My first call out

Each CSI in my force is required to be on call a number of times a month. It works out that one of us is on call once a week for each office. An on call shift will almost always follow a late shift.

I had a particularly busy late shift and didn't get back in the office until 2200 hours. I had to then complete the reports for each job I had attended and sort the evidence I had recovered.

I should go home at 2200.

I was lucky enough to be joined on my late shift by another CSI in the same office, so at least I had someone to talk to whilst I worked. We had both been worked well that shift, so were both still in the office listening to Florence and The Machines on my iPhone whilst typing away.

The clock got to about 2345 when the phone rang on the desk between us.

We're not normally there at that time and the officers know that too.

It must be a supervisor, either calling to tell us to go home or, far more likely, asking us to go to a job.

We looked at each other briefly, I answered the phone.

The supervisor wanted one of us to go to a Section 18 Wounding scene which was outside just around the corner from the nick. She passed me the details which I wrote on a scrap of paper on the desk. CSI John was eagerly reading the note over my shoulder as I scribbled away.

Lots of "yep" "Uh Hu "OK"'s and I hung up.

CSI John had the gist of the scene but I explained it to him in the way the Supervisor had. The supervisor said she required one of us to go and didn't mind who it was. I really wanted to go but we decided to flip a coin, it was overtime after all.

Heads, CSI John won. Rubbish.

I packed up my kit and went home.

I got home and flicked the kettle on. I had a cup of tea and went to bed, pretty certain I wouldn't be called out.

The phone rang at 0342, it was my supervisor who wanted me to attend an outside scene.

It turns out one of the City's finest decided he was bored of sleep at 0300 hours and wanted to see if he could kick and punch the nearest passer by as hard as he could. The victim fought back but came off noticeably worse than the other and had a fractured skull.

The offender had left a substantial amount of blood at the scene. Bonus.

I live only about five minutes from the station. I jumped in the shower, cleaned my teeth and signed in at the office at 0410. I printed the log and put my cases in the van.

I stapled the four pages of the log together and put it on my clip board.

I called up on the radio:

"CSI Guy to control, over"

"Good morning CSI Guy, go ahead, over"

"Good morning to you! Can you let the officers at Any Street know I'll be with them in fifteen minutes please? Over"

"No problems"

I got in the van and started the engine. Tripod! I ran back up the stairs and fetched the tripod from under my desk. Night time photography is impossible without a tripod.

It didn't take long to get to the scene. It was on a different division to the one I normally work. I was greeted by the shift Sergeant who had a handful of swabs...

Hmm. Swabs...I thought? I've got my own.

They had blood on them. Not so good. It turns out the bobbies on the scene were under the impression I wasn't going to be turned out. They made the decision to recover the evidence themselves.

Luckily for me, and them, there was still enough blood on the pavement and road for me to spoon up.

I grabbed some yellow number triangles and began to place them down at points of interest, these were a number of spots of blood and a broken bottle. The markers help to identify each location in relation to the next in a series of photos. Also, when recovering an exhibit, I can identify it 'from next to marker 3' etc.

I took a photo up and down the road to show each side of the scene. I then took a general photo of marker one. I then put the macro lens on, I'm a geek like that, other's probably wouldn't. I want as much detail as possible in the image.

Whereas a photo taken during the day would probably only take a 125th of a second to record, at night it can be anything between 1-30 seconds and sometimes longer. The camera has to be completely still during this time, otherwise the image will appear to be blurry.

One of my CSI elders told me that if a job is important enough to be called out for, it's important enough to be photographed. I'll remember that one. We don't take photos at every job, there's no need.

Once the photos were complete, I put my camera in the van and grabbed my SOCO kit. We still call it SOCO kit. CSI kit doesn't suit it.

The first evidence bag contained three swabs. One was a control sample of the sterile water I was using, the second was a wet swab of the blood and the third was a dry swab of blood. A control swab should always be taken. Depending on the circumstances, surfaces and time elapsed etc, depends whether or not a wet and dry swab are taken.

