Crime Scene Reconstruction
Devry University
Kemisha Askew
October 20, 2012

The topic I am writing about is Crime Scene Reconstruction. Crime Scene Reconstruction is the use of scientific methods, physical evidence, deductive reasoning and their interrelationships to gain explicit knowledge of the series of events that surround the commission of a crime. Crime Scene Reconstruction looks at the physical evidence and attempts to determine “What Happened? And how did it happen?” The reason why I have selected this topic is because I find it intriguing how physical evidence is broken down, evaluated, and reconstructed to actual tell how a crime occurred and what happened in the process. There are many television shows I watch daily that portray the crime scene investigation process in a certain light this is another reason why I chose this topic. I’d like to find out firsthand what actually goes on in the reconstruction process versus fictional exploitations of it on television. Crime Scene Reconstruction looks at the physical evidence and attempts to determine “What Happened? And how did it happen?” A similar method that is used is Criminal Profiling. Criminal Profiling is the application of psychological theory to the analysis and reconstruction of the forensic evidence that relates to an offender’s crime scenes, victims and behaviours. Crime Scene Reconstruction is the use of scientific methods, physical evidence, deductive reasoning and their interrelationships to gain explicit knowledge of the series of events that surround the commission of a crime. The goals of crime scene reconstruction is to encourage the exchange of information and procedures useful in the reconstruction of crime scenes, stimulate research and develop new and or improved methods of crime scene reconstruction, to promote the improvement of professional expertise, provide the opportunity for members to consult with their peers, and provide the membership with a current roster of members listing their agency address, phone numbers responsibilities and area of expertise. (ACSR. ORG, 2012).
The history of Crime Scene Reconstruction begin in 1991 with a group of professionals in Oklahoma and Texas who investigated crime scenes and performed forensic analyses and comparisons on evidence from crime scenes. The professionals felt like there was a need to create an organization that would give understanding of the whole crime scene and the necessity of renovating the crime scene in order to better understand the factors of the crime and be familiar with the safeguard of evidence. (ACSR. ORG, 2012).
There are three different types of Reconstruction. The first type is Specific Incident Reconstruction (Traffic Accident, Homicide, Bombing, etc). Specific incident reconstruction involves the re-enactment of the entire event, commonly employed during the investigation of a traffic accident or bombings.
The second type of Reconstruction is Specific Event Reconstruction (Sequence, Direction, Condition, Relation, and Identity). It focuses specifically on a precise event. Lastly, the third type of Reconstruction is Specific Physical Evidence Reconstruction (Firearms, Blood, and Glass etc.). Specific physical evidence reconstruction relates to the reconstruction of the likes of blood spatter or firearm use. Crime scene reconstruction is most often discussed primarily from the viewpoint of the type of evidence utilized for the reconstruction, although many crime scene reconstructions involve a variety of physical evidence and will require individuals from several different disciplines to effect the entire reconstruction. In some unusual cases, the reconstruction may utilize graphics illustrators to generate an animated video re-creation of the events of the crime, in order to illustrate better the scenario to the judge and/or jury in courtroom proceedings. (Robert R. Ogle, 2011).
The Crime Scene Reconstruction process also has three components which are documentation, analysis, and synthesis. Here is a chart explaining the different steps in the component process: FIGURE 15-3 Crime Scene Reconstruction Components

The crime scene reconstruction process is illustrated in Figure 15-3, which diagrams the flow of the process and its constituent components. An uncomplicated crime, assault with a deadly weapon, occurring at a single scene is used for illustration purposes. More complex crimes will have a more complex process, but the framework illustrated in Figure 15-3 will remain essentially the same. The crime scene and its constituents first require proper documentation, whether there is one crime scene or many. (Robert R. Ogle, 2011). The documentation component discusses how a crime can be committed with the element of blood spatter. It could be as simple as a blow to the head on a victim. Certain documentation and including notes, photographs, and sketches must me collected and evaluated in the crime scene reconstruction investigation. It is important to reconstruct a crime scene because if one has no knowledge as to what took place and how it took place, they lack the ability to figure out whom and why. The second component is the Analysis component. The analysis component is the data or information obtained from the crime scene documentation that was collected previously. It determines the size and shape of blood stains in a crime scene. Also it produces the type of weapon that was used to generate the blood stains at the scene. The third component is the Synthesis component. The Synthesis component occurs when the analysis of each of the event elements has been completed. The analytical findings for each of the event elements are put together to form a hypothetical scenario that accounts for all of the analytical data, a process called synthesis, or “putting it all together. (Robert R. Ogle, 2011).
Some examples of the types of Reconstruction are: * Blood and Blood Stain Pattern Analysis 17,18 * Identity of victim/offender. * Position and location of the victim * Position and location of the offender. * Movement by the victim/offender in the scene. * May identify the location of the scene (if the victim is removed and left elsewhere). * May indicate a staged or secondary scene. * Minimum number of blows struck * Type of weapon used.

