THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES THERE IS A SERIOUS LACK OF USE OF PHYSICAL EVIDENCE. STUDIES SHOW THAT POLICE EITHER FAIL TO RECOGNIZE OR FAIL TO COLLECT MOST PHYSICAL EVIDENCE AVAILABLE AT CRIME SCENES. THIS CIRCUMSTANCE IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO A LACK OF COMMUNICATION BETWEEN THE INVESTIGATOR AND THE LABORATORY. THE LABORATORY MUST TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN TRAINING THE POLICE IN THE IDENTIFICATION, COLLECTION, AND PACKAGING OF EVIDENCE, WHILE THE POLICE MUST PROVIDE THE LABORATORY WITH DETAILED INFORMATION ABOUT EACH CASE SUBMITTED TO THE LABORATORY. A GENERAL APPROACH TO THE CRIME SCENE SEARCH SHOULD CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING PRINCIPLES: (1) EVIDENCE THAT SIGNIFICANTLY DETERIORATES WITH TIME AND EXPOSURE SHOULD BE COLLECTED FIRST; (2) ALL MAJOR EVIDENCE ITEMS SHOULD BE EXAMINED, PHOTOGRAPHED, RECORDED, AND COLLECTED, TAKING THEM IN THE ORDER THAT IS MOST LOGICAL, CONSIDERING THE REQUIREMENT TO CONSERVE MOVEMENT; (3) WHEN A BODY IS INVOLVED, EVIDENCE ITEMS LYING BETWEEN THE POINT OF ENTRY TO THE SCENE AND THE BODY SHOULD BE PROCESSED, FOLLOWED BY A DETAILED SEARCH OF THE BODY AND ITS REMOVAL BEFORE CONTINUING EVIDENCE COLLECTION; (4) AFTER PROCESSING THE MORE OBVIOUS EVIDENCE, THE SEARCH FOR AND COLLECTION OF ADDITIONAL TRACE MATERIAL SHOULD BEGIN; (5) AFTER THE TRACE MATERIALS HAVE BEEN COLLECTED, OTHER LATENT PRINTS SHOULD BE LIFTED; (6) WHEN SWEEPING OR VACUUMING, SURFACE AREAS SHOULD BE SEGMENTED AND THE SWEEPINGS FROM EACH AREA SEPARATED AND LABELLED; AND (7) NORMALLY, ELIMINATION FINGERPRINTS AND PHYSICAL EVIDENCE STANDARDS ARE COLLECTED AFTER THE OTHER ACTIONS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED. THE CRIME SCENE SEARCH OF A HYPOTHETICAL BURGLARY IS DESCRIBED IN DETAIL AND TYPICAL MISTAKES MADE IN SUCH A CIRCUMSTANCE ARE NOTED. (RCB)