The evidence discovered at underwater crime scenes must be handled with the same attention to proper chain of custody procedures as with any other type of investigation. Improper handling of these scenes can lead to evidence being lost, unrecognizable, destroyed, contaminated, or rendered inadmissible at the time of trial. Updated and expanded, Underwater Forensic Investigation, Second Edition presents a comprehensive approach to the processing of an underwater crime scene and the steps necessary to conduct the operation. The book summarizes the history, physics, and laws applicable to underwater investigations and includes topics such as team formation, roles, deployment, and accountability. Explaining procedures that can make a true difference in the final outcome of water-related incidents, the author also debunks myths associated with submerged evidence. This second edition contains several new chapters on photography, contaminated sites, preservation of evidence, and release of the crime scene, and includes expanded information on death investigation and organizing the dive team. Nearly 100 color illustrations supplement the text. The science of water-related investigations is still in its infancy, and hence, the field needs accurate and useful sources of education. This text will assist law enforcement professionals and those in other areas of public safety in gaining the knowledge that has historically been lacking. The incorporation of the procedures presented will enable those tasked with working these scenes to develop a greater degree of professionalism, objectivity, thoroughness, and accuracy relating to the investigation of water-related incidents—increasing the chance for successful resolution of these difficult cases.

From the Back Cover: The fundamental concept of Underwater Forensic Investigation is the knowledge that submerged evidentiary items do not necessarily lose their forensic value, and that in some instances water serves as a preservative. Underwater Forensic Investigation presents the most current thinking on processing underwater crime scenes, and the foundations set forth are the procedures that have accompanied underwater investigations from its very inception.

The First Edition of the Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations, published in 1994, was a groundbreaking addition to diving literature. To this day, it remains one of the preeminent publications in the area of underwater forensics and investigations. The manual demystifies and clarifies underwater investigative procedures, providing a clear, descriptive, step-by-step instruction manual for the public safety dive team and underwater investigators. The Second Edition of Corporal Robert Gordon Teather’s pinnacle text is now updated to include new tools and technologies used by today’s underwater investigators. Many individuals working in the fields of investigation and public safety diving have supplied their expertise to update Robert Teather’s original text, thus creating an enduring resource for public safety divers and underwater investigators for years to come.

It takes a special branch of forensics to gather evidence from the murky depths. This book unveils the tools and techniques used by professionals involved in underwater forensics. Readers are introduced to police divers, and see how underwater investigations must be approached differently than those carried out on dry land. The submersion of evidence in water creates unique issues to discovery and documentation. Sidebars offer crime statistics, and information about careers in criminal investigation. An annotated bibliography is included.

The Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations Independent Study Certification Course book is designed as a self-study companion certification course to the Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations. This course is a compilation of materials taught to many nationally and internationally recognized law enforcement and public safety agencies. Until now, this course was offered only in a classroom setting to such agencies as the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Canadian and American Armed Forces, and many other police, fire department, and rescue agencies throughout North America. The certification course helps individuals think like a professional investigator and draw accurate conclusions about actual criminal cases. It covers not only the material presented in the Encyclopedia textbook, but challenges the course participant to think in new and unconventional directions about the basic principles of underwater and water-related investigations. Upon completion of the course, course participants who score a minimum of 80% on the final examination will be eligible for Underwater Investigator's Certification from Public Safety Dive Services. Approximately 40 hours of study will be required to successfully complete this course. Attention must be given to detail in order to develop a thorough understanding of the principles involved in this highly specialized type of investigation. Throughout the course you will be challenged not only to learn the materials on the pages of the textbook, Encyclopedia of Underwater Investigations but to understand the principles set forth and be able to come to your own conclusions on actual criminal cases.