Every contact leaves a trace Crime scene experts talk about their work from discovery through verdict

In her fifth book, Fletcher returns to territory she first wrote about in What Cops Know (1991), an intimate oral history that shines the spotlight on the work of the men and women of the Chicago Police Department. Law-enforcement personnel are an integral part of this book, too, but while widening her purview from Chicago to the entire U.S., Fletcher has narrowed her focus to the management of trace evidence--from crime scene to lab to courtroom. A brief introduction heads each of the topically organized chapters, which comprise smoothly edited comments, ranging from a paragraph to a page, contributed by police, DNA analysts, crime-scene reconstructionists, and other forensic specialists. Filled with gruesome, tragic, fascinating, and sometimes even strangely funny details, the speakers' testimonies seek to blunt the horrors they observe every day. The responsibilities and the challenges of the work come clear, as does the supreme irony that scientific advances during the last decade, the proof that every contact leaves a trace, have made catching criminals both easier and more difficult. Contributors are identified at the back of the book. --Stephanie Zvirin Copyright 2006 Booklist

Fletcher adopts the same approach to the world of CSI that she previously used with success in What Cops Know. Excerpts from more than 80 interviews with experts at various stages of the criminal justice process, including some well-known names, such as Dr. Henry Lee and Blue Blood's Ed Conlon, acquaint the uninitiated reader with the vast differences between television and reality. Ultra-high tech isn't always necessary for crime solving, Fletcher shows; qualified forensic scientists can make a big difference in the search for justice even in small communities with limited resources. Many of those she spoke with express chagrin that the popular fiction TV series has given the public a false impression of the resources available to the average police force and the pace at which the analyses of DNA or trace evidence occur. One especially well-crafted section contrasts the efforts to identify 9/11 victims with a small Midwestern town's search for the killer of a young girl. Some of the entries are a little skimpy, but readers will be drawn in to the longer excerpts and the basics of how crime scene evidence is examined. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Chapter One Crime Scene Processing Do it right the first time. You only get one chance. Once things have been moved, once things have been changed, once you lose that little window of opportunity, it's gone forever. --Vernon J. Geberth, Commander, Bronx Homicide, NYPD (Ret.), Author of Practical Homicide Investigation A crime scene investigator has to have a positive attitude. You've got to believe you're going to find the evidence. I just learned to play golf. It helps you search the crime scene. My ball goes into the woods. Every time. Now it's like a crime scene. I always come out with, say, six balls, when I lost two. The positive attitude is the same with golf and the crime scene: You don't look at the sand traps. You look at the green. Your objective is always to do your best at that crime scene. --Dr. Henry C. Lee, Chief Emeritus and Director, Forensic Science Laboratory, Meriden, Connecticut A drop of blood on a gym shoe. A piece of fiber found on a stairway. The impression of a spade used to dig a basement grave. DNA picked up from a sneeze. A few microscopic traces of glass, blown back on the clothing of an intruder. These have been the first threads of forensic investigations, discovered and collected at crime scenes, leftover particles from actions that have ripped the fabric of people's lives. Before any investigation can start, evidence must be collected. The scene itself, whether inside, outside, or mobile, has to be gone over as if the processors were exploring a site on Mars. What's this? Why is this here? Why isn't this here? What does this all mean? And--how do we get the evidence back to the lab without destroying it? Generally, once the police call for assistance from the crime lab, crime scene teams consisting of evidence technicians and any forensic specialists needed--like blood spatter interpreters, trace analysts, firearms examiners--are sent to the scene. These processors start the chain of evidence that may stretch from the scene through the detectives' investigation, through the crime lab, all the way to trial. Processors and investigators have a term for the ideal: "keeping the chain tight." And they have only one shot at picking up the links left at the scene. This chapter follows crime scene processors, presenting what they've found in their own words. Their comments are anonymous, but their expertise is indicated after their quotes (unless an entire section contains one type of expert, indicated before the section). Follow the processors and specialists as they work the scene from the outside in. In late '81, they were training new crime scene team members in Minnesota. Of course, none of us was smart enough to ask, "Well, why is everybody who's been here for a long time getting off crime scene?" We're all young and stupid, thinking, "This sounds great." Back in those days you started out as a crime scene photographer. We went through the whole course and had to demonstrate our proficiency. Copyright (c) 2006 by Connie Fletcher. All rights reserved. Excerpted from Every Contact Leaves a Trace: Crime Scene Experts Talk about Their Work from Discovery Through Verdict by Connie Fletcher All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.