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Crime Scene Sketch

Definition

A measured, overhead-view drawing of the scene produced to scale. Unlike a photograph, it records spatial relationships and distances that are free of lens distortion, making it the authoritative spatial record for court and reconstruction.

Related terms

Contamination
The introduction of foreign material into a scene, or the displacement of existing material within it, by any person or environmental factor...
Cordon
The physical barrier (tape, cones, officers) that separates the protected scene from the outside world. Set deliberately wide and reduced only when...
Primary Scene
The location where the main criminal event occurred: where the body was found, where the attack took place, where a safe was...
Scene Notes
The contemporaneous written record kept by the first officer and later by the scene examiner. Notes are time-stamped, sequential, and admissible: they...
Secondary Scene
Any location linked to the crime but separate from the main event: a vehicle used to transport a victim, a disposal site,...

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