Trauma and Crime Scene Technician study plan

Define each OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens category of exposure risk and match at least six personal protective equipment items to the specific scene hazard each controls.

List the required contents of a biohazard spill kit and write a step-by-step decontamination sequence for a blood-contaminated non-porous floor.

Draft a 12-step scene-entry and scene-release checklist that names who authorizes entry, who logs personnel, and when PPE is downgraded.

Build a chain-of-custody template that captures item number, description, collector, location, date/time, transfer signatures, and seal integrity at each handoff.

Explain the difference between scene security (perimeter control) and scene integrity (evidence protection) using three concrete failure scenarios.

Write a chronological scene narrative for a mock residential scene that separates observed facts from inferences and labels each inference.

Construct a scene sketch with a fixed datum point, measured triangulation for at least eight items, and a north arrow and scale bar.

Sequence the documentation order (walkthrough, photography, sketch, collection) and justify each step in two sentences.

Identify four common documentation gaps that later cause chain-of-custody challenges and describe how to prevent each.

Practice writing a scene log entry for a 90-minute window including arrival, personnel changes, and evidence collection times.

Classify ten evidence examples as physical, biological, trace, impression, or digital and state the correct packaging for each.

Explain why paper packaging is used for damp biological items and plastic for certain other items, and list three items that must never be sealed in plastic.

Describe proper collection technique for hairs, fibers, glass, paint, and soil, including control or reference samples for each.

Outline the process for collecting known reference samples (buccal, hair, fingerprints) and the consent or legal basis required.

Identify three degradation risks per evidence class and the storage condition that mitigates each.

Set up and demonstrate three photographic exposure scenarios (overall, midrange, close-up) and record the settings used for each.

Describe the purpose of a photo log and write entries for a 30-image mock set with frame number, subject, distance, and scale.

Explain when to use a scale, when to use a contrasting or fluorescent scale, and how to avoid shadow and reflection errors.

Draft a videography walkthrough plan that establishes the scene, avoids narration of conclusions, and records entry and exit paths.

Compare three scene-mapping methods (baseline, triangulation, total station or photogrammetry) and state when each is appropriate.

Describe the correct sequence for processing a surface for latent prints and justify powder, chemical, and fuming choices by substrate.

Explain how to develop prints on porous versus non-porous versus adhesive surfaces and list two methods for each.

Outline casting and lifting procedures for footwear and tire impressions in soil and in snow, including photography before lifting.

Describe the collection and packaging of trace evidence such as hairs, fibers, and gunshot residue with contamination controls.

List the labeling and documentation requirements for each impression and latent print lift so it can be linked to its source location.

Explain DNA transfer, touch DNA, and contamination avoidance, including the role of gloves, masks, and single-use tools.

Describe proper swabbing technique for blood and saliva on porous and non-porous surfaces, including drying and packaging.

List the conditions that degrade DNA and the storage and transport requirements that preserve it.

Identify the three basic bloodstain patterns (passive, spatter, transfer) and the physical mechanism that produces each.

Explain how impact angle, directionality, and point of origin are estimated and what limits the reliability of each.

Describe the sequence of a scene assessment for signs of life, and the boundary between first-aid scope and medical authority.

List the signs used to estimate time since death and the factors that make each estimate unreliable.

Explain livor, rigor, and algor mortis and what scene conditions alter their progression.

Outline the roles of the medical examiner or coroner, investigator, and technician, and when jurisdiction transfers.

Describe how to document injuries and postmortem findings objectively without stating cause or manner of death.

Explain the elements of chain of custody that courts scrutinize and how to defend each link in testimony.

Prepare and deliver a five-minute mock testimony on evidence you collected, distinguishing observation from opinion.

List the ethical duties around bias, evidence integrity, and disclosure of errors, and describe how to handle a discovered mistake.

Review the heaviest domains by re-taking a 40-question mixed self-test and logging every missed concept with its domain.

Write a personal weak-area remediation plan naming three topics and the specific action and date for each.