Locards Exchange Principle

In forensic science, the Locards Exchange Principle states that “with contact between two items, there will be an exchange.” The basic premise being everywhere you go, you take something with you, and you leave something behind.

For every person we come across, be it for a minute, an hour, a day, a week, a month, or a year, we leave something with them and they leave something with us when we interact. Sometimes you pick up their bad habits, and sometimes you pick up their good habits. Sometimes, you pick up their accents or lingo, if they’re from somewhere else, and sometimes they pick up yours. I found myself numerous times “mimicking” or picking up certain words from hanging around one of my close friends from Trinidad. I can pick up and drop the hardest parts of my accent when going to and leaving Savannah, GA with ease. So it isn’t limited to people, it’s also limited to places and things. What’s brilliant about the Locards Exchange Principle is that it’s also a telltale principle of how you or someone else’s energy can have a profound effect on one or the other, or sometimes both.

A few months ago, I had something happen to me, that I didn’t see coming. It wasn’t a bad thing it was actually a sweet and positive thing. Without going into great detail, I crossed paths with someone I never expected to, but greatly enjoyed crossing paths with. Usually when you come across people you never expect, the exchange can either be good, or it can go badly; that one went a little more than good, it went sweetly. I loved it, I enjoyed it, and I appreciated having that small moment happen to me.

I exchanged words with that someone, and they in turn, left me with a few kind words, and their smile. Nothing more, nothing less, just their smile and a few kind words. And as nice as those words were, what affected me more was their smile. So now, you’re probably wondering, “how could something as small as a smile affect you so profoundly?” Well, think about it, in forensic science, how many big cases are solved based on the smallest piece of evidence. DNA is the tiniest thing from a human body, but the smallest bit of it, can solve over a hundred cases, giving over a hundred people hope, closure and peace of mind. It’s a ripple effect that also comes in the aftermath of Locards Exchange that stretches out beyond just the victim of the crime, that really makes this principle work as a whole. The smallest pieces of evidence can tell the biggest stories.  So, something as small as a smile, doesn’t seem so small anymore, does it? Nope.

Whether I like to admit it or not, I am affected by people and their energy, or their “trace evidence.” In small, big, minor and/or major ways, people have the power to leave something behind with me, in every interaction, of any kind, I have with them. Whether it’s a smile, a hug, a kiss or a few kind words, an acknowledgement, a dollar, a letter, a song, a gleam in their eyes, something from them is always left upon me. What’s crazy about it all is that most times, I like it. I like that people’s energy can affect me. I like that I can be affected by some of the sweetest things, the sweetest places, the sweetest people and the sweetest moments. I like that small moments have the most profound effect on me and sometimes the big moments don’t even turn my head. Sometimes, it really is the little things that count the most. Just as well, I think the part about it all I don’t like is when I’m negatively affected by someone and their “trace evidence” they leave behind. That’s the part about the exchange that can get to anybody. Sometimes you don’t realize the negative energy of another is affecting you until it’s too late, or in the aftermath of events. Some you don’t even recognize it at all. I always bitch and I moan when people tell me I’m being “just like so-n-so,” if so-n-so is a bad person. Buts its funny how we all smile with great appreciation and gratitude when so-n-so is a good person.

When it all boils down to it, in lamens terms, the Locards Exchange basically explains that people can, do and will leave trace evidence, of and/or from them, that screams “I was here” and also take with them trace evidence that says “You were there.” That day, someone left behind with me their smile that said “I was here.” That small piece of their "trace evidence" has had a profound effect on me.

I’m not sure at all what trace evidence I left that day, or that I leave behind in general, in the midst of my “exchanges/criminal acts” with other people. What I do know is most times, people leave behind “traces of evidence” from themselves with me. What I also know is that I try to always make sure it’s the good kind of trace evidence, if I can help it. So, for what it’s worth, I’m glad I am affected by people because currently, I have all the right people in my life to be affected by.