| administrative log | A written record of the actions taken by the crime scene coordinator, including assignments and release of the scene.
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| alternative light systems (ALSs) | Portable lasers and handheld ultraviolet lighting used to locate physical evidence at the crime scene; particularly helpful in locating trace evidence.
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| Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) | A federal law which establishes the workplace rights of those with perceived or actual disabilities.
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| assignment sheet | Written reports completed by persons assigned tasks at a crime scene that document what they have done and found.
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| associative evidence | Bidirectional evidence that connects the perpetrator to the scene or victim, or connects the scene or victim to the perpetrator.
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| be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) | Part of the preliminary investigation, a notification broadcast to officers that contains detailed information on suspects and their vehicles.
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| chain of custody | The witnessed, unbroken, written chronological record of everyone who had an item of evidence, and when each person had it; also accounts for any changes in the evidence.
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| cleared by arrest | The classification assigned to an offense when the suspect has been arrested and there is sufficient evidence to file a formal charge.
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| corpus delicti evidence | Evidence that substantiates elements whose commission or omission must be demonstrated to have occurred in order to prove a case.
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| crime | The commission of any act that is prohibited, or the omission of any act that is required by the penal code of an organized political state.
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| crime scene | The location at which a crime was committed.
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| crime scene control | The procedure of limiting and documenting access to the crime scene to ensure that physical evidence is not accidentally or deliberate altered or removed. The procedure begins with the arrival of the first officer at the scene and continues until the scene is released from police -control.
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| crime scene release | The end of crime scene processing and the return of the premises or area to the owner or another responsible person; determined by the scene coordinator.
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| crime scene search patterns | Used to locate physical evidence at a crime scene; there are five patterns: spiral, strip/line, grid, zone/quadrant, and pie/wheel.
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| deductive reasoning | The thought process that moves from general premises to specific details—for example, a hypothesis about the crime is developed and then tested against the factual situation to arrive at a conclusion.
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| evidence recovery log | A chronological record of each item of evidence, listing who collected it, where and when it was collected, who witnessed the collection, and whether it was documented by photos or diagrams.
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| felony | A serious violation of the criminal code; punishable by imprisonment for one or more years or by death.
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| field notes | The shorthand written record made by a police officer from the time he or she arrives at a crime scene until the assignment is completed.
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| follow-up investigation | The process of gathering information after the generation of the incident report and until the case is ready for prosecution; undertaken for cases receiving a supervisory disposition for further investigation.
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| human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) | The blood-borne pathogen, also present in other bodily fluids, that can progress into AIDS, which reduces the body's defenses against diseases and leaves victims vulnerable to infections from which they die; a health hazard at scenes where bodily fluids are exposed.
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| inductive reasoning | The thought process that moves from specific details to a general view; e.g., the facts of a case are used to arrive at a logical explanation of the crime.
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| lifted-prints log | A written record of lifted prints evidence that contains the same type of information as that listed in the evidence recovery log.
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| macroscopic scene | The "large view" of a crime scene, including things such as locations, the victim's body, cars, and -buildings.
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| media statements | Information released to the news media; must not prejudice the suspect's right to a fair and impartial trial.
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| microscopic scene | A crime scene viewed in terms of specific objects and pieces of evidence associated with the crime, such as knives, guns, hairs, fibers, and biological fluids.
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| misdemeanor | A violation of the criminal code that is less serious than a felony; often punishable by imprisonment for no more than one year and/or a fine of no more than $500.
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| neighborhood canvass | A systematic approach to interviewing residents, merchants, and others who were in the immediate vicinity of a crime and may have useful information.
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| personal protection equipment (PPE) | Equipment and clothing designed to protect individuals at high-risk crime scenes from injury and infection.
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| photographic log | A written record listing the photographs taken at a crime scene and detailing who took them, where and when they were taken, and under what conditions.
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| preliminary investigation | The process undertaken by the first officer (usually a patrol officer) to arrive at the scene of a crime; includes assessment, emergency care, scene control, a BOLO, scene determination, incident report, and sometimes, evidence procedures.
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| primary scene | The location at which the initial offense was committed.
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| rough sketch | A drawing made at the crime scene; not drawn to scale, but indicates accurate dimensions and distances.
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| secondary scenes | The locations of all events subsequent to, and connected with, the event at the primary scene.
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| trace evidence | Evidence that is extremely small or microscopic in size or is present only in limited amounts.
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| tracing evidence | Evidence that helps identify and locate the suspect.
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| vehicle canvass | A systematic approach to documenting every vehicle in the immediate vicinity of a crime as a means of locating the suspect's vehicle.
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| violation | In some states, this is a minor transgression of the law, often punishable by a fine of no more than $250 (e.g., littering).
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