 Mystery: August 02, 2017 Issue [#8420] |
  Mystery
This week: Preserving the chain of custody Edited by: Arakun the twisted raccoon  
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Quote for the week: "I'll be more enthusiastic about encouraging thinking outside the box when there's evidence of any thinking going on inside it."
~Terry Pratchett
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Have you ever read a mystery story where someone who is not a detective goes snooping around in a suspect's home, finds evidence of some illegal act, and takes it to the police? This happens all the time in mystery stories and movies, and it often results in the solution of the case. In real life, evidence collected this way would be worthless. If a person brings in evidence they collected themselves police have no way of knowing that they are telling the truth about where they got it. They may have actually committed the crime themselves and are trying to blame another character.
If you are writing a mystery story where the collection and processing of evidence is important to the plot, you might want to do some research on the rules and procedures involved in evidence collection. Many stories handle this aspect of crime investigation in an unrealistic way, much to the annoyance of readers.
Even the police cannot go wherever they want to search for evidence. Laws differ between countries, but in the United States, searching a person's home without their consent requires a search warrant, which must be granted by a judge. In order to obtain a warrant, police must convince the judge that there is a strong likelihood that they will find evidence of criminal activity if a search is conducted. A warrant is very specific. If the warrant only says police may search the suspect's house, they cannot search the garage or other buildings on the property.There are some exceptions in which a warrant is not needed, for example if they hear a disturbance or scream and believe someone in the house is in danger.
When evidence is collected, investigators must account for every time it is transported or handled. This is called preserving the chain of custody. For example, if police collect hair samples at a crime scene, the samples must be placed in a sealed container, transported to evidence storage, taken to a laboratory for analysis, and the results presented in court. Every time it changes hands and every operation performed on it must be documented. This is necessary to prove it hasn't been compromised or contaminated. If the police cannot account for the whereabouts of the evidence at all times after it is collected, the chain of custody is broken, and the evidence cannot be used.
Something to try: Write a mystery story that involves the mishandling of evidence.
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