Evidence Contamination
Evidence contamination is one of the most frustrating things you can discover after an investigation. It renders any evidence you may have collected completely useless. Once you realize one piece of evidence is contaminated, you start questioning everything else. As painful as it is, sometimes the only option is to throw it all out and start over. I know exactly how that feels. I once drove more than ten hours to investigate a location, only to discover later that noise interference had ruined every second of audio I recorded. It almost hurts to delete something you know you may never be able to replace. Learn from my mistake. Here are a few ways to avoid contaminating your hard-earned evidence. Tip #1: Keep your group small. I know it's tempting to bring everyone along for the adventure, but resist the urge. The more people you have with you, the less control you have over the investigation. More people means more talking, more footsteps, and more opportunities to mistake ...