Each swab is labelled with the exhibit number, time and date. These three swabs go in the same exhibit bag and have the same exhibit number. The exhibit number changes when the sample location changes.

I did this for the other location and recovered the broken bottle.

It doesn't seem a lot, but I was at the scene for just short of an hour. The photos take the longest amount of time.

When there is a CSI officer on duty at 0400 hours then you'd be surprised how popular you are. You are often the only one on duty for the force. I'm convinced there's secret messages sent between control rooms on divisions letting each of them know I'm on duty. Control rooms and supervisors will often try to get you to another job after the one you've done. I'd love to stay on, for two reasons, I'm already awake and more importantly; it's overtime. Unfortunately the overtime needs to be authorised by a CSI supervisor. There s always a CSI supervisor on call overnight to answer calls and refuse or authorise a call out.

The Inspector wanted me to go to the hospital and photograph the victim's injuries. I wasn't allowed. The injuries will still be there tomorrow, a CSI on normal time will be tasked with it.

I went back to the office and put the report together on the computer. I put the blood swabs in the freezer.

I signed out of the time book just after 0730 and stopped at MacDonald's on the way home for breakfast. In bed by eight and got the rest of that day off.

I checked the progress of the job Yesterday. It turns out the victim has decided not to pursue a complaint against the fool who almost killed him. It means the swabs are destined for the bin. I still get the overtime however.

I've been very busy recently and have so much I want to blog about but I need to wait until the cases are done and dusted.

I'll go back and see what I can blog about from a few months ago.

Speak soon.

CSI Guy

Armed Robbery

I was about an hour into my late shift. Lates almost always include being on call until 0700 the next day.

It was a warm day, I only had my force issue t-shirt on and combat style trousers. I don't like my uniform. I think it looks scruffy. I'd much rather wear a short sleeve shirt and trousers. We'll see what happens with that.

I do need new boots though. I must look on the internet for those.

I digress. It was about three o'clock when I was just leaving the station to go to my first job. My colleague had left moments before me to go to a different division. I suspect he was on the same airwave channel as me though.

The first transmission came "Any unit for an emergency response to 123 Mytown Jewellers, panic button activated"

Now sometimes these things go off and people have no idea. I've been one of many who have piled into a public house on the outskirts of town, to be stared at by five or six shocked onlookers. The manager didn't realise he had a panic button, let alone that he'd activated it!

The second call came, seconds after the first.

"We've had a second call now, armed robbery in progress at 123 Mytown Jewellers, firearms seen"

You can almost feel the buzz., the adrenaline running through the officers fingers as they respond to the radio call.

The force helicopter, lets call her '99, was up on a different job but it wasn't as important as this one. The transmission came from her crew. You know it's them before they tell you, you can hear that they're in a helicopter. They wanted a piece.

I was on my way to a burglary just around the corner from our station. I got my kit together and got in the van. I knew I'd have time to do the burglary first.

My colleague made a sharp exit from the station car park. He knew I'd have heard the job come in. Secretly I wanted to go to it anyway.

As I left the station, I could hear '99 getting closer. She makes such a racket when she's low. I like seeing her though. There's something reassuring about her presence.

I eagerly listened to updates from responding officers. The four masked men had made off with a substantial amount of very expensive jewellery. The description of the car was given, along with an index. The index was incorrect. It was likely to be on false plates.

I arrived at the address of the burglary. It was only four streets from the Jewellers. '99 was above me now.

I knocked on the door. No answer. I knocked again. No answer. I shouted through the letter box. When I opened it, at 300 decibels came Michael Jackson's Billie Jean. This could take a minute.

I got in eventually. I left about twenty minutes later with fingerprint lifts.

I pre-empted the request for CSI from responding officers and called up.

"Control from CSI Guy, over"

"Go ahead CSI Guy"

"ETA for 123 Mytown Jewellers, four minutes, over"

"Appreciated CSI Guy, we were about to call you"

You've got to keep the control room happy. The bobbies amongst you will understand that one.

