Proper collection, testing, and storage can make or break a case. Although smaller and sometimes hard to see, trace evidence can be crucial to a crime scene and investigation. It is typically noticed after a closer examination upon larger pieces of physical evidence and can sometimes require a microscope or other instrument. The subtle type of physical evidence, trace evidence, is small but measurable. Different types of physical evidence come in all shapes and sizes and can either be considered corroborative evidence by supporting a theory or circumstantial evidence by indirectly inferring a conclusion to the crime. The Locard’s Exchange Principle explains that a perpetrator always leaves evidence behind because of the objects or people they come in contact with, or objects they may have taken from the crime scene. Physical evidence is the key to a successful prosecution, and the integrity of every department depends on its proper collection and handling. Inmates have been released from prison, and the community sued for false imprisonment, all due to the mishandling physical evidence.
This can, in turn, cause a mistrial-causing the case to be thrown out and the accused to be released. If evidence is missing or tainted, or if the chain of custody is broken, that evidence cannot be used in court. It is the duty of these officers, and the department as a whole, to protect and control the physical evidence for a case. Day-in and day-out, police officers deal with evidence-hard, physical evidence.
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