[Lady Sidhe]

The Locard Principle. “Every Contact leaves it’s trace”

Professor Edmond Locard (1877), Founder and Director Institute of Criminalisitcs, University Lyons, France

In the United States a court decision went further with the following

"WHEREVER HE STEPS, WHATEVER HE TOUCHES, WHATEVER HE LEAVES, EVEN
UNCONSCIOUSLY, WILL SERVE AS SILENT WITNESS AGAINST HIM. NOT ONLY HIS
FINGERPRINTS OR HIS FOOTPRINTS, BUT HIS HAIR, THE FIBERS FROM HIS CLOTHES,
THE GLASS HE BREAKS, THE TOOL MARK HE LEAVES, THE PAINT HE SCRATCHES, THE
BLOOD OR SEMEN HE DEPOSITS OR COLLECTS --- ALL OF THESE AND MORE BEAR
MUTE WITNESS AGAINST HIM. THIS IS EVIDENCE THAT DOES NOT FORGET. IT IS
NOT CONFUSED BY THE EXCITEMENT OF THE MOMENT. IT IS NOT ABSENT BECAUSE
HUMAN WITNESSES ARE. IT IS FACTUAL EVIDENCE- PHYSICAL EVIDENCE CANNOT BE
WRONG; IT CANNOT PERJURE ITSELF; IT CANNOT BE WHOLLY ABSENT. ONLY ITS
INTERPRETATION CAN ERR. ONLY HUMAN FAILURE TO FIND IT, STUDY AND
UNDERSTAND IT, CAN DIMINISH ITS VALUE.”
(Harris Vs. United States, 331 U.S. 145, 1947)

Today the following is taught and practiced in crime scene work:

Theory of Transfer

(A) The perpetrator will take away traces of the victim and the scene.
(B) The victim will retain traces of the perpetrator and may leave
traces of him/herself on the perpetrator.
(C) The perpetrator will leave behind traces of himself at the scene.


There ya go.

Sidhe


edited for sp.