* Documents 19,20 * Reassemble torn/shredded papers. * Recovery of obliterated writing.

* Firearms 21,22 * Trajectory. * Shooting distance. * Position and location of the victim. * Position and location of the offender. * Sequence of shots. * Direction of shots. * Possibility that the wound(s) could have been self-inflicted. * Identification of weapon used may link serial cases. (Daryl W. Clemens, 1998).
Listed below are the steps to reconstruction: 1. Recognition of evidence. 2. Documentation of evidence. 3. Collection of evidence. Step 1, recognition of evidence, is arguably the most important, as Lee points out "Unless the potential evidence can be recognized, no further reconstruction can be carried out." 35
Steps 1-3, recognition, documentation and collection of evidence, are the heart of any successful scene investigation, and form the basis for the reconstruction. 4. Evaluation of evidence. Step 4, evaluation of evidence, examines the evidence (possibly following laboratory analysis) and looks at what information the evidence provides, and how reliable it is. At this time any witness statements should be compared to the evidence to see which parts of the statements can be supported or refuted by the evidence. 5. Hypothesis. Step 5, hypothesis, is the formulation of an idea of how the event (or portions of it) occurred. This is not merely conjecture and should be firmly supported by the evidence. 6. Testing. Step 6, testing, looks to see how the hypothesis developed in 5 can be validated. This is accomplished by checking the evidence against known physical laws or devising a test to attempt to replicate the event (or the relevant segment). * Reconstruction. Step 7, reconstruction, is the reporting of the results of the analysis. The results are reported as a range, where the event (or portions of it): (Daryl W. Clemens, 1998).

In conclusion, unless the analyst (Reconstructionist or profiler) is one of the scene investigators, the basic scene work will likely already be completed, and any deficiencies will probably be impossible to correct. This may limit the information which the analyst can provide. To this end the need for continuing/advanced training for scene investigators cannot be overstated. While much of the evidence used for reconstruction speaks for itself and can be documented and collected using standard crime scene procedures, some types of reconstruction require specialized information.
The reconstruction may often begin with a simple walkthrough of the scene at which the incident occurred. The investigator may be able to construct a rough hypothesis of what happened, why it happened, and how. The reconstruction process is well detailed and has to be carefully handled by certain expertise. Gathering tons of evidence while keeping the crime scene safe can help tell point out a lot of what occurred in a crime. It’s important to understand that taking the proper steps in the reconstruction process can help evaluate the situation as well as get to the bottom of the situation.
The Crime Scene Reconstruction process is completed by a series of expertise. The professionals that conduct this process are highly trained. It is very critical that a professional is very developed because their expertise’s impacts the lives of other individuals. Not doing do can cause lots of innocent people to be convicted and may have even received the death penalty. The process is tedious and critical thinking is a necessity. The Crime Scene Reconstruction process helps us all. It determines “What Happened? And how did it happen?” With that being said criminals will be caught. A crime scene is the most primary source to finding out who did it and who was there. Keep the scene protected and the professionals will do the rest.

References (2011). Daryl Clemens. Crime & Clues. Introduction to Crime Scene Reconstruction. http://www.crimeandclues.com/index.php/forensic-science-a-csi/crime-scene-investigation/crime-scene-reconstruction/4-introduction-to-crime-scene-reconstruction (2012). Introduction to Crime Scene Introduction. Crime and Clues. The Art and Science of Criminal Investigation. http://www.crimeandclues.com/index.php/forensic-science-a-csi/crime-scene-investigation/crime-scene-reconstruction/4-introduction-to-crime-scene-reconstruction
(2012). Crime Scene and Accident Scene Reconstruction. Forensic Science Central. http://www.forensicsciencecentral.co.uk/reconstruction.shtml (2012). Larsen Forensics Inc. Shooting and Incident Scene Reconstruction. http://www.larsenforensicsinc.com/incident-scene-reconstruction.php (2011). Ogle Robert. R. Crime Scene Investigation Reconstruction. 3rd, Edition. (1998), Clemens Daryl M. Introduction to Crime Scene Reconstruction for the Criminal Profiler. http://www.cienciaforense.com/Pages/CrimeScene/CSReconstruction.htm (2012). Jones and Barlett Publishers. Methodical Approach to Processing the Crime Scene. samples.jbpub.com/9780763762414/62414_CH06_Final.pdf (2009). Knox and Associates. Crime Scenes. Forensic Consulting. We Bring Truth to Light. http://www.knoxforensics.com/crime.php