When investigating crimes, taking notes is very important. Those investigating should make sure that they make notes that are very specific. Throughout the process of investigating the notes can be used as references. Immediately an investigator arrives at a scene where there has been a crime, they should start making notes on the scene, the area that surrounds it and they should also take notes of the statements that are made by people who witnessed the crime. (Becker 2009)
When making the notes, the investigator should ensure that they are very accurate and specific since they record everything that they can observe and hear. These notes are later used I courts of law as references, as testimony for the suspects as well as the witnesses, and they are considered to be the first account concerning the scene. (Becker 2009)
These days digital photography has been in most crime scenes. This is because it is simple to use and it produces pictures that are clear. However, the films are easily damaged when being developed. When a film is accidentally smudged, the pictures are altered thus making them impossible to be used afterwards. It is easier to use film photography to take pictures that are large without the images being distorted. When using digital photography, when images are made large, they end up being of low quality especially when good equipment is not used. Digital photography does not demand for many expenses as the film photography and using digital photography is also quick. (James 2006)
Investigators are able to view the pictures immediately they capture them. This ensures that they have captured the right ones. This is not the case with film taking since it requires a lot of processes before the films can be viewed making it time consuming. (James 2006)
References
Becker, R. F. (2009). Criminal investigation (3rd ed.). Sudbury, Mass.: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
James, J. (2006). Digital intermediates for film and video. Amsterdam: Elsevier.
