name: unit 1: scientific method, observation, and...

Name:

1

Unit 1: Scientific Method, Observation, and Eyewitness Reporting

Objective 1: Plan and investigate using the scientific method. 1. Define the question, develop a hypothesis, design an experiment and collect information,

analyze and interpret the data, communicate results and extend knowledge by asking further questions.

2. Obtain, evaluate and communicate scientific information by constructing an explanation and using evidence to develop a scientific argument.

Objective 2: Understand and implement proper initial crime scene procedures. 1. Discuss the responsibilities of the first police officer who arrives at a crime scene. 2. Explain the steps taken to thoroughly record the crime scene. 3. Describe proper procedures for conducting a systematic search of a crime scene for physical

evidence. 4. Describe common crime scene safety precautions and their importance to conducting an

investigation.

Objective 3: Understand how observation and eyewitness testimony affects a criminal case. 1. Understand the various ways that the brain processes stimuli and commits it to memory. 2. Explain why eyewitness reporting isn’t always reliable based on how the brain and memory

works.

Keywords:

Hypothesis

Controlled

Experiment

Variable

Control Group

Constant

Independent

Variable

Dependent Variable

Forensic Science

Civil Law

Criminal Law

Locard’s Exchange

Principle

Physical Evidence

Overview

Photograph

Medium-Range

Photograph

Close-Up Photograph

Close-Up Photograph

with a Scale

Rough Sketch

Finished Sketch

Observation

Perception

Eyewitness Accounts

Filters

2

Introduction to Forensics Unit

Date Topic

1/8 Introductions and Syllabus

1/9 Scientific Method Notes

1/10 Rocket Launcher Lab

1/11 Finish Rocket Launcher Lab, History of Forensics Notes

1/14 Observation Notes and Activities

1/15 Recording a Crime Scene and Crime Scene Safety Notes

1/16 Guest Speaker

1/17 Recording a Crime Scene Lab

1/18 Search Lab

1/21 NO SCHOOL-Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/22 7 Sins of Memory Video, Types of Memory Reading

1/23 Types of Memory Reading

1/24 Stroop Test, Unit Case Studies with Questions

1/25 Distraction Article and Questions, Distract Town

1/28 Eyewitness Testimony Notes and Ted Talk: Scott Fraser

1/29 Unit Review

1/30 Introduction to Forensics Unit Test

1/8/19

Objective: Students will get to know each other, the teacher, and the classroom.

Warm-Up: None

1/9/18

Objective: Students will be able use the scientific method to design and conduct an experiment.

Warm-Up:

1. When is your unit test?

2. What are two things I expect you to know by the end of this unit?

Scientific Method Scientific Method Steps 1. Define the

- What is the question? - What just happened? - Why does it do that?

3

2. Formulate a Hypothesis - : A possible explanation for an observation that can be tested.

• An educated guess • a prediction • Use “If”, “then”, “because” format • We predict that if we drop a ball from a higher height, then it will bounce higher. • “If” is the manipulated variable. • “Then” is the responding variable.

3. Experimentation

- Testing the hypothesis

- Finding a procedure to either verify or disprove the hypothesis

- Hypothesis is ________________ only when predicted effects are _________________ and ______________________

- Experiment design is critical to make experiment and hypothesis accepted - - Situation is set up more than once to test your hypothesis

• Variable- A single factor in the experiment is changed to see if this has an effect on the results

• Control group- ___________________________________________________

• Constant- _______________________________________________________

• Independent & Dependent Variables

• Independent Variable: _______________________________________

• Dependent Variable: ________________________________________

• Conventionally the independent variable is plotted on the horizontal axis (also known as the x-axis) and the dependent variable on the vertical axis (or the y-axis)

• Example: Hypothesis – The more time a student spends thinking before blurting out, the less time they spend in the Assistant Principals office.

