The "Beltway Sniper" Case - Glossary
Glossary
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Criminalist
Someone engaged in the application of scientific techniques in collecting and analyzing physical evidence in criminal cases and other forensic matters.
Who Does This: A forensic scientist who works at collecting and or analyzing physical evidence. Some are specialists in certain areas such as: fibers or hairs or glass.
Criminologist
Someone engaged in the scientific study of crime as a social phenomenon, of criminals and of penal treatment.
Who Does This: Usually an academic type concerned with statistical aspects of crime. While there are rare exceptions, a criminologist is not trained nor experienced in aspects of forensic science or in techniques of "solving crime" or "catching criminals."
Profiler
Someone who attempts to utilize psychological insights to discern general personality and other characteristics of the type of person who committed a crime.
Who Does This:
1. Professionally trained psychologists or psychiatrists experienced with criminal behavior.
2. Anyone with a guess.
Military Analyst
Someone with experience in military operations, tactics, and/or equipment.
Who Does This: Anyone who has been in any of the military services. Usually a retired Colonel or General who has no training or experience with law enforcement or forensic science operations and techniques who is only able to interpret events in terms of "how the military would have done this."
Firearms Examiner
Someone who examines and identifies firearms, weapons, cartridges, bullets, and similar evidence in criminal investigations; and who conducts scientific tests of firearms evidence.
Who Does This: A physical scientist or other person with considerable experience and knowledge of about ballistics and firearms.
To Those Living in the Affected Area
I recommend that you mentally prepare to become an effective witness to help catch the shooter.
React
When you hear a loud sound, don't assume it is just a backfire or firecracker. React immediately and look around -- all around. Keep in mind that it is very difficult to determine the origin of gunshots in an urban environment.
Record
Write down what you see. Don't trust your memory alone. If you have a camera or camcorder, use it to record the scene -- all around the scene.
Report
Report what you have seen immediately to the police.
Do You Have a Camcorder?
If you have a camcorder, set it on a tripod or window ledge and let it run constantly, watching an intersection out your window or just your street.
If nothing happens, you can just keep rewinding the tape, but if you hear that there has been an incident near you, you might just have something valuable on your tape.
If you are driving in the area, keep the camcorder or film/digital camera with you at all times. Whenever you see something"interesting," take a picture or two and just hold on to your shots until the next incident.