Standard Practice for Reporting Incidents that May Involve Criminal or Civil Litigation

SIGNIFICANCE AND USE
This practice is intended to provide a complete written account of the case at hand in such a fashion as to allow another individual to interpret the particulars of the case.
This practice is suggested for documenting transitory conditions and data that may change shortly after an incident and be lost forever if not properly and promptly documented.
The primary use of this practice is to preserve pertinent information for use by technical experts and other technical personnel who may be called upon to reconstruct the events surrounding the incident.
SCOPE
1.1 This practice covers guidelines for the collection and preservation of information and physical evidence and the preparation of a documentation report relative to any incident(s) involving personal injury, property damage, commercial loss, or criminal acts which may reasonably be expected to be the subject of litigation.
1.2 The approach outlined is recommended as good professional practice even though the facts and issues of each situation require specific consideration, and may involve matters not expressly dealt with herein. Not every portion of this document may be applicable to every incident or investigation. It is up to the individual preparing the report to apply the appropriate recommended procedures in this guide to a particular incident or investigation. In addition, it is recognized that time and resource limitations or existing policies may limit the degree to which the recommendations in this document will be applied in a given investigation. The responsibility of the individual preparing the report (or anyone who handles or examines evidence) for evidence preservation, and the scope of that responsibility varies based on such factors as the jurisdiction, the status of the individual as a public official or private sector investigator, indications of criminal conduct, and applicable laws and regulations.
1.2.1 If compliance with this standard is claimed, justifications for any deviations from this standard must be documented.

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Publication Date
14-Jan-2006
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ASTM E1020-96(2006) - Standard Practice for Reporting Incidents that May Involve Criminal or Civil Litigation
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NOTICE: This standard has either been superseded and replaced by a new version or withdrawn.
Contact ASTM International (www.astm.org) for the latest information
Designation: E1020 − 96 (Reapproved2006)
Standard Practice for
Reporting Incidents that May Involve Criminal or Civil
Litigation
This standard is issued under the fixed designation E1020; the number immediately following the designation indicates the year of
original adoption or, in the case of revision, the year of last revision. A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval. A
superscript epsilon (´) indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.
1. Scope 3. Significance and Use
1.1 This practice covers guidelines for the collection and
3.1 This practice is intended to provide a complete written
preservation of information and physical evidence and the
account of the case at hand in such a fashion as to allow
preparation of a documentation report relative to any inci-
another individual to interpret the particulars of the case.
dent(s) involving personal injury, property damage, commer-
3.2 This practice is suggested for documenting transitory
cial loss, or criminal acts which may reasonably be expected to
conditions and data that may change shortly after an incident
be the subject of litigation.
and be lost forever if not properly and promptly documented.
1.2 The approach outlined is recommended as good profes-
3.3 The primary use of this practice is to preserve pertinent
sional practice even though the facts and issues of each
situation require specific consideration, and may involve mat- information for use by technical experts and other technical
personnel who may be called upon to reconstruct the events
ters not expressly dealt with herein. Not every portion of this
document may be applicable to every incident or investigation. surrounding the incident.
It is up to the individual preparing the report to apply the
appropriate recommended procedures in this guide to a par- 4. General
ticular incident or investigation. In addition, it is recognized
4.1 The report described in this practice may be prepared by
that time and resource limitations or existing policies may limit
any person(s) in a formal capacity. Persons investigating in a
the degree to which the recommendations in this document will
formal capacity include but may not be limited to international,
be applied in a given investigation. The responsibility of the
federal, state and local officials, employers, owners, insurance
individual preparing the report (or anyone who handles or
personnel, and other technical experts.
examines evidence) for evidence preservation, and the scope of
that responsibility varies based on such factors as the
4.2 The data documented by the report shall be factual and
jurisdiction, the status of the individual as a public official or
should not contain opinions, hypotheses, judgments, or
private sector investigator, indications of criminal conduct, and
conclusions, nor should this report fix blame. For guidance on
applicable laws and regulations.
reporting opinions, refer to Practice E620.
1.2.1 If compliance with this standard is claimed, justifica-
tions for any deviations from this standard must be docu-
5. Content
mented.
5.1 An incident report should contain the following:
2. Referenced Documents 5.1.1 Detailed chronological narrative of what occurred
before, during, and immediately after the incident; including
2.1 ASTM Standards:
any associated personal injury, property damage, commercial
E620 Practice for Reporting Opinions of Scientific or Tech-
loss, or criminal activity. The sources of information shall be
nical Experts
identified.
5.1.2 Photographs which accurately and fairly identify and
depict the scene, the items, or systems involved in the incident,
This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee E30 on Forensic
Sciences and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee E30.11 on Interdisciplin-
and the post-incident conditions. Photographs should be taken
ary Forensic Science Standards.
from many directions and should
...

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