Forensics Squad Unleashed Read Free Page A

Nathaniel.
    Nathaniel lifts his head. “That part sounds okay.”
    Nico keeps shifting in his chair, as if he can’t get comfortable. “If you want us to take notes,” he says, “I think you may have overlooked one small detail.” He pauses. “We don’t have anything to write with!”
    We all laugh—even Samantha. Lloyd grabs a box from a nearby table. Inside is a packet of ballpoint pens that say University of Montreal Department of Forensic Science on them. I vow never to throw mine away, even when it runs out of ink.
    Stacey is sitting next to me. She has opened her notebook to the first page and is making a list of all of our names.
    Lloyd starts the lesson. “Like Samantha just said, recording case notes in your notebooks is extremely important. As you take notes, you want to try and answer the questions who, what, where, when and how.”
    “What about the why?” Muriel asks.
    “I’ll get to that in a minute, Muriel.” Lloyd extends his arm like he is stopping traffic. “So as I was saying, forensic scientists try to figure out: Who was there? What type of crime was committed? Where are the boundaries of the crime scene? When was the crime committed? And how was the crime committed? We don’t ask why —that’s the detectives’ job.”
    “Always use a pen to take notes,” Samantha adds. “And if you have to cross something out, make sure you initial it. Otherwise, your notes may not hold up in court. You guys got all that?”
    “ Hold up in court ,” Nico repeats the words to himself. “Cool!”
    “All right then,” Lloyd says. “Let’s talk about forensic photography. What makes forensic photography so important is that it provides a permanent visual record of a crime scene. Once you move something at a crime scene, it never goes back to the way it was. So if a case goes to trial, forensic photography lets people who were not at the scene know what things looked like. Which is why forensic scientists need to take photos as soon as possible after a crime has occurred, in case evidence is moved”—Lloyd drops his voice as if he is about to tell us something terrible—“or tampered with.”
    Lloyd looks at Samantha. It must be her turn to talk.
    “Forensic scientists need to take three kinds of photos at a crime scene.” Samantha pauses, and I figure that’s because she wants us to write this next part down so we’ll remember it. Now I open my notebook and write the numbers 1, 2 and 3. I hope Samantha notices that my University of Montreal Department of Forensic Science pen is poised for note taking. Muriel is not the only one who wants to be Samantha’s favorite.
    “The three kinds of photos are overall, mid-range and close-up. You’ll want to use your camera’s wide-angle setting for overall shots.” Samantha gives us a minute to find the wide-angle setting on our cameras. “When we go outside, you should try to shoot the whole street corner. That would be an example of an overall. A mid-range photo might include the car with the bicycle sticking out from underneath it. A close-up could be just the handlebars or the front tire. Remember to use the zoom for those close-ups. Can you figure out where your zoom is?” We all fiddle around with our cameras until we find the way to control the zoom.
    “And keep a detailed list in your notebook of every photo you take,” Lloyd says. Stacey nods. I guess she likes lists. “That way you’ll avoid confusion afterward,” Lloyd explains.
    Muriel’s arm shoots up into the air. “Why don’t forensic scientists just take pictures with their cell phones? Wouldn’t that be a lot easier?”
    Lloyd shakes his head. “The resolution isn’t high enough on a lot of cell-phone cameras. If your photograph is blurry, you risk losing important evidence. Plus your cell phone might be seized, and everything on it could be looked at in court.”
    “Wow, I never would have thought of that,” Muriel says.
    I am writing so much down, I have to