The science and technology employed to prevent criminal behaviors can reduce the crimes and save people`s lives. In this regard, scientific investigation of the crime scene helps the police to identify criminals more quickly and accurately and the collected documents can be trusted by the judicial authorities.
Police announces annual number of crimes and murders with different intentions. The important point is to take predictive and preventive measure by the police and the judicial system in terms of detecting and identifying the criminals. There is no doubt that application of scientific methods to detect crimes by the police, especially when investigating the crime scene, can have a significant impact on detection, identification, and arrest of criminals or murderers. Many people believe that investigation of the crime scene is the principle basis of criminal investigations; since strong evidence can lead to the improvement of justice enforcement. Crime scene is dynamic, similar to the crime phenomenon. There are several factors, sometimes unpredictable, that change the evidence and documentations in the scene as much, although the police try to take care of the proofs in the crime scene. For example medical team personnel move the dead and injured, the curious viewers walk on the blood drops, and many other factors that cause changes in the crime scene. The forensic medicine starts in the crime scene; since objects are investigated in this science are nothing but the chemical and physical effects remained in the crime scene, and these effects can be changed into documents when gathered, investigated, and correctly reported (3). This issue raises some questions in the reader`s mind including “what is meant by the scientific methods of detecting crime?” In the murder scene, what factors are investigated by the police? Who are responsible to investigate the murder scene and what expertise and equipment do they possess? How can the police identify the perpetrator or main perpetrators of the murder and arrest them? What evidence do the police provide to the court? What characteristics should the evidence have to be accepted by the court? and some other questions. The initial point of scientific methods of crime detection and also one of the most important phases of criminal investigations regarding murder is the crime scene investigation process. In this process, a set of scientific methods of crime detection such as recording finger prints, taking samples of the materials, and taking pictures of the crime scene is done by the team of experts in the scene (4). The aim of investigating the murder scene is to distinguish whether a murder has actually occurred or not; how the murder has occurred; reduction of probable perpetrators, and identify and arrest the real murderer.
The murder scene is defined as the place that the physical act of murder has occurred or the corps of the victim and causes of the crime were discovered.
According to this definition, murder case can have several scenes; therefore, the scene that the physical act of murder has occurred first is the main scene of murder and the other scenes that are discovered during the investigation are the secondary scenes (5). It is noteworthy that there are other classifications based on the condition of the crime scene (6). According to the classification of the experts in this field, the main actions in the crime scene are classified into six processes as follows: investigation, observation, documentation, search, collection, and investigation and analysis (7). In this regard, documentation is one of the most important processes in the crime scene investigation that the experts conduct by employment of scientific methods, technological equipment, and also expertise. This process includes different methods such as note taking, photography, sketching, recording films and sounds (6). Documentation process is known as the longest and the most continuous phase of crime investigation. The process that is a combination of investigation and technical measures, and plays a crucial role in establishing or removing charges against individuals in the case(8). It is noteworthy that the aim of documentation is note taking, recording and protecting the location of the crime scene and relationship of physical evidence in crime scene (6). These processes should be conducted by experts, therefore, the legislator in clauses 8 and 9 of article 4 of the disciplinary forces law passed on Jul.17.2017 this crucial task is assigned to the police (9). To have a closer look at this issue, investigation of the crime scene, identification of the victim, analysis and testing the traces left and discovered in the crime scene are the responsibilities of the police scientists (10). But the information provided by the forensic medicine has a decisive role to identify the victim. On the other hand the executive order in this regards refers to the responsibility of the forensic medicine agent to take the biologic samples in the crime scene related to the causes of the death of the victim; although the nonexistence of a specific executive order in this regard is obvious. Nowadays, police science is an important field of study which seeks the truth and how the criminal act took place through scientific methods (11). This section of police is currently under the NAJA Criminal Investigation Department deputy; therefore, the officers performing duty in the Criminal Investigation Department police crime scene department are called the crime scene investigation experts, and a group of such experts, including 3-5 as a standard, form a crime scene investigation team. Upon reporting a case to the police emergency center, if the police officer arriving to the scene finds out that a suspicious death has occurred, according to article 130 of the rules of criminal procedure passed on Feb.23.2014 the case should be immediately reported to the crime scene investigators including crime scene investigation team, forensic medicine agent, and interrogator. This article of the rules of criminal procedure notes that the crime scene should be investigated by the crime scene investigation team consisted of forensic medicine agent, crime scene investigation and identification experts, disciplinary force detectives, and other experts based on the necessity, under the supervision of interrogator. The note of this article explains that the scope of authority, job description, and how the crime scene is investigated by this group are based on the executive order prepared by the justice minister, interior minister, and cooperation of the disciplinary force and forensic medicine within 6 months of the date of entry into force of this law, and is approved by the head of the judiciary power; such an executive order is not compiled yet.