I drove down the road approaching a police van with lights flashing, blocking the road. It took me a minute to wait for the other road users to perform three point turns and go back the way they came.

I have a laminated A4 card for the dashboard which has the force crest and Crime Scene Investigation on it. It helps when I park up at scenes in odd places, then all the tape and police cars move and my van looks odd. I took it from the glovebox and put it on the dash.

I drove towards the female officer stood in the road, my window down and waved at her. She shook her head and arms frantically. "You can't come in here sir......oh, sorry, I thought, uh, sorry..."

Makes me laugh everytime.

I could see the Jewellers. The front door was a mess. Glass everywhere. A Sergeant and a PC (who I'd met before) were stood outside with a scene log.

I drove the short distance from the road block to the Jewellers. As I drove down the road, other shopkeepers were stood in their doorways watching, watching everything. I could feel them looking at me and my van. It wasn't clear who I was. Why was I allowed through the block?

I got my kit, camera and my 'spare kit' bag and made my way over to them.

The Sarge gave me the run down. The PC told me that he'd been first on scene, he got the owners out and no one had been near it since.

I love it when that happens.

The immediate area outside the Jewellers was taped off, using parked cars as points to tie the tape to.

I set my case down behind one of the cars, inside the cordon. I needed to take photos, but I didn't want any of my kit in the shots.

I walked back out of the cordon, I took a photo up and down the street looking back at the Jewellers. I took a photo square on to the shop front, ensuring I wasn't in the reflection of the glass. I took a close up shot of the door that had been forced and made my way inside.

I wore footwear protectors to ensure that I didn't contaminate any footwear impressions I would later recover. It helps to be wary of where you step, however, I had to step somewhere. We have stepping plates which allow us to move through a scene without our footwear touching the surface any offender's footwear may have. I didn't require them in this case, as long as I was careful.

The inside of the shop was pretty small. It was hot. I was glad I only had my t-shirt on. I could feel the heat warming me up rapidly. I saw a fan and a stand alone air conditioning unit. The problem was, they were already on.

It was nice to get inside, shut the door and listen. Listen to the silence. There was so much going on outside. People were gathering on the pavement opposite the Jewellers. Now they were watching me.

I took a minute just to stand and look around. It helps me massively to look and plan in my head how I will process the scene.

Enough planning.

The glass cabinets had been smashed to pieces. There was broken glass everywhere. There were pieces of jewellery on the floor, mixed with glass. I'm not fond of jewellery. Probably because I don't understand it's value. Like flowers, I guess.

A whole pane of glass had come from the inner door when it was forced, and lay on the floor, complete but shattered. I powdered this, and it was covered in footwear impressions.

The footwear impressions are recovered using a black gelatin lifter. Its placed on top of the powdered (or unpowdered) impression and lifted and secured. It produces a replica of what can be seen on the treated surface.

Each footwear impression is recovered in turn, labelled and sealed into a tamper evident bag. All exhibits are written up and sealed at the scene.

It's not somewhere you'd normally find footwear impressions. Good find.

I recovered a bag left by the offenders. They had brought a number of bags with them, in order to carry the jewellery. The bag was probably purchased just for this job. It looked brand new.

I recovered a number of fingerprint lifts too.

When the offenders forced the door, they used a tool of some sort. The victims hadn't seen what this was. I was curious. The PC suggested the head of a sledge hammer, but I wasn't convinced. The shape seemed too clean and conforming. I took a gel lift of the impression it left.

I tidied up a little as I worked through the scene. I stacked jewellery I collected from the floor onto a unit. I placed larger pieces of glass into a pile also. I think it helps the victim clean up later if I make an effort as I go.

CID arrived. I was perched, powdering items on the floor. I could see them in the corner of my eye, I wanted to finish what I was doing before I got up and went back outside to talk to them.

I could do with stepping outside to get out of the heat.

I spoke to the DC. She was pleasant. I hadn't met her before. She explained what she knew, which was he same as the Sarge had told me. I told her what I had found so far. I went back inside a little cooler.

I was at the scene for around two hours. Once I had left, the cordon could be removed.

