Cigarette butts seem to be the most common item found at crime scenes. There are no scientific studies that corroborate this, but it seems that the stress of committing a crime incites people to puff away. Cigarette butts can provide a lot of information for the investigator in the form of DNA evidence collected from the saliva. It has been estimated, however, that as much as 30 percent of all cigarette butts found at crime scenes are not left by the perpetrator, as one might assume, but by someone who actually processed the crime scene. It's a little disconcerting to think that so much time and money is wasted on a potential suspect, only to find that the "suspect" is the chief officer.
Jarrett Hallcox and Amy Welch, Bodies We've Buried, 2006
Jarrett Hallcox and Amy Welch, Bodies We've Buried, 2006
I know a lot of detectives that smoke. Maybe they are the ones compromising the scene.
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