Activity Guide


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CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit

Activity Guide

59752 V0511

CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit

Materials Included • • • • • • • • • •

Fingerprint powder Fingerprint dusting brushes Fingerprint tape Fingerprint lifting tape dispenser Fingerprint backing cards Brown paper evidence bags Clear plastic evidence bags White evidence envelopes Evidence jars Magnifying glasses

• • • • • • • • • •

Crime scene template Flashlight Laboratory scoop Metal ruler Pitsco pen Safety glasses Scissors Tweezers Tape measure Gloves

Place the above listed materials in the provided toolbox. This will be referred to as the CSI toolkit throughout this booklet. 2

CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit Activity Guide 59752 V0511

Teacher Tips Activity 1 – Fingerprint Collection 101 In order for students to complete this activity, provide a piece of evidence from which they can collect fingerprints. A glass beaker, drinking glass, microscope slide, doorknob, tabletop, or other hard, nonporous surface will work. Items such as paper, textbooks, or wooden items will not work as well with the provided fingerprint dusting powder, as these items are porous and tend to require different fingerprinting techniques. Smaller items such as beakers, drinking glasses, and microscope slides should be placed inside one of the provided evidence containers – paper bag, clear plastic bag, or small white envelope. The evidence container should be sealed and labeled before being given to students. Stationary items, such as a doorknob or tabletop, or those too large for the provided containers will need to be identified for students. You may want to isolate these items with crime scene tape or some other means. Waxed paper can be used to protect surfaces as students collect fingerprints from small items. Non-abrasive cleaners work best to remove dusting powders from surfaces once fingerprints have been collected.

CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit Activity Guide 59752 V0511

Activity 2 – Analyzing Fingerprints Give students copies of the provided handouts.

Activity 3 – Trace Evidence In order for students to complete this activity, provide them with a piece of evidence from which they can collect smaller trace evidence. Dish towels, bath towels, clothing, and other fabric items will work well. In order to ensure that trace evidence is present, you may want to “dust” under a table, behind a desk, or over the floor in a hightraffic area with the larger piece of evidence. Other non-fabric items could be used for this activity. The spiral binding of a notebook is a good place for trace evidence such as hair and fiber to be found. Items that can be bagged should be sealed and labeled before being given to students. Larger items that cannot be bagged or are stationary – a tabletop, a chair, a section of a crime scene’s floor – should be marked and isolated with crime scene tape or some other means. You can be creative with this activity depending on time and access to evidence.

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Activity 1– Fingerprint Collection 101 Overview Collect fingerprints from a piece of evidence.

Shake off any excess powder by gently tapping the brush.

Materials Needed • •

CSI toolkit Evidence*

*Your teacher will need to provide a piece of evidence.

Procedure Put on the gloves from the toolkit. This will ensure that your fingerprints do not contaminate the evidence. Locate the evidence. Locate the fingerprint dusting powder, dusting brushes, lifting tape, and fingerprint backing cards. If needed, remove the evidence from its container and place it on a clean work surface. (Make sure that there are no materials on the work area that could potentially contaminate your evidence. You may want to cover your work area with a sheet of waxed paper or notebook paper to make cleanup easy.) If the evidence is large or stationary, such as a doorknob or tabletop, position yourself so that you can easily reach the evidence. Open the dusting powder. Lightly dip the tip of the dusting brush into the powder.

Using a twisting motion, very lightly touch the brush to the surface of the evidence. Move the brush over the surface of the evidence, covering the surface with powder. It may be necessary to refill the brush with powder. As you cover the surface of the evidence you should start to see fingerprints take shape. Be careful not to use too much pressure on the brush as this could smear the prints. After you have covered the evidence with dusting powder, put the dusting brush and powder aside. If possible, you may want to gently remove any excess dusting powder from the surface of the evidence. This can be done by tilting the evidence so that the powder falls away from the print. Tear off a piece of lifting tape large enough to cover at least one complete fingerprint from the evidence. Carefully place the tape over the fingerprint. Be sure to smooth out any air bubbles under the tape. In one smooth, quick motion, lift the tape from the evidence and place the tape on a fingerprint backing card. You should be able to clearly see the fingerprint. If the print is smudged or unclear, it is possible that you used too much powder or that you smeared the print in the lifting process. Turn the card over and fill out the required information. If there is time left in class and there are additional prints on the evidence, try lifting more prints. It takes time to perfect the print-lifting process.