I still had the list of jobs I started the shift with. They still had to be completed. The robbery took up a fair stretch of my shift. I'd have to work my backside off to get the rest of the jobs done.

I did a couple more burglaries and then had to photograph the scene of an alledged rape.

Fire Investigation

I want to ensure that we are all on the same page here. Let me break it down James Brown style.

Places, People, Names and other specific information is deliberately made anonymous here to protect those very things. Some details are altered slightly to ensure that my anonymity and others' remains in place. This blog's purpose is to share my experiences and training for those who are interested. I will not use this blog as a platform for abuse of the Establishment or to reveal details of incidents that have occurred where I work.


Righty oh. We've cleared that up, so lets talk business.


I was lucky enough recently to undergo some further training. I spent a day at a Fire Training Centre. The aim of the day was to put into practise the theory we had learnt on the days before our practical. There were nine of us on the course. It was a scorching hot day and we travelled about an hour or so, behind a tractor, to the centre.

We were split into two groups, one of four and one of five. I was with the group of five.

I had only met one of the other CSIs previously. The centre was a fair size. It was home to the administration headquarters for the local fire service. There was a distinct smell of charred metal containers.

As we rounded the corner, there were ten or so firefighters stood in a semi circle, there appeared to be an instructor in the centre who was talking to them.

We were invited to watch the demonstration of a back draft.

In simple terms, this is a situation that can occur when a fire is starved of oxygen but the gases and fuel within the fire remain at a very high temperature. When oxygen is reintroduced, say by the opening of a door or smashing of a window, then combustion will restart. This normally occurs with an explosive effect, flames and smoke can often be seen to exit the room or house through the door or window, rapidly.

See this Youtube video for a visual demonstration

We watched the demonstration and we all stank of smoke.

We split off into our groups and were given our scenarios.

There had been a report that some masked offenders had stolen a car, a Volvo estate, colour green. They had used it as a getaway vehicle after an armed robbery at a local premises. The vehicle was then reported to be alight and the fire service have attended and extinguished the fire.

I was in a group with four CSI Girls, lucky me.

The car had been placed by a fork lift truck in a small area for us to work on it.

We found out afterwards that a small amount of white spirits had been used to accelerate the fire on the front seat. Items were placed in the vehicle so that we could recover them and observe how they were preserved.

It was my task to take the photographs of the vehicle and any exhibits we found during the excavation. I love photography, I have a real passion it for it. I was pleased that I had this opportunity.

We learnt during the theory input that burnt cars present a very real health and safety risk. Some forces have decided that CSIs will not examine vehicles due to the risk involved. The mix of plastics, metals and other components provide a risky cocktail for the examiner. Fluoroelastomers being one of the main risks which produce hydrofluoric acid when subjected to fire.

I have however read a report that suggests the risk from Fluoroelastomers and the subsequent hydrogen fluoride gas (which condenses to hydrofluoric acid) is minimal in motor vehicles.


We all suited up in Tyvek white suits. It was a scorching hot day. I wore normal rubber gloves to keep my hands and ultimately my camera clean. The CSI Girls wore thicker protective gloves.


I took photographs of the vehicle from each corner, using a 18-35mm lens. Photographs are taken to ensure that a true and accurate record is made of the vehicle before we disturb the scene.


Once I photographed each corner, ensuring that the registration was captured in each, I took a photograph from an elevated position to capture the roof. The roof had suffered a lot of fire damage, the sun roof had acted as a chimney and the glass had all but gone.

I then photographed in each door starting at the driver's door (front offside) and worked my way around. Photographing into a car can be problematic with the flashgun on the hotshoe as the flash usually casts shadows into the vehicle where the light catches the door frame. I took the flashgun off the hotshoe and used a cable. I could then position the flashgun in a suitable place to illuminate the interior sufficiently.


I took my gloves off, they were dripping with sweat. I could feel that my legs were wet with sweat also. Not cool. I made sure I drank lots of water. I hate drinking water, it's such a boring drink!