• Draw and fill in the independent and dependent variables in the space below:

• Characteristics of a well-designed experiment:

• The sample size is large enough to draw a valid conclusion about the hypothesis • Only significant variable is tested through the experiment. • A control group is present • ________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________

4

4. Analyze Data

- Looking at data obtained in the experiment- (Use graphs, charts, etc.)

- Looking for or 5. Draw Conclusions

- Draw a conclusion about your data. (Does the data support your hypothesis?

6. ____________________________________________________________________

- Record your data and report in detail your means experimentation and observed results - Scientists must report all the details because the experiment has to be repeatable.

1/10/19

Objective: Students will be able use the scientific method to design and conduct an experiment.

Warm-Up:

1. What is an example of when you use the scientific method in your everyday life? Explain your

example using the steps of the scientific method.

1/11/19

Objective: Students will be able to describe the major accomplishments that lead to modern forensic

science.

Warm-Up:

Identify the independent and dependent variables in the following situations.

1. People gain weight based on the number of calories they take in.

2. The amount of sunlight available influences how fast a tomato will ripen.

3. The amount of television watched by children impacts attention span.

5

An Introduction to Forensic Science

What is Forensic Science?

• Forensic science is the study and application of science to matters of law.

• You can use the terms forensic science and criminalistics interchangeably.

Forensic Science Defined:

• Forensic Science (or Criminalistics)

.

• It is vague & hard to define because it includes so many other areas of science.

Civil Law vs. Criminal Law

o Filed by a private party.

A corporation

An individual person

o Penalty: a guilty defendant pays the plaintiff for losses caused by their actions.

No incarceration

o Filed by the government

o Penalty: a guilty defendant is punished by

Incarceration (in jail/prison)

Fine paid to the government

Execution (death penalty)

o Crimes are divided into two classes:

Misdemeanors-less than 1 year incarceration

Felonies-sentence of 1+ year

History and Development of Forensic Science

When in Rome…

o Forensic” comes from the Latin word “forensis” meaning forum.

o During the time of the , a criminal charge meant presenting

the case before the public.

o Both the person accused of the crime & the accuser would give speeches based on their

side of the story.

o The individual with the best argumentation would determine the outcome of the case.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

o Sci-fi author in late 1800’s

o Popularized scientific crime-detection methods through his fictional character ‘

‘.

Mathieu Orfila (1787-1853)

o “Father of ”

o Wrote about the detection of poisons & their effects on animals.

6

Alphonse Bertillon (1853-1914)

o “Father of ”

o Developed a system to distinguish one individual person from another based on certain

body measurements.

Francis Galton (1822-1911)

o “Father of ”

o Developed fingerprinting as a way to uniquely identify individuals.

Leone Lattes (1887-1954)

o Father of Identification”

o He developed a procedure for determining the blood type (A, B, AB, or O) of a dried

blood stain.

Calvin Goddard (1891-1955)

o “Father of ”

o Developed the technique to examine bullets, using a comparison microscope, to

determine whether or not a particular gun fired the bullets.

Albert Osborn (1858-1946)

o “Father of Examination”

o His work led to the acceptance of documents as scientific evidence by the courts.

Walter McCrone (1916-2002)

o “Father of Forensics”

o He developed & applied his microscope techniques to examine evidence in countless

court cases.

Hans Gross (1847-1915)

o “Father of Forensic ”

o Wrote the book on applying all the different science disciplines to the field of criminal

investigation.

Edmond Locard (1877-1966)

o “Father of the ”

o In 1910, he started the crime lab

in an attic of a police station.

o With few tools, he quickly became

known world-wide to forensic

scientists & criminal investigators & eventually founded the Institute of Criminalistics in

France.

o His most important contribution was the “ ”

“ .”

He believed that every criminal can be connected to a crime by particles carried

from the crime scene.

When a criminal comes in contact with an object or person, a cross-transfer of

evidence occurs.

J. Edgar Hoover

o “Father of the ” - Director of

Federal Bureau of Investigation

during the 1930’s

7

o Hoover's leadership spanned 48 yrs & 8 presidential administrations. His reign covered

Prohibition, the Great Depression, WWII, the Korean War, the Cold War, & the Vietnam

War.

o He organized a laboratory to offer forensic services to .

law enforcement agencies in the U.S.

