Loose soil, soil adhering to a garment, and a lump of soil are found at a crime scene. How must the investigator collect and package each?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer should include points such as the following:
Loose soil: Approximately 1 to 2 tablespoons of soil in each sample is all the laboratory needs for a thorough comparative analysis. All specimens collected should be packaged in individual containers, such as plastic vials. Each vial should be marked to indicate the location at which the sampling was made.
Soil adhering to a garment: Soil found on a suspect must be carefully preserved for analysis. If it is found adhering to an object, as in the case of soil on a shoe, the investigator must not remove the soil. Instead, each object should be individually wrapped in paper with the soil intact and transmitted to the laboratory. Similarly, loose soil adhering to garments should not be removed; these items should be carefully and individually wrapped in paper bags and sent to the laboratory for analysis. Care must be taken that particles that may accidentally fall off the garment during transportation will remain in the paper bag.
Lump of soil: When a lump of soil is found, it should be collected and preserved intact. Care should be taken to collect the soil in clump form to preserve the order in which the particles of soil adhered to the car and to the other soil on the car. Undoubtedly, during the normal use of an automobile, soil will be picked up from numerous locations over a period of months and years. This layering effect may impart soil with greater variation, and hence greater evidential value, than that normally associated with loose soil.