There was a distinct smell of charred items. The car's insides were black. This was a result of the interior burning and the deposition of soot from the fire and smoke.

Most of the windows were broken. We learnt how to tell if the window was broken before or during the fire. When firefighters extinguish a fire, water from their hoses cause the glass to cool rapidly and this can cause the glass to break, this is known as thermal shock. The glass looks like bubble wrap. When it breaks, the edges are smoother than a normal broken window.

Once the photos were taken of the vehicle as we found it, we began to excavate the debris. We used an assortment of tools. Most of the evidence was likely to be under the first layer of debris, as this top layer is likely to be bits that have fallen during the fire, parts of the roof, glass and fabric etc.


All of the material that was taken from the vehicle was transferred into a large bucket. This needed to be double checked, we had to ensure there were no items of evidential value within the debris. The debris was sieved into another bucket and a magnetic wand was also used to detect any items of importance.


Each of the CSI girls took a door each and began hacking away. With care, of course.


There were a number of items in the vehicle in various places and the practical assessment was aimed at us recovering all of the items.


On the back bench seat was a DVD player. The outer casing had melted and it was black. I turned it over and the underside was as it was when new. I was surprised. I could see the serial number and the model numbers on a sticker. I photographed the sticker using my macro lens.


I love my macro lens.


The front seats were reduced to the frames. You could see the springs where the cushions would normally be. The back seat was charred but generally had remained intact.


I swapped with one CSI Girl and started excavating the driver's seat and foot well.


I was convinced that we were going to find a firearm within the vehicle and looked everywhere.

When I was digging the debris from under the seat, I found a set of Volvo keys. The leather fob was in pristine condition. This was surprising as everything around it was burnt to a crisp. The way in which the bunch of keys were placed, protected the fob. It was covered in a dark yellow sticky substance, a product of the burnt interior I expect.


I soldiered on and used a very large knife to cut the carpet from the vehicle. The rubber floor mat had protected the floor very well. When I cut the carpet, I found what appeared to be a shotgun cartridge. It was surrounded by melted debris. I couldn't separate it from the debris but could very clearly see the bottom. I used my macro lens to photograph the base. The firing pin mark was clearly visible.


We worked on the vehicle for just over an hour and a half. We managed to recover cigarette ends (fully preserved!) keys, a bottle of accelerant, a DVD player, a Coke can, a spoon and a magazine which had preserved a CD within it.

We didn't find a firearm.

The car was in a bad way when we got hold of it and to say it was any better when we finished would be a lie. It was cleaner though. All of the debris had been stripped right out. Wind the clock back a few thousand miles and give it a polish and it'd be on the second hand car dealership forecourt in minutes for £975 with a free tank of petrol.


My force policy is not to examine vehicles that have been burnt out unless they are involved in a serious or major crime. I understand the reasoning behind it. I did however, enjoy ripping that poor little Volvo to pieces and collecting evidence.

It must be a guy thing, breaking and destroying things. I loved it.

If fingerprints were a requirement of the interior, then there is also a chemical treatment that allows soot to be removed from surfaces to allow for fingerprinting. Some of the items we recovered may have been subject to this once they reached the lab.

We had to package an item each, which had been recovered from the vehicle. The general rule is to package anything from a fire scene into nylon bags as any accelerant or fluid will not seep through the nylon as they would in a normal plastic bag. There is a method of securing the opening of the bag, known as a swan neck, which prevents leakage also.

We had a debrief and completed another exercise. We had lunch on the local fire service which was delicious and we headed back to watch the football.

Its been really busy at work recently. We have had a large number of major incidents and everyone has been rushed off their feet dealing with them. Its nice to work with a team that really pull together when the workload increases. I'm lucky to be where I am.


I would like to take the opportunity to wish PC David Rathband well and let him know that Police Officers and Staff across the country are thinking of him. Good luck.

Until next time.

CSI Guy

How do you do it?

Like on the TV? CSI? Do you see dead bodies? Do you go to murders?

Some common questions I'm asked when I speak to people about my job or even when I'm attending a not so violent scene.

