Dakota Fitzgerald is writing a daily blog on the Greer Police Department's CSI Day Camp. Dakota, who will attend Winthrop University in the fall, writes about the fine art of analyzing glass.
Now that we are all past the first day jitters we were able to dive into today’s topic, documenting the crime scene and collecting the evidence, with a splash. The topic was fun-filled and packed with juicy information, quenching my thirst for crime scene investigating.
These hands-on activities seem to morph me into a CSI and have their own gravitational pull, luring me further into the minds of forensic investigators.
Today, as an investigator, I was introduced to a number of factors at a crime scene: photography, taking notes, sketching and processing the scene. I am by no means a photographer so learning how to shoot a scene is not only insightful but thrilling.
One must have an overall photo showing all contributing factors of the crime scene, as well as a mid-range and close-up shots.
My favorite part of today, however, was the analysis of glass evidence. Imagine being in your bedroom, then suddenly two loud, blasting shots ring out followed by a crescendo of glass shattering against the floor. Glass is everywhere, showering the living room like a violent storm, but it is crucial to know which bullet hit the glass first.
How in the world could this be discovered? None other than by forensics and I was lucky enough to learn how. We were introduced to a whole new meaning of jigsaw puzzle as we painstakingly pieced together a sheet of glass that had been smashed. This allows investigators to examine the glass for prints as well as to form a chronological timeline as to when the point of impact was.
A mixture of feelings flood through me as I continue on this quest, jittery and nervousness yet absolute excitement to learn and better my knowledge in this field. Until the next…