Evidence

A detective does not know what data or evidence will eventually prove to be important, so he or she observes everything. At the scene of the crime, the detective and forensic scientist work together to make sure that all possible evidence is collected for later examination. If the evidence is badly handles, wrongly laveled, or allowed to become contaminated, it will be useless in the laboratory and the courts. Worse. of clues are overlooked, the detective will get no second chance.

In addition to making ovservations and gathering clues, a detective conducts interviews people knowledgeable about the crime including witnesses and suspects. The detective uses this information along with the evidence from the crime lab, to form a hypothesis about how the crime was committed and who did it. Detectives, like scientists, always keep an open mind during an investigation and look for hypotheses that could explain the crime.