My favourite one was:

"Ethel (can you tell I made that name up?) the guy from Forensics is here, you know, like off the TV, that program, VIS"

VIS? What is VIS?! Just smile and nod CSI guy.

I didn't grow up wanting to be a CSI. I thought of a career within the Police and worked a number of paid and voluntary roles within a Constabulary before I decided it was what I wanted to do.

I love my job. I get up at 0500am when I'm on earlies and I don't moan one bit (well, a little) It doesn't feel like I'm going to work! I'm sure in time, that may change, but I hope not.

In the time I have been with my current force, I have seen some gruesome things. The deceased male in the bath (see post) was one of them. I'd seen a deceased person before, when I worked for another force, but not as a CSI. If a week goes by without attending a scene where there isn't a deceased person, then it feels odd.

I've seen a lot of deceased people who have commited suicide. I've also seen deceased people who've been murdered. The strangest ones to attend are when someone has passed away without incident, without being involved in a fight or taking their own lives. We go to some incidents where people have passed away and the circumstances are unclear. Normally we'd attend to take photographs and confirm there had been no foul play. The photographs are taken on behalf of the coroner.

Friends and family ask me how I go to jobs and I don't get upset. It's not because I have no heart or I'm cold and have no feelings. I'm able to do it because I know that I have a job to do and I do it as professionally as possible. I think that if I'm one of the last to see that person before they are buried or cremated then I will do my best to ensure they are dealt with, with dignity and respect.

A lot of people say they couldn't do it.

I go home at the end of the day to my better half and I do normal things like everyone else. I might tell her I've had a stressful day so she makes the dinner though!

I enjoy going to any scene, but I enjoy going to major scenes more. I get a little buzz knowing that I'm one of only a few people that will attend that scene and will be able to help decipher what has happened and ultimately identify offenders.

As a CSI you should also expect some periods of inactivity. There is a lot of paperwork involved. You have to be meticulous in everything that you do. You have to be prepared to go to court and explain your actions and evidence to a Jury, some months later in some cases.

Depending where you are based in the Country will depend on the type of jobs and how often you attend those jobs. It's easy to make assumptions as to what incidents occur in what areas, but all sorts of crimes happen where you'd least expect it.

The benefit of my force, and it's the same in most others, is that a number of CSI's work from the same office. This means that everyone you see on a day to day basis goes through exactly the same as you do. Undoubtedly they've been to a scene before similar to the one you've just returned from. It's helpful to others to talk about what you experienced at a scene and what your thoughts were.

I'll be going on call as of July. I'm looking forward to it. I'll be sure to blog about my first call out.

Murder Weapon

This incident came about amongst three or four other murders and attempted murders. The office was full of people, well as full as it can be, with exhibits coming and going.

Detectives and Detective Sergeants were a common sight in the office, coming by for copies of photographs or to collect exhibits to take to the Forensic Science Service (FSS).

It was a particularly busy day, I was the only CSI on for our area covering volume crime scenes. I had completed my seventh burglary scene when the Crime Scene Manager called me over the radio.

Th Crime Scene Manager (CSM) is a CSI who usually has completed a number of years experience. To become a CSM, the CSI has to attend a specific course with the National Policing Improvement Agency. The course is a two week residential course at Harperley Hall and covers many aspects of Crime Scene Management. The course includes coordinating resources at a scene, devising and continually reviewing a plan of action for evidence recovery, liaison with specialist personnel and other persons involved in the investigation. The NPIA's website has more information for those who are interested....and to keep the NPIA happy :-)

I came on duty at 0700 and the CSM had come on duty after me as she had been at the scene the night before until late. She explained that she had returned to the scene and was there with a blood spatter analyst from the FSS. There had been a stabbing where the deceased had been stabbed a number of times and died as a result of the injuries sustained.

The police search team were deployed to do a fingertip search of the route the offender was believed to have taken when he left the scene and had discovered a knife in a nearby garden.

