EVIDENCE AND INVESTIGATION: Booklet 1 NAME:
Key Questions: What is a detective? Detective: What is Forensic Science or Forensic Investigation: How can we use information and evidence to fight crime? Evidence: We use information that is available to make and link to the. Crime: Suspect: Some of the information appears in the form of evidence left at the scene that must be analyzed using scientific techniques to reveal connections between the and the. 1. Evidence must be linked to the suspect for it to be. If there is any inaccuracy or potential for you to be wrong, linking a person cannot be accomplished. 2. Our justice system is based on the principle that an individual is until proven. Thus, investigators must gather enough evidence to prove without a that the suspect charged with the crime is guilty in order to put them behind bars. 3. This evidence is presented to a during a trial by a detective or forensics specialist, so they can make the most informed decision. What do you think are important skills or characteristics that a person must possess in order to be an investigator? Or a detective? What are characteristics that would make you a bad forensic investigator or police detective? There are important skills that detectives need to have: 1. 2.
3. 1. Being Observant What does being observant mean? Observation: Witnesses can often provide helpful pieces of evidence. The more a witness is aware of their surroundings, the better they can assist the police. What does the word witness mean? Witness: Activity 1: Selective Attention Test Let s test your skills as a witness. How observant are you? In this drill you need to focus and count the number of times the players wearing white catch the ball. Please remember to be silent during this activity so that you do not distract others. How many times did the players wearing white catch the ball? How many students noticed the? Why do you think you missed it? How does it relate to evidence collected from a witness? Activity 2: Busy Street In this next activity I will be showing you a picture for 1 minute. I would like you to study the picture remembering to be as observant and to pay attention to detail. 1. How many taxis where there?
2. What was the colour of the Kodak sign? 3. What Broadway show is being advertised? 4. What time is it? 5. Which taxi had its door open? 2. Being Objective What does being objective mean? Inference: Is the interpretation of what is observed Activity 1: The Bus In this activity I will be showing you a picture in which you need to analyze and study for 10 seconds. Question: In which direction is the bus pictured travelling? Activity 2: Brain Teasers 1. A boy and a doctor were fishing. The boy is the doctor s son but the doctor is not the boys father. Who is the doctor? 2. Mr. Smith and his son, Arthur, were driving in a car. The car crashes. Mr. Smith is killed instantly, and his son Arthur is rushed to a local hospital. The old surgeon says, I can t operate on him. He s my son, Arthur? Discuss in your groups, how your own biases influence how we look at information or problems before us.
How might we control biases or change our approach so that our biases don t interfere with how we make conclusions? Activity 3: Objectivity PowerPoint Activity 4: Physical Appearance Worksheets. 3. Using Inference and Deduction Determining how the evidence links the the crime is when we infer and then deduct. What does it suggest? A is taking alot of information and distilling it down to one fact. Example: You said you went to medical school, work in a hospital, and you saw a person you referred to as a patient. I deduce that you are a. An s different then a deduction in that someone could take one fact, and extrapolate it out into several inferences. Example: You said you were a doctor, from that I infer that you are intelligent, care about people, and work in a hospital. Activity 1: Bag of Trash Inference Evidence
The evidence is what items is in the trash. The inference is what the students think that item tells them about the family. Activity 2: Make it a Challenge Inference Challenge is another way to teach Show, don t tell. For example, create a character that is very smart without actually saying they are smart. You can not use synonyms in your writing (example genius, intelligent, clever, ) As a group, pick you own inference challenge, selecting something unique or different. You will be sharing your piece to the rest of the group...so make it challenging!