Queensland Consolidated Acts

POLICE POWERS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ACT 2000 - SECT 169

169 Preserving evidence at crime scene

The responsible officer at a crime scene must ensure that nothing in the crime scene is unnecessarily touched or moved—

(a) until all necessary forensic and technical examinations are finished; or

(b) unless there is a possibility that the thing could be damaged, interfered with or destroyed if it is not moved.

Examples of when evidence may be damaged or destroyed if a thing is not moved—

1 if the arrival of the investigator, or an authorised assistant or specialist officer will be delayed and the scene is exposed to the weather

2 if falling or threatened rain may damage fingerprints that may be on a knife left on the ground