The Trial of the Century

o was a NFL football

legend.

o He is now famous for having been tried for the of ex-wife

Nicole Brown Simpson & her friend Ronald Goldman in 1994.

o He was in criminal court after a lengthy, highly publicized trial.

o What went wrong?

1st on the scene, police found evidence of & entered the

Simpson home without a search warrant, an action permissible b/c the situation

was an .

HOWEVER, the police a pair of blood-stained gloves

during their search.

Collection of evidence without proper warrants became the key argument used

by Simpson’s legal team & ultimately led to his acquittal.

o What was learned?

If forensic evidence is to be admissible in court, the highest professional

must be used at the crime scene!

1/14/19

Objective: Students will be able to describe observation and what makes humans bad eyewitness

reporters and how to become a better observer.

Warm-Up:

1. Pick two people from Friday’s notes and describe how they are related.

Observation Notes

What is Observation?

Things that you can see, but also , taste, , or

hear.

8

Our (how we interpret information received from our senses) limit

what we observe.

It is an active process-forensic investigators must to be excellent

observers.

o They must find, document, and interpret evidence.

Perception is Faulty

It is not always

It does not always reflect reality!

Why is perception faulty?

o Our brains can out and change information from our senses.

o In other words…the brain .

This means that we often think that things are part of an event that weren’t

actually there or didn’t actually occur.

o We also make where we apply previous knowledge to a new

situation.

How Our Brain Processes Information

How to be a Good Observer

Observe

Do not pay attention to what you think is important

Make a conscious effort to pay attention to all the in your surroundings.

Look for and make .

Do not assume that later on your will be able to remember everything-

the scene.

Observation

•Information from our senses

What We Pay Attention To

•Filter out some information

Perception

•Fill in gaps from previous knowledge and enriches with detail what we see, hear, feel, taste, and touch.

Short Term Memory

•Recently stored information

Long Term Memory

•Information that remains in memory-needs rehearsed and practiced to retain.

9

Recording Information

Puts observations in memory

Helps you to your observations over a long period of time.

Keeps the details in your mind.

1/15/19

Objective: Students will be able to describe and apply the proper procedures for thoroughly recording a

crime scene for physical evidence.

Warm-Up: Read the two sections entitled “Collecting Physical Evidence” and “Handling Evidence” on

pages 58-60 in your textbook and answer the following questions.

1. What types of physical evidence should be collected at the crime scene? How should these

items be packaged?

2. What type of physical evidence is being collected during the autopsy?

3. What is the goal of handling and processing physical evidence at the crime scene?

4. How can changes occur to evidence?

The Crime Scene

Physical Evidence and the Crime Scene

Physical evidence is any and all that can establish that a crime has or

has not been committed or can link a crime and its victim or its perpetrator.

Can’t collect everything-you have to be and collect the most

important pieces of evidence to be evaluated in the crime lab.

Evidence at a crime scene must be preserved and recorded in its condition

as much as possible.

Secure and Isolate the Crime Scene

• It is the job of the on the scene to preserve and protect the area as much as possible.

• Use ropes or tape to create a and place in strategic areas to keep everyone else out!

10

• The lead investigator then starts the scene and determines the perpetrator’s path of entry and exit.

• Items of interest must be and .

Record the Scene

• Records of the crime scene in its original state will be used in the subsequent investigation, as well as at trial if necessary.

• 3 methods for crime scene recording:

• Photography

• Sketches

• Notes

• Ideally, should be used but photography is not always available so sketching and notes should be done at the very minimum.

Photographing the Scene

• The prerequisite for photographing a crime scene is for it to be .

• If objects are moved, positions changed, etc. the scene is photographed, it must be in the notes.

• Most departments use a digital camera with at least megapixels but or more is the most desirable.

