crime) and the analysis of the photograph (often
conducted at highly specialized laboratories).
Perhaps the most common sub-area in criminal
photography is the standard ‘‘crime scene photo-
graph.’’ From murder to much less serious crimes,
investigators typically take photographs in order to
aid later investigation. Photographs are used to
reconstruct crime scenes at later dates; it is therefore
vital that each object even tangentially related to the
crime be photographed by itself (a close-up, frame-
filling shot), but also in its spatial relationships to the
other objects in the crime scene. If this ‘‘complete-
ness of scene’’ is accomplished, when presenting evi-
dencetojudgesorjuries,twogroupswhodidnot
benefit from witnessing the original crime scene, a
prosecutor can either focus on the minutia of the
criminal case by showing a picture of the isolated
object (such as the murder weapon), or by giving an
impression of the scene as a whole. A general philo-
sophy adhered to by most careful criminal photo-
graphers is that of thoroughness. For instance, in the
case of a murder, the dead body is certainly photo-
graphed, but there are other possible clues that could
aid the investigators and are therefore just as impor-
tant to photograph, such as footprints, potential
murder weapons, or parts of the room that have
clearly been tampered with. A traffic investigator
working for the highway patrol does not just take
pictures of the accident, but also looks for indicator
signs to photograph, such as skid marks and broken
glass. Typically, crime scene photographers are tre-
mendously thorough, presenting every possible angle
of the scene. The power of an investigator to recall
will never be perfect, and it is impossible for a jury to
completely picture how a crime scene would look
without some form of visual aid. Therefore, many
rolls of film are typically exposed, ensuring that
absolutely everything of potential importance be
portrayed from every possible angle.
In cases of foul play, after the initial crime scene
photographs are taken, another arm of criminal
photography comes into play: the autopsy record.
Autopsies are typically documented in several differ-
ent ways, one of which remains the photograph. All
autopsies are photographed, but this is particularly
true of ones where homicide is suspected. The cor-
oner searches for potential causes of death, taking
photographs of any exterior markings (bruises) or
interior markings (punctured organs) that seem sus-
picious or may suggest a potential cause of death.
Just as with crime scene photographers, coroners
attempt to collect as much evidence as possible by
using photographs, which could also become valu-
able evidence in court. Victims of crime need not
alwaysdieinordertohavetheirbodyphotographed,
however. In cases of sexual, spousal, or child abuse,
various regions of the body that were struck or vio-
lated are photographed by specialized police photo-
graphers, again in order to ensure a record of the
crime, which can be used as evidence at a later date.
A final type of crime photography is surveil-
lance. In 1924, the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI) was formed, and J. Edgar Hoover was placed
at its helm. Within a decade, the FBI had become a
large and powerful force in American crime pre-
vention, due in large part to the freedom of action
Hoover was accorded. A large part of Hoover’s
success was due to his everyday and widespread
use of surveillance, a style of investigation that
sought to analyze the criminal before he struck.
Hoover’s personal philosophy of ‘‘overkill’’ when
it came to surveillance filtered down through the
FBI ranks. Files on suspected criminals often con-
tained pages or pieces of evidence numbering in the
thousands. A large component of these substantial
files was the photographs, which derived from
almost constant surveillance of suspected wrong-
doers. If a potential criminal was under surveil-
lance by the FBI, every aspect of that person’s life
was captured on film, including every place he went
and every person he met with. This form of docu-
mentation was extreme, but it laid the cornerstone
for the contemporary ‘‘stakeout,’’ which is used by
many different law enforcement agencies. Again,
thoroughness is encouraged, as there is no predict-
ing when the important event that needs to be
photographed might occur. Surveillance is an arm
of photography that takes place before the key
event, in anticipation that the camera can be used
to capture more than just the aftermath of the
crime, but the actual crime itself.
Not all crime photography is conducted by
employees of law enforcement agencies, however.
There is quite a rich tradition of private photogra-
phers who ‘‘ambulance chase,’’ who tune their
radios to police frequencies hoping to arrive at
crime scenes in time to take photographs. Some
of the more renowned photographers of all time,
such as Weegee, have done their best and most
famous work within the field of crime photogra-
phy. And some of the more shocking and disturb-
ing photographs of all time fall within this genre,
including photographs of the murder scenes of
Dutch Schultz, the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre,
the Black Dahlia, and Malcolm X, to name a few.
AndrewHoweCRIME PHOTOGRAPHY