Question

the proper collection and preservation of paint evidence from an automobile suspected of being involved in a hit-and-run incident with another car. Paint that is foreign to the suspect automobile is observed on the hood

Answer 1

• Paint evidence may provide a connection between a victim and the useful vehicle since paint evidence is found in the majority of hit-and-run cases. Burglary and homicide cases are other crimes that paint evidence may also be present.
• It is important to ensure that there are impressive collection and preservation of paint evidence in such an instance.In minute quantities, the color transferred to the clothing of pedestrian victims is present.
• If the garment is damp, it is necessary to dry it, but it is important to ensure that the garment is not handled excessively. What should follow is carefully wrapping each item in separate places by rolling in paper or putting each garment separately in paper bags to make deliveries to the forensic laboratories.
• It is important to note that modern automobiles have different colors, and the transferred paint may solely indicate the color of an individual region on the care that came into contact with the victim.
• From a paint transfer, it is sometimes possible to obtain the make, model, and year of the vehicle.If at the scene there are the remains of the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) paint that represents several layers.
• Along with any paint evidence, broken lenses or other vehicular parts that are present are necessary for the automobile model/make search, and they need to be submitted to the laboratory. The officer’s report has to be submitted together with the other piece of evidence, as it may have data on the search (Saferstein, 2011).
• On the other hand, it is important to ensure that the broken pieces or lens is protected. It is the case because paint chips can be easily physically matched including other automobile body parts present at the accident scenes with the vehicle of the suspect.
• Lastly, in the case where two cars are involved in a hit and run accident, cross paint transfers is the most efficient strategy for collecting paint evidence. If investigators find loose paint chips, what should follow is gathering, collecting, and storing then in appropriate containers.
• It is important to include the transferred color as well as the top layer of paint originally on the car, if the transfers are smeared on the surface, flaking off chips or cutting paint from the automobile is necessary. Separate containers should be used to keep all transfers recovered from different areas.