The first police present in the scene must conduct the investigation and record notes while preserving the scene. With the presence of the investigation team, the scene is actually delivered to the team under the supervision of the interrogator (12) to start the investigation process .But before starting the investigation, based on the interrogator`s request, forensic medicine agent attends the scene and investigates the corps and reports the results based on the cause and manner of death to the interrogator. Therefore, if the forensic medicine agent declares the cause of death as murder, suspected to murder, or unnatural, the crime scene is investigated by the team according to the interrogator`s order. In most of the countries including Iran, some forms are designed for precise and easy investigation of the crime scene and the scene experts complete the form by observing the notes in the form and matching them with the crime scene.
Undoubtedly, this method is criticized; it is said that the content of the forms cannot recount all the information in the scene (6). The person responsible for note taking should concentrate on the scene and record everything in the scene and around it including the corps and crime tools. For optimum results, some cliché questions such as who, what, where, when, how, what with, why, who with, how much etc. can help the expert to prepare a comprehensive report (8).A sample of this cliché can be observed in the crime scene forms. It should be noted that each of the documentation methods has a special and important position; therefore, none of the processes can be an appropriate substitute for another one, but they can be complementary. For instance, processes such as recording films and taking pictures cannot record all the details of a scene such as weather and smells (6). Note taking process is started before entering the scene by being informed about the crime and continues till leaving the scene. With the presence of the crime scene investigation team in the scene, one of the experts starts taking pictures and recording films along with note taking process. The aim of taking pictures of the scene is increasing the understanding and knowledge and improvement of the investigation report (13). In other words, the aim of taking pictures and recording films is the permanent recording of the scene, so that the crime scene expert by precise recording of the scene provides the chance for the audience to refer to the visual documents at any needed time, and have a view of the scene similar to the expert when attending the scene. Such documentation is worthy when the expert has used the criminal photography techniques. To achieve this goal, the experts should have the expertise through being trained in photography. However, training is undoubtedly not enough and high quality equipment such as a flash to remove the shadows are also needed (6). Compliance of the above mentioned points by the scientific and criminal police of Iran provides the opportunity for the crime scene experts to provide acceptable visual documentation to the investigators of the case even in unpredictable situations such as darkness, rain, etc. In addition to these fundamentals, the photographer should follow the basics of criminal photography such as taking safe photography path to prevent any damage to the effects and causes of the crime(15), providing photography report and mentioning the precise location , photographer`s profile, equipment used (15), purposeful photography(14)( that is the photographer should try to show the relationship between the victim and evidence found in the scene, disinterestedly), and using indicator cards to mark documents(the bullet location and the spots in the scene)(11).Most of the cases mentioned regarding the photography is true about the film recording, except that in film recording the expert tries to give an overview of the scene (7). That is why compared to photography, less attention is paid to this process. The last investigation method is the process of sketching the murder scene. This process aims at preparing the plot of the murder scene or in other words sketching the exact location of the victim and the effects and evidence, recording the distance between each evidence at the scene. This process is often performed manually by one of the experts as a rough paper, then rectangular and triangular coordinates can be used to prepare the sketch according to the decision of the crime scene expert (7). At the end of crime scene investigation, the expert completes or corrects the sketch according to his notes taken and the initial sketch, and provides a new sketch with the same manual method following the final sketch cliché, using the top view or special software such as AutoCAD prepares 3D sketch (6). Undoubtedly, similar to photography and film recording, this process also needs training and equipment such as measurement tools, compass, pen, and paper (8). The sketch is approved by the court in case the expert has observed the basics and techniques of drawing. The recording of coordinates, explanation, and employment of international symbols for sketching are among the basics (11).
Objectives: the current study aimed at investigating the process of documentation of the crime scene, investigating and evaluating the issues in the recorded documentations by the crime scene experts of the Isfahan Province in the murder cases, and also investigating the interaction level and cooperation between the three responsible organizations for crime scene investigation that is the police, forensic medicine, and the judiciary.