The CSM couldn't recover the weapon as there would be contamination issues. If the CSM were to attend both scenes then she could inadvertently transfer evidence from the initial scene to the second scene and this could give misleading information. The two scenes wouldn't even be attended by the same police officers for the same reason.

The CSM requested that I attend the scene and photograph and recover the knife.

I programmed the address into my sat nav and headed off.

As I pulled into the street I could see the large Mercedes Police Van at the other end of the street, it saved me looking for house numbers. I bumped my van up onto the pavement near two CID officers. I informed the control room I was at the scene and got out of the van.

I introduced myself to DC Detective, and his reply was "It's DS Detective" DS meaning he's a Detective Sergeant and not a Constable. Way to go. I'm making friends already.

I asked a few questions about the knife, and ascertained it was bloodstained and bent. Luckily it was still slim enough to fit into a knife tube. I grabbed my kit bag from the van and my camera case and approached the address.

As I walked through the door I could smell food. The family hasn't long sat down for lunch and then found the police all over their house and garden! Luckily when the knife was found, the officers were smart enough to realise that this was now a scene. One officer remained in the garden to protect the knife and the others left sharpish.

I put on my white suit, mask, gloves and overshoes. This way I knew that no matter what, I wasn't going to risk destroying any evidence. The knife had been outside overnight, however, it hadn't rained which was good.

I began to take photographs. I took one of the front of the property so anyone viewing the photographs would know the address. I then took photographs from each corner of the garden. This way there was a complete view of the whole garden from each angle.

The knife was in the last corner, so I took a long shot, middle shot and then changed lenses to use a macro for close up shots. The first few were as the knife was found, with some weeds and undergrowth in the way. Once I was happy I had a few photos of the knife exactly as it was found, I removed the weeds and undergrowth for a clearer shot of the knife.

Although there was a net curtain along the patio doors, I could feel six pairs of eyes all on me. After all, I was in this family's garden, with a white suit and mask on. It was probably the most excitement they had for a long time!

The knife was small, probably only four or five inches in blade length, it was a solid metal and silver grey. Although nothing special, it looked like a part of a set. It had blood along it's entirety. There were fingerprints in blood on the blade. This is great evidence and I've been lucky enough to recover it.

I took a series of photographs of the knife with a scale beside it. I turned the knife a few times to ensure each side was photographed. I then secured it into the knife tube I brought with me.

The knife tube is a plastic tube that splits into two. One part fits into the other and screws shut. Each end is reinforced with a metal cap. This tube allows the safe recovery and transport of bladed articles. I then put the tube into a tamper evident plastic bag that I had labelled with the exhibit number, time, location and description as well as some other identification specific information.

I cleared up everything I had taken to the address with me and once the knife was safely packaged I took my suit and other PPE off.

I returned to the station and completed the necessary paperwork and booked the knife into the secure property store.

I got home a few hours late but it was all worth the time.

Nightclub shooting

It's something that you would expect to happen in the USA, isn't it? Surely this doesn't happen in the UK? Sadly it does, and more often than one would expect.

Reports of gun related crime incidents are becoming common place in the newspapers and televisions within many regions of the UK. However, you do normally only tend to see the more high profile cases or those that the Police decide to issue a press release for.

There are many reasons behind gun crime and these vary slightly depending on the geographical location in which they occur. Some of the most common reasons are gang members enforcing respect for its members or families and protecting territory. Gangs and criminals (not mutually exclusive!) often use firearms to secure venture capital.

I often come to work and read the previous night's briefing pages and there's usually at least one incident that involved masked offenders using firearms in some form of violent crime. It doesn't shock me as much as I thought it would.

I used to work for a different police force before I became a CSI, in a different role, and I can't remember the last firearms incident that took place there and they are only separated by one other County

I arrived at work for 0640 hours and there were a number of cars already in the car park. This meant one of two things; either everyone else was super keen and early like me, or, more likely there had been a serious incident and they had been called out.

It was the latter.

Two CSIs had been called out through the night and had dealt with the initial examination of a shooting scene.

