Colorado POST Practice Exam

Which of the following is NOT a step in crime scene sketching?

1. Observe and plan

2. Interview witnesses

3. Plot objects and evidence

4. Measure and outline the area

The correct answer is: Interview witnesses

The process of crime scene sketching typically involves several critical steps, each serving a unique purpose in ensuring the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the documentation. Observing and planning is essential as it allows the investigator to understand the context of the scene and to determine the areas that need to be sketched. Plotting objects and evidence is crucial because it accurately represents the locations of items found at the scene, helping to convey important spatial relationships. Measuring and outlining the area ensures that the scale and dimensions are recorded correctly, contributing to the overall fidelity of the sketch. Interviewing witnesses, while an important step in the overall investigation of a crime scene, does not directly relate to the act of sketching itself. Instead, this process focuses more on gathering verbal accounts and testimonies, which may inform the investigation but are not part of the technical and visual documentation involved in sketching the crime scene. Therefore, this step is distinct from the others specifically focused on creating a graphical representation of the scene.