This last presentation was really cool because I gotta say like, you know, you, you think about the FBI and it's like, wow, the FBI, right? Um, but here we have Lauren Regucci, who is an FBI agent. So thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having me.

You talked about something that is super important for everybody that is involved in crime scene investigations and it's how to do the crime scene investigation, right? Yes. So I guess before we get started, can you tell us what it is that you do and how it relates to the conversation that you said

today? Sure. I'm the senior team leader for the Evidence Response Team for the FBI office in Jacksonville. We cover 40 counties out of the 67 counties in Florida. And what the Evidence Response Team is charged with doing is making sure that evidence from a crime scene or from a federal search warrant is preserved, packaged, collected in the most pristine manner that we can so that we can maintain its original condition for the lab or for a court of law.

One of the things that you said that resonated is trying to get everybody to do somewhat the same thing, right? Like to follow the same processes. Yes. Which I think that is really important because then anybody can go to a different location, and everybody's on the same page, right?

Yes. So because we all follow in the FBI, uh, on the Evidence Response Teams, which are in every field office across the country, since we all follow the same 12 step process. We are a force multiplier for each other. So if there is a 911 type scenario, where one team is not gonna be able to handle all of that, we can call in other offices from around the country to come assist us and we blend seamlessly together because we all have followed the same process. We've all been trained the same way. So we know, okay, if we need to do a sketch, we know everything that has to be on that sketch. If we need to do photos, we know all of the different types of photos that have to be taken. And we can really integrate seamlessly.

Can you give an overview of what this 12 step process is like?

Sure. The 12 step process is basically a thought process that we try to maintain as we go into crime scenes or into scenes that we're going to be collecting evidence. And the way the thought process works is that you're, you're basically following why you're there, what you're there to look for, and the trying to follow the best manner of collecting that evidence so that it can make it to the lab or to court. It starts with preparation, which is way before you even get to the scene where you're making sure that you have all the equipment and supplies that you need. It moves on to being able to approach the scene and get a feel for what you're looking at and what you are expected to do at this particular scene. Figuring out how you're going to collect that evidence, making sure that you photograph all of the evidence, making sure that you sketch the scene, and then really making sure that you document everything in every manner possible. Whether it's, again, whether it's photography or just writing down or labeling something before you package it. These are all the things that you need to maintain so that at the end of the scene or as you're going to court, you're able to say, these are all the things that we found. I know a hundred percent that this is what was there. This is why we found it, this is why it's relevant. This is how we documented it, and we're using it now as evidence for this crime.

I think that's really important because in, in so many cases, like the, somebody sees an item of evidence and they don't know what it is or how to handle it, and then they collect it improperly, and then it can either be thrown out or it just degrades, right? Yes. Like helping in scenes and they're like, we collected blood and we put it in a plastic bag and it's like, no. Right. Um, so, you know, there, there are different ways, and actually I believe that the manual that I got when I was doing my forensic science masters was an FBI evidence, uh, how to collect evidence and how to package it and that kind of stuff. Mm-hmm. So, um, for anybody listening that wants to learn more about this, what resources are there?

It depends on where you're coming from in wanting to know the, the questions. If you're a law enforcement professional, or you work in, for instance, animal abuse crimes, or if you are someone who is going out to these scenes, or for instance, a vet who is taking in this kind of information, I would say reach out to your local FBI office. They are going to have an evidence response team, senior team leader, and ask for some guidance on evidence collection. If you are a student or you are a teacher of forensic students, there is always an opportunity for you to submit a request for a senior team leader or an evidence response team member to come out and talk to your folks, Just to go through basically what I did to give them some education on why you want to follow the procedures you follow.

Do you get a lot of animal cases or is that kind of rare?

Um, I've only had a handful. We had a case where we were investigating a horse doping operation. So we, there were no horses there, but we were investigating a situation that involved that. I've had animal abuse cases that were present in a scene with child abuse. Um, so that became more of the focus. And there were a, a couple scenes where we've had where, um, we're out there for drugs or gangs and they also have dog fighting. And so they have a, a dozen dogs chained up at the property. So, and we have worked with the local offices in those situations to have them come and collect the dog.

And I would say, would you say that regardless if it's an animal case or not, everything kind of needs to be processed the same way with the, with the difference that the animals are life evidence. But

yes, a hundred percent. I mean, you know, you have, if we have a room that we're photographing and we're trying to get every aspect of this room that we're sitting in and we're documenting all of that, you can do the same thing. So if you have. Uh, you know, a dog in front of you, you're going to photograph all the different sides of the dog, under the dog and so forth to get the, a complete picture of what that dog looks like. You can also do a sketch of the dog and say, you know, he's got a burn mark here. He's got a bullet hole here, or whatever the case may be. Um, so that you're, you're documenting all of that information on the dog and you really can't over document something. It might seem like it's overkill, like, well, we have the photos. Why would we need to sketch this out? But. It might be, it might prove something relevant to you down the road that you don't know at the time.

Well, this is all really good information and uh, thank you so much for being here and thank you for everything that you do. Thank you. I appreciate it.