chromatic fingerprint powder. We also have magnetic and fluorescing powders (they glow under special light sources) and fuming agents that assist in developing fingerprints (Super Glue fuming). The fingerprints are then gently removed using a special adhesive tape and then placed onto a fingerprint card for examination.

2. Why do you have two different crime scene areas taped off at major crime scenes?

It is very important to maintain the integrity of a crime scene. During a major crime investigation (such as a homicide or shooting) Crime Scene Investigators need be as thorough as possible – they need to protect the scene and the evidence as well as create a safe zone to conduct their work. Outdoor crime scenes provide specific dilemmas to Crime Scene Investigators. Oftentimes an “outer perimeter” is taped off using yellow crime scene tape to keep the public out, protect the area and to protect any evidence contained within the area.

A second area, the “inner perimeter” keeps officers and other emergency personnel out of the identified crime scene and helps protect evidence from being destroyed. All persons entering and exiting must be logged in and out. Once the Crime Scene Investigator and the Detectives have finished their investigation the area is re-opened to the public.

3. What happens to the evidence you collect?

All evidence is taken to the Richmond Police Department and booked into our evidence room. Property Technicians log every item (to include found property) and store it appropriately (refrigerated if necessary).

Every effort is made to reunite evidence and found property with its lawful owner. However, evidence determined to be relevant to an ongoing criminal investigation cannot be released until it has been determined if any charges will be filed with the court and/or a detective authorizes the release.
Statutes of limitations also determine how long evidence can be stored. The longest an item can be kept is 99 years (homicide evidence) and the shortest is about 2 years. Every few years, the Property Technicians conduct thorough inventories of evidence and property. Evidence and found property that is unclaimed and in good condition is catalogued and sent to public auction. Any money derived from the sale comes back to the Police Department.

4. What is trace evidence and why is it important?

Trace evidence is extremely important. Trace evidence refers to small evidence, both in size and in quantity. These are minute particles (hairs, fibers, paint chips, glass shards, bullet fragments, chemical residues) that, upon further investigation, can be identified via laboratory analysis. A small speck of auto paint found on the clothing of a pedestrian struck and killed can potentially reveal the make, model, and year of the suspect vehicle. Once the vehicle is located, a search of the vehicle can reveal small fibers and hairs that can be identified via laboratory analysis as belonging to the clothing worn by the victim. Trace evidence can also provide DNA evidence through human hair left at a crime scene or on the body of a rape victim. Just because it is small does not mean that it is not important!