Essay on "Crime Scene Integrity, Management"

Essay 4 pages (1314 words) Sources: 1+

[EXCERPT] . . . .

It is a judgment call the coroner and other crime scene investigators make as to determine how the individual victim died. This is important to establish the type of case investigators are working with, as well as whether or not it is a homicide investigation that would take greater priority above natural causes.

There are a number of ways to manage how to determine the management of death. First, death can be by natural causes, where there is no could play and the body's own inability to carry on is responsible. Then, there is homicide, where there were was clear evidence of foul play, or suicide, where the individual took his or her own life without the help of another. There are also accidents, where there "is an injury with no intent to harm," and undetermined where "inadequate information regarding the circumstances of death to determine manner" (Harle, 2012). Yet, it is true that "when death us due to a combination of natural and unnatural events, preference is generally given to the non-natural cause" (Harle, 2012). Essentially, crime scene investigators have ask themselves whether or not the natural cause of death would have occurred in circumstances where the unnatural factors were not present. In most cases, automobile related deaths are considered an accident, unless the driver was under the influence of alcohol or some other narcotic (Harle, 2012). Additionally, "while acute alcohol or drug toxicity is considered an accidental death, deaths due to consequence of chronic substance abuse are conventionally considered natural in manner" (Harle, 2012). Labeling these at the scene may often change once an autopsy is performed and the medical examiner can get a more in-depth look at what really happened to the individual victim.

Mechanisms of Death in Traumatic Injuries

The mechanisms of death are the exact injuries that caused death. They are essentially "the immediate physiologic derangement resulting in death" with examples like hemorrhage, cardiac arrhythmia, cerebral hypoxia, sepsis" and others (Harle, 2012). These are especially unique in traumatic injuries. Traumatic injuries are one of the highest causes of death in individuals ages 1 to 34 years of age (Caroline, 2012). Ultimately, a large number of the population unfortunately meets their end at some form of trauma. The definition of a traumatic injury is "the acute physiologic and structural change that occurs in a patient's body when an external source of energy dissipates faster than the body's ability to sustain and dissipate it" (Caroline, 2012, 3). Mechanisms of a traumatic death include a hit with a blunt force, penetration of foreign objects into bodily tissue or internal organs, shearing, avulsing, crushing, and compression (Caroline, 2012). Moreover, frontal, lateral, or rear head injuries that allow the brain to swell or bleed can also be mechanisms of death in cases of trauma. There are also the cases of penetration trauma like stab or gunshot wounds (Caroline, 2012). It is important for investigators not to "assume that a bullet followed a straight path between the entrance and exit sites" (Caroline, 2012, 23). The real mechanism may have been the bullet bouncing around the inside cavity of the body, thus causing the most amount of damage,

Conclusion

Overall, it is clear that dealing with crime scenes involving a death is very complicated. One must take great care in preserving the scene's integrity so that the forensic team can really get a glimpse of the circumstances that took place. But the work does not always end there. It is also a crucial step to figure out the manner and mechanisms of death in order to make the best prognosis of how the individual died.

References

Caroline, Nancy. (2012). Emergency Care in the Streets: Trauma Systems and Mechanisms of Injury. 6th Ed. AAOS. Web. http://www.888maes911.com/ParamedicSlides/Chapter17__Compatibility_Mode_.pdf

Harle, Lindsey. (2012). Forensic pathology: Cause, manner and mechanism of death. Pathology Outlines. Web. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/forensicscauses.html

Washington, Dick. (2011). Crime scene integrity. Forensic Magazine. Web.… READ MORE

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