• Photographs can show:

• Line of sight of victims, suspects, or witnesses

• evidence in its original state

Photographic Procedures

• At a minimum, 4 types of photographs are required:

• -shows the entire area and all adjacent areas where important acts occurred before or after the crime, points of entry and exit, if a crime scene includes a body-the body’s position and location relative to the rest of the scene must be shown and once the body is removed, pictures of the area under the body should be taken.

• -as physical evidence is discovered, photographs should be taken of the objects in relation to the rest of the scene.

• -used to record the details of the object.

• -a ruler is placed in the photograph to show the relative size of the object.

Sketches

• Done after the photographs have been taken.

• 2 Types:

• : the initial sketch of the scene that shows accurate dimensions of the scene and the location of all objects that are important to the case.

• Objects in a rough sketch are usually depicted by a number or a letter and a key is included with the sketch.

• The position of objects is also denoted by accurate measurements made with a tape measure from two fixed points, like a wall.

• The sketch should also show a compass heading designating North.

• : usually done with a computer-aided drafting (CAD) program and must include all items from the rough sketch.

11

• Many symbols that allow a more detailed description of the scene, like blood spatter.

• Can be scaled to produce larger images for court and also close ups of interested areas of the crime scene.

Notes

• Note taking must be constant and must include:

• A detailed description of the scene

• of items of physical evidence recovered

• an item was discovered

• it was discovered by

• and by whom it was packaged and marked

• Who took the item from the scene

• Remember that this record must be sufficiently detailed because it might be the only source of information for refreshing one’s memory weeks, months or even years down the road.

• are a faster way to take notes at the scene, however, they have to be transcribed into a document soon after their recording.

Crime Scene Safety

• Before a scene can be processed, the first responding officers should make sure that the scene is not only secure, but also for investigators to enter. Check for anything that might be an threat to an officer’s life-such as moving vehicles, electrical damage, fire, etc.

• Investigators must use caution and protect themselves at all times from contracting AIDS or hepatitis. must always be treated as though they were infectious.

• Investigators commonly use dust particle at a crime scene because they are considered disposable and should be discarded after a single use.

• Investigators should always wear latex or nitrile , chemical-resistant clothing, Tyvek-type , a particle mask, , and possible face shields when potentially infectious material is present. Gloves should be changed when processing a crime scene.

• Investigators should be alert to , knives, hypodermic needles, razor blades, and similar items at a scene.

• Eating, drinking, smoking, and chewing gum are at the scene.

1/16/19

Objective: Students will learn about crime scene procedures from the Broomfield Police Department.

Warm-Up: None

1/17/19

Objective: Students will be able to describe and apply the proper procedures for conducting a

systematic search of a crime scene for physical evidence.

12

Warm-Up:

1. What is the most important prerequisite for photographing a crime scene?

2. If you could only take one type of photograph: an overview photograph, medium-range

photograph or a close-range photograph, which one would you choose and why?

Vocabulary Scramble: Use the definition to unscramble the vocabulary words. Write the word in the

box. (2 on the next page)

Vocabulary Word Scrambled Word Definition

hstpeyhios A possible explanation for an observation that can be tested.

octlrodlen preenixemt

The same experiment is set up multiple times to test your hypothesis.

eabrliva A single factor in the experiment.

tcrnolo urpog One group in the experiment where no change is made.

tcntonsa All variables in the experiment that are kept the same for all test objects.

ntdneinpdee raibvlea

A variable that is controlled by the experimenter-the variable that you change.

petndende baiavlre The thing that is the result of the change that you are measuring in an experiment.

rfoncsei cnicese The use of science and technology to enforce civil and criminal laws.

vlici wal Cases filed by a private party like a corporation or an individual person.

mnlciria alw Cases filed by the government.

hyslicpa icendeve Any and all objects that can establish that a crime has or has not been committed or can link a crime and its victim or its perpetrator.

13

1/18/19

Objective: Students will be able to describe and apply the proper procedures for conducting a

systematic search of a crime scene for physical evidence.

