58. A crime scene is any physical scene where investigators may locate, record and recover physical evidence. The term “crime scene” is used without prejudice to the determination of whether a crime has actually occurred.90 A crime scene may be a place where a person’s body or skeletal remains are found, as well as any relevant building, vehicle or place in the environment, including individual items within that environment such as clothing, a weapon or personal effects. 59. A crime scene should be secured at the earliest possible opportunity and unauthorized personnel shall not be permitted entry. This enables evidence at the scene to be protected and gathered effectively and minimizes the contamination or loss of relevant material. Securing the scene requires controlling the entrance and egress of individuals and, where possible, restricting access to trained personnel only. Even in medico-legal systems that do not require forensic doctors to visit a crime scene, such a visit may be valuable to the investigation. The scene and any evidence within it should be protected by the use of a cordon. Where possible and relevant, it should be protected from weather or other factors that could degrade evidence. 60. A record of all personnel entering the scene should be kept with the corresponding date and time of their visit. Individuals interacting with evidence should provide DNA and fingerprints as reference samples. To minimize forensic contamination and to protect the health and safety of personnel, suitable protective clothing should be worn wherever it is available, including, at a minimum, gloves and masks. To ensure that evidence is preserved, the correct packaging and methodology for each type of evidence need to be used. When resources or logistics do not allow for this, packaging that will minimize crosscontamination or the forensic degradation of the sample should be used. 90 14 61. All material located at a crime scene should be considered potentially relevant to the investigation. Material that may be found at a crime scene includes, but is not limited to, the following: (a) Documentary evidence, such as maps, photographs, staffing records, interrogation records, administrative records, financial papers, currency receipts, identity documents, phone records, letters of correspondence, and passports (b) Physical evidence, such as tools, weapons, fragments of clothing and fibres, keys, paint, glass used in an attack, ligatures, and jewellery (c) Biological evidence, such as blood, hair, sexual fluids, urine, fingernails, body parts, bones, teeth and fingerprints (d) Digital evidence, such as mobile phones, computers, tablets, satellite phones, digital storage devices, digital recording devices, digital cameras and closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage. 62. All relevant material should be recorded in documentary and photographic form as described in the Detailed Guidelines on Crime-Scene Investigation. Investigations vary in their capability to examine the material scientifically, but effectively recording the crime scene using notes, sketch plans and photographs will be necessary. Crime-scene recording and recovery of evidence should be thorough. 63. Samples should ideally be recovered and recorded by personnel with appropriate training or knowledge. Some sampling requires only basic training, but those undertaking medico-legal examinations will need advanced training in the context of their own judicial framework. 64. Investigators should be appropriately equipped, including with personal protective equipment; relevant packaging such as bags, boxes and plastic and glass vials/bottles; and recording materials, including photographic equipment. Even if a crime has not occurred, the death scene should be processed as though it is a crime scene. The Minnesota Protocol on the Investigation of Potentially Unlawful Death (2016)