National Forensic Doctor

Early morning.

Jiang Yuan arrived at the forensic laboratory early in the morning, made himself a cup of tea, tidied up his desk, and then started his day’s work—looking into the microscope.

The bloodstained clothing that served as evidence, had been cut into several pieces, for Jiang Yuan to pick out pollen under the microscope.

Contrary to what many people imagine, when forensic scientists face evidence, their goal is often not to preserve its original state. Common items like bed sheets and pillowcases from crime scenes are roughly cut when testing for blood or luminol, soaked in reagents, and further tested.

Similarly, pieces of paper stained with other substances are treated in the same way.

Some might feel uneasy about this destruction of original states, but from another perspective, many pieces of evidence aren’t collected in their original state to begin with.

For example, a bedsheet that someone has died on doesn’t necessarily need to be packed and returned in its entirety, and it’s even less necessary to pack the entire bedding set. If it’s a technician from the criminal department handling the task, the most normal method is just to cut a piece and take it back.

Whether evidence is missed because of this depends on the crime scene personnel’s abilities. Generally, if there is any doubt, they would pack more items to take back. Otherwise, they would just cut a piece to use as evidence.

Of course, the importance of the case dictates how much gets packed and taken back.

In cases like a small-scale burglary with a low value of stolen goods, you can’t even take more evidence if you want to; even if the evidence room doesn’t complain, the plaintiff wouldn’t want you packing up a truckload of their belongings for a case involving just a few thousand yuan.