Method
The current study employed laboratory and field methods. That is, initially the key terms were defined based on the available references, and then the field method was employed to collect and analyze data regarding the study subject. The authors received the permissions from the crime prevention and social deputy of justice in Isfahan Province and then started the investigation of the files related to murder in 2 successive years, the years cannot be mentioned due to security issues, using a 110-item checklist. The check list was designed based on the studies on the books and articles on crime scene investigation and aimed at employing them to have the needed criteria to evaluate the documentations of the murder scene investigation team. The collected data were analyzed with excel software. It should be noted that the authors reviewed the files disinterestedly and had no predictions or judgments toward the causes of the incidence in any of the files.

In the current study, 30 cases of murder files committed within 2 successive years were randomly selected and investigated under the supervision of the deputy of the execution of criminal sentences of the Public Prosecutor's Office and Revolutionary Court of Isfahan with the designed checklist. There were 110 items in the designed checklist including 2 sections; the first section was regarding the first police at the scene and the second section on the actions of the forensic medicine agents, the interrogator, and the crime scene investigation team. The checklist clarified to what extent the team members were familiar with their duties and the extent they performed the corresponding actions. Tables 3, 4, and 5 show the findings of note taking process; tables 6, 7, and 8 show the findings of photography, sketching, and film recording processes, respectively.
Results of the note taking process suggested that many variables of the crime scene investigation forms were not filled. Also, the forms were not filled accurately; for instance the expert filled the bruising column Instead of completing the injury-related column.
Results of the photography process showed that in all cases the photography was performed based on the interrogators` order; however, not employing the techniques and equipment of criminal photography in general and not using flash, long and narrow view shots in particular, made the pictures unable to properly communicate the relationship between the document and the scene.
Results of sketching showed that most of them contradicted with the criteria of murder scene sketching and in the cases that the principles were considered, there was a matter of suspicion to the inaccuracy of the expert. For instance, there was a special page in the form that showed the main direction, whereas the expert indicated the directions for the second time regardless of the printed signs. Also, initial sketching of the crime scene was available in many cases, but none of them were consistent with the criteria of initial sketching.
Investigation of the film recording process showed that only in 18% of the scenes films were recorded and this process was not performed according to the standards.

Table 1. Frequency of the Forensic Medicine Agent Presence and Performance at the Crime Scenes

Figure 1. Frequency of the Forensic Medicine Agent Presence and Performance at the Crime Scenes

Table2. Frequency of the interrogators` Presence and Performance at the Crime Scenes

Figure 2. Frequency of the Interrogator Presence and Performance at the Crime Scenes

  Table 3. Frequency of Recording the Crime Scene Investigation Team Information

Figure 3. Frequency of Recording the Crime Scene Investigation Team Information

Table 4. The Frequency of Recording the Characteristics, Distinguished Features, and Belongings of the Victim

Table 5. The Observations and Descriptions of Experts Regarding the Crime Scene

Table 6. Frequency of Photography of the Crime Scene Variables by the Experts

Table 7. The Level of Conformity of the Drawn Sketches With Those of the International Variables of Sketching

Table 8. The Degree of Matching of Pictures Taken From the Murder Scene With International Variables

Results of the current study showed that forensic medicine agents, interrogators, and crime scene teams were not present at the murder scene and during investigation in 97%, 53%, and 3% of the cases, respectively, in Isfahan Province. These figures indicate nonexistence of interaction and cooperation among the crime scene investigation team members in Isfahan Province; despite the possession of good rank regarding the possession of human resources, and relatively good equipment; which is a matter of reflection.
In terms of note taking process, the issues of incomplete forms and inaccurately completed ones can be solved by precise monitoring on completion of the forms (after the respective processes), training the officers, and mandatory submission of reports in addition to completion of the forms. These issues, in case of contradictory reports of the scene experts and forensic medicine agents, can cause problems for the judge to issue a fair order.
In regards to the current issues in photography process, the problem seems to be a matter of inadequate and continuous training of the officers, lack of required equipment, and ultimately lack of monitoring their performance; and to overcome the problems it is necessary to provide them with proper equipment and needed trainings, and ultimately precise monitoring of their performance.
Results of evaluation of sketching process indicated the existence of problems such as inaccuracy of the experts when sketching and failure to adhere to the principles and standards of this issue; therefore, it is suggested that the experts should be provided with the necessary training in the field and an accurate monitoring system be defined to control their performance.
The 18% film recording of the crime scene cases indicates that the judges do not have a positive attitude towards it and do not regard it as a reliable document, and that is why they do not order for it. This negligence of the judges could be one of the reasons for inaccuracy and not observing the basics of recording criminal films. Since this process needs less equipment, it is advisable that the judges are briefed and then the experts are provided with the professional training regarding the specific techniques of recording criminal films.
At the time of conducting the current study, there was no appropriate interaction among the murder scene investigation team members in Isfahan Province. Also the processes of crime scene documentation including note taking, photography, sketching the scene, and recording films performed by the crime scene investigation teams in this province were not performed according to the current world standards; in this regard, factors such as inappropriate training, lack of monitoring the prepared documents, inaccuracy of the prepared documentation (especially the forms), and ultimately improper application of equipment can be influential. Improvement of any of the mentioned issues can lead to reduction of the inadvertent seizure of accused, fleeing the perpetrators of justice, and distrust of people in institutions such as the police and the judiciary.
The current study had some limitations: Dissociation of the Criminal Investigation Department police (as one of the organizations involved in crime scene investigation) to permit attending the crime scene accompanied by the crime scene investigation team, and also not giving permission to access the archive of the completed documents by the experts due to security considerations; lack of access to the files of other years; nonexistence of documentation in some files due to unknown reasons; lack of access to the files with female victims. Therefore, generalization of the results to the country is not logical.

Acknowledgement
Authors wish to acknowledge their gratitude to the Deputy of Social Justice and Crime Prevention of the Judiciary in Isfahan Province for their cooperation.

Conflict of Interest
Authors declared no conflict of interests.