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CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit Activity Guide 59752 V0511

Activity 2 – Analyzing Fingerprints Overview Analyze fingerprints collected from a piece of evidence.

Materials Needed •

Fingerprint backing cards with collected prints from Activity 1 • Magnifying glass • “Fingerprint Friction Ridges” handout • “Fingerprint Minutiae” handout

Procedure

“The collected fingerprint contains a tented arch pattern. Also present are a lake and an island.” Record your observations for as many fingerprints as possible. There are numerous computer databases and software programs that catalog, track, and match fingerprints. These applications use mathematical formulas to compare prints based on the traits and characteristics that you have been observing. Usually for fingerprints to be identified as coming from the same finger they must have 20 to 40 matching minutiae, depending on the database or software program being used.

Fingerprints are unique to each individual. Even identical twins have different fingerprints. There are certain characteristics that distinguish fingerprints. These traits are called friction ridge patterns. Take a moment to look at the “Fingerprint Friction Ridges” handout. Using the magnifying glass, take a look at your own fingertips and see if you can identify these ridge patterns. There are additional characteristics that can be identified in fingerprints. These traits are smaller than the overall ridge patterns of loops, whorls, and arches. These traits are called minutiae. Take a moment to look at the “Fingerprint Minutiae” handout. Again, use the magnifying glass to look at your own fingertips and see if you can identify any minutiae. Locate the fingerprint backing cards containing the collected fingerprints. Use the magnifying glass and the handouts to identify patterns in the collected fingerprints. Record your observations on a sheet of notebook paper. Record any friction ridge patterns and minutiae in the print. For example, you might write,

CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit Activity Guide 59752 V0511

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Fingerprint Minutiae

Fingerprint Friction Ridges

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CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit Activity Guide 59752 V0511

Activity 3 – Trace Evidence Overview Collect trace evidence from a larger piece of crime scene evidence.

Materials Needed • •

CSI toolkit Evidence*

*Your teacher will need to provide a piece of evidence.

Procedure Put on the gloves from the toolkit. This will ensure that your fingerprints do not contaminate the evidence. Locate the evidence. If needed, remove the evidence from its container and place the evidence on a clean work surface. (Make sure that there are no materials on the work area that could potentially contaminate your evidence.) If the evidence is too large for a container or is stationary, such as a tabletop or chair, position yourself so that you can easily reach and view the evidence.

Record the appropriate information on the evidence container. Repeat these steps to collect as many pieces of trace evidence from the larger piece of evidence as possible.

Additional Activities You may want to set up a mock crime scene and walk students through the process of sketching the scene. Students are provided a crime scene template and tape measure within the toolkit that could be used in creating both a rough sketch and a final sketch of the scene. Adding a small disposable camera to the kit would also provide students the opportunity to take crime scene photos of a mock crime scene. Students could walk through the process of logging photos and including them in the documentation of a crime scene.

Using the flashlight from the CSI toolkit, examine the evidence closely. You may also want to use the magnifying glass. Look for smaller pieces of evidence. These pieces of evidence could be hairs, other fibers, small pieces of plastic or metal, glass, and any other smaller objects that are not a part of the larger piece of evidence. This evidence is trace evidence. When you locate a piece of trace evidence, use the tweezers from the toolkit to lift it from the larger piece of evidence. Carefully place the trace evidence in the appropriate evidence container. Hair, fiber, glass, plastic, metal, and other dry trace evidence can be placed in an envelope. Wet evidence – any trace evidence that is a liquid or is wet, such as a shard of glass with a small amount of blood on it – should be placed in an evidence jar with a lid.

CSI: Pitsco Tool Kit Activity Guide 59752 V0511

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