Warm-Up:

1. Describe at least 2 different methods for searching a crime scene. What are the advantages and

disadvantages of each?

2. What is physical evidence? Give three examples of physical evidence that may be found at a

crime scene.

1/21/19-NO SCHOOL-Martin Luther King Jr. Day

1/22/19

Objective: Students will learn about how their brain functions and how that relates to memory,

observation, and eyewitness reporting.

Warm-Up: None

1/23/19



Warm-Up:

1. Why is it important to take diligent notes when processing the crime scene?

2. Why do we sketch the crime scene as well as take photographs of it?

1/24/19



14

Warm-Up:

1. Do you think you are a good observer? What are some things that you struggle with that are

keeping you from being the best observer that you can be?

1/25/19



Warm-Up:

You will be given 2 minutes to observe the items in the tub. You may not write anything down or take

pictures-you have to memorize as many objects as you can. When the two minutes are up, write down

as many objects as you can in the space below.

1. What was your strategy for memorizing the objects in the tub? What could you do to

remember more?

1/28/19



Warm-Up: Read the sections entitled “Packaging Evidence” and “Biological Materials” on pages 60-62 in

your textbook and answer the following questions. (2 QUESTIONS)

15

1. List 4 containers used to collect physical evidence below and then describe what type of physical

evidence the container is used for.

2. What is the best type of container to package biological materials? Why?

Eyewitness Testimony Notes

What is Testimonial Evidence?

Testimonial evidence includes or statements

given to police as well as testimony in court by people who witnessed an event.

Eyewitness accounts can be a useful tool in helping investigators with analyzing a crime scene,

but are viewed to be highly . In addition, eyewitness identifications

(right or wrong) can have a big influence on the outcome of an investigation or trial.

People are likely to the same scene in ways

depending on their positions, line of sight, familiarity with the area, and other factors that can

interfere with a person’s ability to remember details.

The Innocence Project

Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, starting n 1992,

use DNA to examine post-conviction cases.

The project has found that up to of the wrongful convictions they discovered were due

to eyewitness identifications.

What Factors Affect a Person’s Memory and Their Ability to Identify a Suspect?

Witness Factors:

o Age

o Race

The (CRE) is a phenomenon in which

people are better at recognizing faces of their own race rather than those of

other races.

o Use of or

o Their states at the time of the incident

o Whether they were alone, part of a group, or whether others were in the area.

A person’s memory of an event can be influenced by other witnesses,

investigators, and/or the media.

o What type of and how much was going on around them.

Crime Scene and Suspect Factors

16

o events can affect an eyewitness’s recall of the event.

For example: a witness confronted with a weapon tends to focus on the weapon

rather than the perpetrator’s face.

o Time of observation of the crime scene

Someone who is able to on a perpetrator’s face

for a or longer will tend to have a more accurate

memory than someone who saw the person for only a few seconds.

o The suspects physical appearance

Studies have shown that faces that are either highly attractive, highly

unattractive, or distinctive are more likely to be recognized.

Simple , such as hats or sunglasses, can interfere with

accurate identification of a suspect.

Body piercings and tattoos the likelihood of an

accurate identification.

o The of day

o The person’s view of the scene

o with the area in which the crime took place.

Eyewitness Accounts

Reports from individuals about crime-scene events often .

Observations depend on the level of , stress, concentration, and the

amount and kind of distractions present.

Prejudices, personal beliefs, motives, and any since the

occurrence can also have an effect.

1/29/19

Objective: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of scientific method, crime scene recording,

observation, and eyewitness reporting on a unit review.

Warm-Up:

1. Go back to the front page of this packet and read through the essential outcomes. Put a star next to the topics that you still have questions about. Put a check mark next to the topics that you feel confident about.

2. How are you going to go about learning those topics that have a star next to them?

17

1/30/19

Objective: Students will demonstrate their knowledge of scientific method, crime scene recording,

observation, and eyewitness reporting on a unit review.

Warm-Up:

1. Turn in your homework to the basket.

name: unit 1: scientific method, observation, and...

Documents