Behind the Crime Scene

Common Mistakes in Crime Scene Investigation and How to Avoid Them

Common Mistakes in Crime Scene Investigation and How to Avoid Them

Explore the critical mistakes in crime scene investigation that can ruin a case, from contamination to documentation errors. Learn practical steps to secure the scene, maintain chain of custody, and ensure evidence integrity.

Crime Scene Public Information: Managing Media and Bystanders

Crime Scene Public Information: Managing Media and Bystanders

Explore how law enforcement manages media and bystanders at crime scenes to protect evidence and privacy. Learn about the role of the PIO, legal boundaries, and crowd control strategies.

Live System Analysis: Examining Running Computers in Digital Forensics

Live System Analysis: Examining Running Computers in Digital Forensics

Explore live system analysis in digital forensics, focusing on capturing volatile data, bypassing encryption like BitLocker, and balancing evidence integrity with access needs.

Investigative Interviewing: How Rapport and Cognitive Techniques Improve Information Gathering

Investigative Interviewing: How Rapport and Cognitive Techniques Improve Information Gathering

Investigative interviewing relies on rapport and cognitive techniques to draw out accurate, detailed information from witnesses and suspects. Learn how proven methods like PEACE, OARS, and memory reconstruction improve outcomes in real-world investigations.

Documenting Bloodstain Patterns: Photography and Measurement Techniques

Documenting Bloodstain Patterns: Photography and Measurement Techniques

Accurate documentation of bloodstain patterns through photography and measurement is essential for forensic reconstruction. This guide covers the correct techniques, equipment, and protocols used by professionals to preserve evidence for investigation and courtroom use.

Accreditation Maintenance: Surveillance and Renewal Cycles Explained

Accreditation Maintenance: Surveillance and Renewal Cycles Explained

Accreditation maintenance requires ongoing surveillance and timely renewals to stay compliant. Learn how surveillance cycles work, what happens if you miss deadlines, and how to build a system that keeps your lab accredited without stress.

Toxic Cutting Agents: Health Risks and Lab Controls

Toxic Cutting Agents: Health Risks and Lab Controls

Toxic cutting agents in street drugs like fentanyl and heroin can cause organ failure, internal bleeding, and death. Forensic labs face daily exposure risks - here's how they're trying to stay safe.

SNP Panels for Forensic Phenotyping and Ancestry: How DNA Markers Help Solve Cold Cases

SNP Panels for Forensic Phenotyping and Ancestry: How DNA Markers Help Solve Cold Cases

SNP panels are transforming forensic investigations by predicting physical traits and ancestry from degraded DNA. Used alongside traditional STR testing, they help solve cold cases by finding distant relatives through genetic genealogy.

Annual Remembrance Events: How Communities Honor the Missing and Stay Connected

Annual Remembrance Events: How Communities Honor the Missing and Stay Connected

Annual remembrance events keep missing persons alive in community memory through simple, heartfelt gatherings. Learn how to organize one that honors loss without pressure, includes all ages, and builds lasting connection.

Leadership Paths in Forensic Laboratories: How Analysts Become Directors

Leadership Paths in Forensic Laboratories: How Analysts Become Directors

Forensic laboratory leadership isn't about titles-it's about responsibility. From technical leaders who stop flawed tests to directors who run entire labs, here's how analysts become the ones in charge.

Cold Case Revitalization: How Media and Technology Are Solving Decades-Old Missing Persons Cases

Cold Case Revitalization: How Media and Technology Are Solving Decades-Old Missing Persons Cases

Cold case investigations are being transformed by genetic genealogy, AI, and media exposure. In 2026, decades-old missing persons cases are being solved using DNA from old evidence, public genealogy databases, and viral true crime content.

Chain of Custody for Workplace Toxicology Programs: How It Keeps Drug Tests Legally Sound

Chain of Custody for Workplace Toxicology Programs: How It Keeps Drug Tests Legally Sound

Chain of custody ensures workplace drug tests are legally valid by tracking every step of specimen handling. Without it, results can be thrown out, leading to lawsuits and wrongful terminations. This guide explains how the DOT-mandated CCF works, why the MRO matters, and how to avoid common failures.