About a mile away from the station was a nightclub. It's primarily used for private functions such as birthday parties or wedding receptions. We're not in the City but only a few miles from it, but I wouldn't have either my birthday party or wedding reception at this club.

Most of the CSIs were busying themselves at their desks with various tasks, most related to the scene we were holding at the nightclub. There were two CSIs preparing to attend the location and continue the examination, CSI Woman who came to the Suicide incident with me being one of them. She asked if I'd like to help them at the scene as there was a lot to do.

I couldn't have answered quicker!

We got some equipment together, including handfuls of evidence bags, swabs, water viles and some white suits. The two CSIs who had attended through the night had conducted the initial examination, which included some photographs of the scene. fingerprinting of key areas and swabs of blood.

A Police Officer had been posted outside all night. The Officer is likely to be relieved every three or four hours, depending on how many Officers are on duty. The main role of the Officer is to protect the scene. There will be tape indicating the inner and outer corden. No one should pass either tape unless there is reason to. The Officer will also control the scene log. Anyone who enters or leaves the scene will have to give their name and collar number to the Officer who will record it in the log.

It turns out one offender shot himself in the leg and the other was injured during the shooting, so by the time we were ready to attend the scene, CID had already made enquiries to identify the two offenders from the incident. The presence of some good quality CCTV went a long way. One was in hospital and the other was in hiding. The officers began a manhunt for the second offender and it turned out he was wanted for similar offences a few months back.

There was a private function at the club during the night/morning and some unwanted guests turned up with one thing on their mind. Trouble.

It was our task to collect the evidence to show the offender's involvement and to identify any other people at the scene who were key witnesses or possible offenders. The club had been a haven for a number of known criminals that night, idents were going to come easily.

When you know you are going to be at a scene for some time (and we knew this meant days in this case), it's helpful to find a sterile area where you can set up kit and store evidence that is collected. There was an unused room where we left our cases and large supply of bags and swabs.

I brought a case with various Crimelites with me. The Crimelite is a specially designed light source for use at crime scenes. The Crimelites are a high intensity LED light source which are available in violet, blue, blue-green and green as well as a white light for general examination. Each CSI has a personal issue White Crimelite for examinations of any scene. The varying colours and bandwiths are useful for detecting evidence such as blood, latent marks and other evidence by providing contrast using coloured lights and filters. Goggles are worn to protect the eyes. It's not quite CSI: Miami with the orange goggles and UV light but along the same lines!

I used the light to detect blood and bodily fluids and you'd be amazed at what I discovered on some of the seats- I wish I could take one of these everywhere I go, thought I'm pretty sure I'd never want so sit down anywhere!

There was the smell of stale blood in the air. There was blood in the doorway and in the porch area, there was also a lot of blood in a seating area where first aid had been administered and where an Ambulance crew had treated one of the offenders.

I was asked to conduct a search for the bullet casing that was still outstanding. I looked for a couple of hours. I conducted a fingertip search of the whole place from one end to the other and was frustrated that I hadn't found it. After I'd finished, a CID officer stopped by to inform me that one of the weapons was believed to be a revolver- revolvers retain the casing. I wish he'd told me that a few hours before, but at least a thorough search had been conducted of the premises.

I'm keen to ensure this post isn't too long as I know it can be tedious to read and read.

The next few days I spent at this scene. It was easy to loose track of time inside as there were no windows and only the three of us there, often in seperate parts of the club. I used Magneta flake powder, a metal flake based powder and a magnet applicator wand to recover footwear impressions on a tiled area around the bar. I even recovered a complete footprint, where someone had obviously been bare footed. Not something you find at every crime scene.

I'll talk more about recovery of blood samples in a dedicated future post.

My Blogs so far..

In case you have missed them, below is a list of some of my most interesting blog posts since I started my career as a CSI last year.

Fire Fatality

Deceased Male in Bath

My First Post Mortem

Ride Along in the USA

Suicide

These are just a selection of my favourite posts/incidents.

I'll be blogging about a nightclub shooting I attended soon.

And remember you can follow me for updates on Twitter.

CSI Guy