A bindle is a small paper packet used in forensic science to collect and preserve tiny pieces of physical evidence. Also called a druggist fold, it’s made by folding a clean sheet of paper in a specific pattern that creates a leak-proof pocket, preventing hair, fibers, paint chips, glass fragments, and other trace materials from falling out or becoming contaminated. It’s one of the most basic and widely used tools in crime scene evidence collection.
Why Paper Instead of a Plastic Bag
Trace evidence is often microscopic or nearly so. A single hair, a flake of paint, a few textile fibers. Dropping these into a standard evidence bag risks losing them through seams or having them stick to the plastic through static electricity. Paper solves both problems. It doesn’t generate a static charge, and when folded correctly, the bindle’s interlocking layers create a sealed pocket with no gaps for tiny particles to escape.
Paper also breathes, which matters for biological evidence like hair. Sealing organic material in airtight plastic can trap moisture and promote degradation. A paper bindle allows just enough airflow to keep the evidence stable until it reaches the lab.
How a Bindle Is Folded
The folding technique is precise and standardized. According to guidelines from the Maine State Police, the process works like this:
- Start with a clean, unused sheet of paper.
- Fold the bottom third of the paper upward.
- Fold the right side of the paper over, as if folding a letter into thirds.
- Place the trace evidence into the pocket created by these two folds.
- Fold the left side of the paper over the right.
- Starting from the bottom, fold upward until the edge sits about one to two inches from the top.
- Fold the top flap down over the rest and crease it.
- Tuck the bottom piece into the top lip of the fold, locking it shut.
The result is a compact, self-sealing packet. The interlocking tuck at the end holds everything in place without tape. In fact, you’re specifically instructed not to tape the bindle itself shut. Tape adhesive can contaminate trace evidence or make it difficult to open cleanly in the lab. Instead, the bindle goes inside a secondary container, typically a paper envelope, and that outer envelope gets sealed with tape.
What Goes Inside a Bindle
Bindles are designed for small, loose trace evidence. The National Institute of Standards and Technology lists hairs, fibers, and paint chips as classic examples. In practice, forensic investigators also use them for soil particles, glass fragments, gunshot residue, and any other tiny material scraped or lifted from a surface at a crime scene. The OSAC standard for trace evidence recovery specifies that when an investigator scrapes material from an object, both the collected debris and the scraping tool should be packaged together in a paper fold.
Larger items, wet evidence, or anything that could soak through paper requires different packaging. The bindle is strictly a solution for dry, lightweight trace material.
Labeling and Chain of Custody
A bindle that can’t be linked to its source is worthless. The Georgia Department of Forensic Sciences requires that every evidence package carry the case number, item number, and the full name of the victim or subject. The date, time of collection, and identity of the person who collected it must also be recorded, either on the label or on accompanying chain-of-custody paperwork.
Sealing matters just as much as labeling. The outer envelope must use tamper-evident evidence tape, and the collector’s initials must cross the seal onto the container itself. This way, if anyone opens the package before it reaches the lab, the broken seal is immediately visible. Heat seals and self-seal containers follow the same rule: initials must bridge the closure point. These requirements exist so that defense attorneys, judges, and juries can trust that no one tampered with the evidence between the crime scene and the courtroom.
Where the Name Comes From
The alternate name, “druggist fold,” points to the technique’s origin. Before modern blister packs and pill bottles, pharmacists dispensed individual doses of powdered medication by folding them into small paper packets using this same method. The fold kept fine powders contained without any adhesive or closure mechanism. Forensic science adopted the technique because it solved the exact same problem: keeping tiny loose particles secure and uncontaminated during transport. The word “bindle” itself has older roots referring to a small bundle or package, and in forensic contexts it simply became shorthand for this specific style of paper fold.
Professional Standards for Bindle Use
The use of bindles isn’t just tradition. It’s codified in national forensic standards. NIST and the Organization of Scientific Area Committees require that small or loose trace evidence be secured in “clean, appropriately sized, unused primary leak-proof containers such as paper packets or plastic boxes.” When paper packaging is chosen, the standard specifies that a bindle-type fold or double-bagging procedure must be used to prevent loss of evidence through seams.
The emphasis on “clean” and “unused” is deliberate. Using a sheet of paper that’s been sitting on a desk or touched by multiple people could introduce outside fibers, skin cells, or other contaminants that compromise the evidence. Crime scene kits typically include pre-cut, individually wrapped sheets of clean white paper specifically for making bindles on site.