1、Designation: E2123 10Standard Practice forTransmittal of Evidence in Sexual Assault Investigation1This standard is issued under the fixed designation E2123; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision.
2、 A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. Asuperscript epsilon () indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.1. Scope1.1 This practice describes the basic considerations that willhelp preserve different items or types of sexual assault relatedevidence f
3、or subsequent analysis. This practice is designed tobe used in conjunction with other specifications, guides, andpractices associated with sexual assault examinations that arelisted in Section 2.2. Referenced Documents2.1 ASTM Standards:2E1459 Guide for Physical Evidence Labeling and RelatedDocument
4、ationE1492 Practice for Receiving, Documenting, Storing, andRetrieving Evidence in a Forensic Science LaboratoryE1732 Terminology Relating to Forensic ScienceE1843 Guide for Sexual Assault Investigation, Examina-tion, and Evidence CollectionE2057 Specifications for Preparation of Laboratory Analy-si
5、s Requests in Sexual Assault Investigations33. Terminology3.1 DefinitionsFor definitions of terms used in thesespecifications see Terminology E1732 and the Compilation ofASTM Standard Definitions (1990).4. Summary of Practice4.1 Evidence collected from the victim or suspect, otherphysical evidence f
6、rom the crime scene, and investigative factsand medical conclusions associated with a sexual assaultexamination should be treated in a manner that will ensure theirsuitable preservation for presentation in legal proceedings.4.2 All individuals associated with the investigation shouldbe prepared to p
7、rotect the evidence chain of custody andpreserve what are often trace amounts of perishable biologicalmaterials, and other trace evidence such as hairs, fibers, andparticulate evidence that may not be visible to the unaided eye.4.3 These standard specifications are to be used in conjunc-tion with Gu
8、ide E1843 and Specification E2057.4.3.1 Additional information can be found in PracticeE1492.5. Significance and Use5.1 The procedures put forth in this standard are designed topreserve sexual assault evidence items during collection, stor-age, and transmittal for analysis at an appropriate laborato
9、ry.6. Procedure6.1 Evidence Chain of Custody:6.1.1 The chain of custody in a sexual assault examinationof a victim is unique in that it may be difficult to control in themidst of administering to the needs of an often mobile andtraumatized individual.6.1.2 An “investigator” in this usage may be, but
10、 is notlimited to, an emergency medical practitioner, social worker,nurse, physician, or law enforcement officer.6.1.3 It is the responsibility of each “investigator” of theassault to ensure that the chain of custody is continued by thesubsequent investigator, evidence transporter, or evidence stor-
11、age person.6.1.4 The basic requirements for the labeling and initiatinga chain of custody of evidence items are described in GuideE1459.6.2 Preservation of Evidence:6.2.1 All items of physical evidence collected in the inves-tigation should be treated as though they are, or may contain,perishable bi
12、ological materials until they can be examined byan appropriate forensic laboratory.6.2.2 Liquid blood samples should be collected and trans-ported as required by the examining forensic laboratory. Driedstains may be transported at room temperature.6.2.2.1 In some cases, more than one blood sample ma
13、y berequired from an individual for a combination of serological(including DNA) and toxicological testing. The preservative or1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E30 on ForensicSciences and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E30.01 on Criminalistics.Current edition a
14、pproved June 1, 2010. Published June 2010. Originallyapproved in 2001. Last previous edition approved in 2009 as E2123 09. DOI:10.1520/E2123-10.2For referenced ASTM standards, visit the ASTM website, www.astm.org, orcontact ASTM Customer Service at serviceastm.org. For Annual Book of ASTMStandards v
15、olume information, refer to the standards Document Summary page onthe ASTM website.3Withdrawn. The last approved version of this historical standard is referencedon www.astm.org.1Copyright ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959, United States.anticoa
16、gulant required in each sample may be different and theanalyzing laboratorys requirements for each sample should befollowed.6.2.3 Blood and urine obtained for toxicological examina-tion, and other items which must remain in liquid form shouldbe sealed in appropriate containers. If frozen, they shoul
17、dremain in a frozen condition during all transportation andstorage. Other items of biological evidence should be air driedat room temperature, packaged and sealed in paper envelopes,paper bags, or paper board containers, or containers that allowevaporation. An outer, sealed plastic bag may be used,
18、ifrequired, for air dried evidence and contained liquid specimensonly. Sealed plastic bags should never be used for moist ordamp evidence.6.2.4 Containers holding biological samples and stains,including items that are suspected of supporting biologicalsamples and stains, should be labeled with a bio
19、hazard label ornotation.6.3 Packaging of Evidence:6.3.1 Each item of clothing, bedding, upholstery, weaponry,bindings, or other physical evidence should be packagedseparately whenever practical and possible, unless trace evi-dence associated with the items could be lost in the process ofseparation.6
20、.3.2 Each item of evidence should be photographed in itsoriginal (found) location and condition before collection. Apackage of the resulting photographs can accompany theevidence or be submitted as requested for evaluation of theevidence.6.3.3 Bedding should be marked to indicate the uppersurface, c
21、overed with paper, and that surface should be foldedover on itself to prevent materials from being transferred to theopposite side from which they were originally deposited.6.3.4 Individually packaged items, associated with a singleindividual or one limited location such as a bed, may be boxedtogeth
22、er for transmittal and storage.6.3.5 Items originating from two or more limited locationsshould never be boxed together. Separate beds in a single room,separate rooms in a single residence, or separate seats in asingle automobile are examples of separate locations.6.3.6 When possible, evidence sampl
23、ing should be done inthe appropriate forensic laboratory rather than in the field or atthe scene of an assault. Items too unwieldy to be packaged andstored, or transitory evidence that could be lost in transportshould be sampled in the field after scaled photography ordiagramming, or both, of the it
24、ems in their original locations.6.3.7 After sampling, preservation, and analysis of identi-fied stains, items that are found to contain no additionalperishable materials or stains may be stored at room tempera-ture.6.3.8 All items to be analyzed should be transported to theexamining laboratory as so
25、on as possible in either the dried,refrigerated or frozen state as described in 6.2. These itemsshould be transmitted with the documentation specified inSpecifications E2057.7. Keywords7.1 chain of custody; evidence storage; evidence transmit-tal; preservation of evidence; sexual assaultASTM Interna
26、tional takes no position respecting the validity of any patent rights asserted in connection with any item mentionedin this standard. Users of this standard are expressly advised that determination of the validity of any such patent rights, and the riskof infringement of such rights, are entirely th
27、eir own responsibility.This standard is subject to revision at any time by the responsible technical committee and must be reviewed every five years andif not revised, either reapproved or withdrawn. Your comments are invited either for revision of this standard or for additional standardsand should
28、 be addressed to ASTM International Headquarters. Your comments will receive careful consideration at a meeting of theresponsible technical committee, which you may attend. If you feel that your comments have not received a fair hearing you shouldmake your views known to the ASTM Committee on Standa
29、rds, at the address shown below.This standard is copyrighted by ASTM International, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken, PA 19428-2959,United States. Individual reprints (single or multiple copies) of this standard may be obtained by contacting ASTM at the aboveaddress or at 610-832-9585 (phone), 610-832-9555 (fax), or serviceastm.org (e-mail); or through the ASTM website(www.astm.org). Permission rights to photocopy the standard may also be secured from the ASTM website (www.astm.org/COPYRIGHT/).E2123 102
