Investigative and
Forensic Consulting

This unique text has been written as a practical reference for detectives, crime scene investigators, and prosecutors on how to recognize a staged scene and how this offender behavior could be used as evidence in subsequent trials. The book is designed to help those actively engaged in conducting criminal investigations identify the red flags or those common findings at a crime scene that point to the scene being staged or altered and thereby assist the investigative process. The text is not only research based but also includes the authors’ 30-year experience and personal observations in conducting hundreds of different crime scene investigations ranging from homicide and death, burglary and other property crimes, to rape other and sexual crimes.

​This second edition features a new revised model and methodology for investigating cold cases suitable for all police and public safety agencies―large or small, domestic or international. This new model is more expeditious and convenient for departments that have less manpower and experience in dealing with cold cases.

(A. Chancellor)

This unique text​ refocuses the attention of first responders and investigative personnel to the concept of treating every death as a homicide, until sufficient evidence is discovered to validate another manner of death and eliminate the possibility of a staged homicide.

All death investigations should include a well-documented and examined crime scene and a thorough preliminary investigation. It is a well-established, unwritten “rule” when conducting death investigations to initially treat every death as a possible homicide. This includes the examination of the body, the recovery scene, the autopsy, collection of forensic evidence, and subsequent laboratory analysis. Police and investigators are often confronted with a death scene that they cannot initially determine the manner of death; these instances are known as equivocal death.

Coverage focuses on the basics of death investigation and the how to’s rather than dwelling on extraneous and unnecessary detail. By example, it is generally more important for the detective or CSI to understand how to properly pick up forensic evidence at the scene, and how the resulting analysis relates to their investigation, rather than the mechanics of how the evidence is extracted and analyzed at the lab. For suicide and equivocal deaths, it is likewise important that detectives also understand the importance of such things as a victimology assessment, risk factors, and/or ante mortem behaviors of the victim, cues that may provide clues that would be consistent with someone contemplating suicide. The book also features several aspects of criminal investigation that are not found in similar books, including coverage of victimology, including crime scene staging, the notion of psychology autopsy, and how to identify those risk factors or behaviors that are consistent with suicide including motive, intent, and ability.

(D. A. Hayden)

For investigators, the emphasis of traditional forensics (the science of the crime scene) has resulted in the loss of deductive reasoning skills. This book centers on the investigator’s ability to interpret and identify non-traditional cues and clues, oftentimes seemingly ‘innocent’ actions, through the investigator’s deductive reasoning skills. If the investigator can interpret these items and understand their evidentiary value and how this information becomes evidence of the crime itself, an investigation is more likely to have a positive outcome. Separated into five sections, the first section defines the roles, goals and outcomes. The next section pertains to the psychological aspects of the parties involved, including the victim, the suspect, and the non-offending parents. The third section concentrates on the investigation. This section addresses and discusses court rulings and significant cases (e.g. Crawford v. Washington). This is followed with interview methodologies and some leading interview guidelines. The crime scene is discussed in the next section. The fourth section reviews the court process, and the final section addresses the impact of long-term exposure to child abuse on team members. The book includes chapter summaries and numerous actual case examples of some of the more well-known and high profile investigations. At the end of each chapter is a list of key terms along with critical thinking questions for the reader to analyze and provide answers to the presented problems. The book will be an invaluable resource to law enforcement, child protective services, medical personnel, courts, and child advocates.

(D. A. Hayden)

Crime Scene Processing Laboratory Manual and Workbook serves as the laboratory course complement to Ross Gardner’s Practical Crime Scene Processing and Investigation. Developed through Hayden’s own course on crime scene investigation, it is designed to teach the basics of crime scene documentation, as well as evidence identification, preservation, and collection. Standing on its own, the workbook is also useful for self-instruction and as seminar curriculum.

This multi-purpose manual contains fifty exercises, including practical hands-on experiments such as evidence packaging, in addition to workbook exercises. Advice on report writing and suggestions for research papers are also provided. The manual includes a variety of documentary exercises not found in other resources such as mapping a crime scene, developing a crime scene response kit, preparing an evidence voucher, and sketching a crime scene.

With a variety of exercises simulating actual tasks, this laboratory manual helps build the skills required to properly document and process a crime scene. When the exercises are complete, it becomes a useful reference that can be revisited and relied upon throughout a career.

(J. Adcock; A.S. Chancellor; W. Doogan; L. Eliopulos; T. Keel; J.K. Smith; S. Wolter; P. Zirpoli; J. Holmes; L. Wagner)

Contains step by step guidelines for the conduct of homicide investigations, prepared by detectives for detectives. Includes a detailed checklist for detectives and for homicide supervisors, a short checklist to guide them through the review process.