Customer Reviews

First Unit Responder: A Guide to Physical Evidence Collection for Patrol Officers

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As a law enforcement instructor at a police training facility, I found this book to be fantastic for the new recruits we train. As a retired police officer/Crime Scene Analyst, I also realized it would be great for some veteren officers and non-law enforcement personnel to review. Mark Hawthorne has kept the technical information on an easily understandable level. He has covered, in 90 pages, what would take hours of personal instruction. I found the test questions and answers extremely helpful in preparing reviews. This book can be picked up by the patrol officer, and if READ, could furnish much of the information to properly document most any crime scene. I would recommend this book to any basic law enforcement instructor or new police officer.

Mark R. Hawthorne's "First Unit Responder," CRC Press 1999, ISBN 0-9493-002-1, is a 6 chapter 98-page guide book for uniformed officers working in the field who frequently are the first to arrive for a potential crime scene investigation(CSI).
Hawthorne gives us an easy-to-read introduction to basic CSI response that includes definition of various physical evidence characteristics (individual versus class), implementation of CSI response protocol (ARISN), identification & documentation of evidence, evidence collection (do's & don'ts), fingerprint/glove appreciation, case review with ADA and testimony tips for the non-specialist officer & a 12-page illustrated appendix showing evidentiary items. Each chapter didactic is followed with a (dozen or so) basic question & answer section with explanations.
The author's impressive credentials in both field and teaching experiences helped condense important basic CSI issues into a short and easily-read synopsis that includes 20 good bibliographic entries and a thorough 6-page index. A few trivial grammatical flaws are readily discharged, but difficult to justify given computers with spell-checkers, etc.

Simple and basic, this book is a good platform for learning about first responder duties. This book is an easy read and could be completed in less than two days.I would recommend this book for the small town officer,recent academy grad, or the experienced officer who may a little out of touch.

Very good and detailed. A good compilation and overview if you have read or use other crime scene guidelines. It hits the highlights and provides good review tests.