Trauma and Crime Scene Technician key terms

Specialized clothing and equipment such as gloves, gowns, masks, eye protection, and shoe covers worn to prevent contact with blood, body fluids, and other hazardous materials at a scene.

An infection-control approach in which all human blood and certain body fluids are treated as infectious regardless of the person's known health status, so barriers are used every time.

A written employer program that identifies jobs with bloodborne pathogen risk and specifies protective measures, training, vaccination offers, and post-exposure procedures for workers.

Medical treatment started after a workplace exposure to infectious material, such as antiviral medication or vaccination, to reduce the chance of becoming infected.

A rigid, puncture-resistant, labeled receptacle used to immediately dispose of needles, blades, and other sharp items so they cannot injure or infect anyone handling waste.

Any biological substance, including blood, tissues, and infectious agents, that poses a risk to human health and requires special handling, labeling, and disposal procedures.

A color-coded, labeled bag used to contain blood-stained or potentially infectious disposable items before regulated medical waste is removed from the scene for proper destruction.

The process of removing or neutralizing hazardous material from tools, equipment, and surfaces so they can be safely reused or released from the scene.

A controlled boundary, often established in inner and outer rings, that limits who may enter a scene and preserves evidence from contamination, loss, or disturbance.

A chronological record of every person who enters or leaves a scene, noting name, agency, purpose, and times, which supports integrity and later testimony.

A first careful survey of the scene conducted with minimal disturbance to identify hazards, establish boundaries, and plan the order of documentation and collection.

The formal handback of a scene to the owner or other responsible party after all evidence is collected and documented, usually recorded in writing with conditions noted.

A documented, unbroken record of who collected, handled, transferred, and stored each item of evidence, from seizure to final disposition, used to show it was not altered.

A tamper-evident closure or tape applied to a package with the collector's initials, date, and case number so any later opening can be detected and documented.

Field notes written at or near the time of an observation or action, capturing details while memory is fresh and forming the basis for later reports and testimony.

The selection and use of appropriate containers, such as paper bags, envelopes, or rigid boxes, that protect an item from loss, cross-contamination, and degradation during transport and storage.

Small or microscopic materials such as hairs, fibers, glass, paint, soil, or gunshot residue that may transfer between people and objects and link them to a scene.

The forensic concept that contact between two objects usually results in transfer of material from one to the other, so offenders both leave and carry away evidence.

A specialized lamp, such as ultraviolet or a filtered forensic light, used to reveal latent biological stains, fibers, and treated surfaces that are not visible under normal lighting.

A wide image showing the scene or a major area in context, taken before closer views, to establish where the scene is and how its parts relate to one another.

A photograph taken at a moderate distance that shows an item of evidence together with its immediate surroundings, bridging overall and close-up views.

A detailed image of a single item, usually taken with and without a scale, that records its appearance, position, and identifying features for later comparison.

A ruler or labeled reference marker placed beside evidence in a photograph so viewers can judge actual size and relative position accurately.

A mapping technique that establishes a straight reference line and measures each item's distance along it and at right angles from it to record position.

A mapping technique that fixes an item's location by measuring distances from two fixed reference points, forming a triangle whose intersection locates the item.

A scaled drawing of a scene showing boundaries, fixed reference points, and the measured locations of evidence, often used alongside photographs to explain spatial relationships.

A fingerprint or palm print made by sweat and oils that is invisible to the naked eye and must be developed with powders, chemicals, or light before it can be photographed or lifted.

A fingerprint left in a visible medium such as blood, ink, grease, or dust, which can be photographed directly without development.

Marks or patterns left when one object presses into another, such as footwear, tire, or tool marks, preserved by photography and casting or lifting for comparison.

A hard, detailed reproduction of a three-dimensional impression, such as a shoe or tire track, made by pouring prepared gypsum material into the mark and allowing it to set.

An unstained sample of the surface or material near a biological stain, collected to show what the surface itself contains and to help interpret test results.

Items containing blood, semen, saliva, tissue, bone, hair, or other body material that may yield DNA and require drying, cool storage, and minimal handling.

Deoxyribonucleic acid, the genetic material in cells that can be profiled to identify or exclude a person as a contributor to biological evidence.

The examination of the size, shape, distribution, and direction of bloodstains to reconstruct events such as the type of impact, position of the source, and movement.

A bloodstain pattern produced when a force strikes liquid blood, creating many small droplets whose size and distribution help characterize the energy of the blow.

The indication, usually from the shape and tail of a stain, of the direction the blood was traveling when it struck a surface, used to locate the point of origin.

The settling of blood in the lowest parts of a body after death, producing a purplish discoloration that helps estimate time since death and whether the body was moved.

The stiffening of muscles that begins after death and later resolves, following a rough timeline used with other findings to estimate the postmortem interval.

The gradual cooling of a body after death toward ambient temperature, one of several indicators used to estimate how long the person has been dead.

Opinion evidence given by a witness qualified by knowledge, skill, or training to help the court understand technical matters beyond ordinary experience, such as bloodstain interpretation.