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تسجيل

THE BASIS OF EVIDENCE: CONTAMINATION

المؤلف:  Max M. Houck، Jay A. Siegel

المصدر:  Fundamentals of Forensic Science

الجزء والصفحة:  p50-51

2026-06-15

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THE BASIS OF EVIDENCE: CONTAMINATION

Once the activity surrounding the crime has stopped, any transfers that take place may be considered contamination, that is, an undesired transfer of information between items of evidence. You would not want to package, for example, a wet bloody shirt from the victim of a homicide with clothes from a suspect; in fact, every item of evidence (where practical) should be packaged separately. Contamination is itself evidence of a kind; this is why it is so difficult to falsify a case or plant evidence. Based on Locard’s Principle, every contact produces some level of exchange, including contamination. It is nearly impossible to completely prevent contamination, but it can be severely minimized through properly designed facilities, adequate protective clothing, and quality-centered protocols that specify the handling and packaging of evidence.