National Institute of Justice
NCJ 187736
July 2001

Reviewed by Loree Cook-Daniels

Although APS workers are increasingly encouraged to consider homes of abused and exploited elders as “crime scenes,” they generally are given little guidance on the implications that has for what they do (and don’t do) in the home.

A Department of Justice manual, “Electronic Crime Scene Investigation: A Guide for First Responders,” provides a fascinating look at potential evidence sources workers may never have considered – and may therefore unknowingly compromise.

Most of the manual is far more detailed than an APS worker would ever need. Indeed, the warning on page 25 -- “If it is off, leave it off. If it is on, leave it on.” – may be all workers need to know. On the other hand, an informed worker may be able to help ensure that abusers don’t walk away with critical evidence. For instance, the report notes that evidence useful in domestic violence cases may be found in email and computerized address books, diaries, and financial/asset records. In financial exploitation cases, a computer may in addition contain check images, images of signatures, and false financial transaction forms.

Electronic evidence these days goes far beyond computers. The answering machine and telephones may contain caller identification information, deleted messages, and last number called. Digital cameras may contain photographs invaluable to a prosecutor. Personal digital assistants may include appointment calendars with crucial information. Pagers may contain text messages. Scanners can be used for exploitation purposes, and produce telltale marks that may help tie a particular transaction to a particular site. Fax machines may have many documents stored in memory. To help workers understand what all of these things look like, the report contains more than 100 pictures of various devices and components.

Perhaps most usefully for APS purposes, the manual contains extensive state-by-state lists of legal, technical, and training resources. It is available for downloading at www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/nij/187736.txt or www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/187736.pdf