Importance of Scene of Crime /Offence

Importance  of  Scene of Crime /Offence.

In Arushi murder case,CBI accused Rajesh Talwar &Nupur Talwar disturbing the scene of the offence.The scene of offence or scene of crime is one of the most important component of criminal investigation.It is a place where crime committed or reported, place where alleged crime has been committed by the accused,where victim body found dead or injured or raped,it can be murder,rape ,assault ,or it can be mass disaster like bridge or building collapse or railway accidents or road accidents,even theft or dacoity &other property related or  economic offences also,scene of crime is one of the most important component of investigation.

whenever police officer /investigating officer[I.O]receives information that crime/offence has committed ,foremost duty  of police officer is to rush to scene of crime or offence and  cordon off the area and starts investigating the crime in an logical manner,diligently and scientific manner,he should seek the help of experts like DNA/Finger print experts or medical experts to gather vital clues from the area.

He should not cause delay in sending dead body for postmortem to as-certain the  cause of the dead ,which proves vital in investigating the crime ,similarly he should send all materiel picked from scene of the crime [exhibits ]dispatch it   to forensic lab for further examination.

The action to be taken by the police:

1. First Information Report [FIR ]: As soon as police receives information about the commission of crime /offence, ,he should enter &note it in  general dairy  ;[a]date of &time of receipt of said information[b]mode of receiving information [telephone ,letter or in person][c]Name and address of informant[d]place &location of occurrence of crime.As per procedure,FIR should be sent to local magistrate.
2. Scene of Crime :  The concerned Investigating officer [IO] should rush to the scene of crime /offence with finger print experts,medical experts or other experts ,if necessary.
3. Procedural formalities : I.O should note the following[a] Time of arrival[b] condition of victim[c] no. of persons present &their details at the scene of crime[d]other information.
4. Examination of Victim /Body :if victim is alive ,he /she should be shifted to local hospital for treatment.Note the Details of Victim/dead body:[a]What is identity of the body[b]What is condition of body  [e.g on set of putrefaction  or highly decomposed][c]What are nature of wounds found on injured or dead  body [cuts,wounds,burns,spells  of acid or petrol or other smells  etc][d]What are conditions of clothing[strains,tears,buttons].
5. Shifting body: One of the most difficult job is shifting dead body to nearest civil hospital for conducting postmortem and getting the doctors report.This is most difficult and embarrassing job for police ,because some times dead bodies will be in very bad or decomposed state[ with foul smell ],police find hard to gather people to shift the  dead bodies.
6. Dying Declaration :One of the important job for police get Dying Declaration statement from the victim before magistrate,if his or her chances of survival is bleak.It is well established that dying declaration plays crucial role in crimes ,it is well accepted notion that dying man never lie,so his statement taken seriously ,while convicting the accused in the crime.  

  The scene of crime helps the police coming to the conclusion that;

• The alleged offence has been committed at a given place &time by the accused with eye witness present or circumstantial evidence  to prove the commission of the offence.
• Such offence has been committed by the accused with guilty mind /intention.
• In a stated manner.
• By exhibited means or instrument.
• The act or omission is punishable with prescribed punishment under provisions of the law.[IPC]   

The scene of offence is one of the important component in the investigation of the criminal cases.