Tampering with or Fabricating Physical Evidence involves which action?

• A. Altering, destroying, or concealing any record, document, or thing with intent to impair its verity, legibility, or availability
• B. Knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, a governmental record
• C. Presenting a false government record as genuine
• D. Possessing a blank governmental record form with unlawful intent

Answer: (A)

Tampering with or fabricating physical evidence centers on interfering with tangible items that could prove something in an investigation. The key idea is intent to impair the evidence’s verity, legibility, or availability, meaning you’ve altered, destroyed, or concealed a record, document, or object so it can’t be used reliably in a proceeding. This covers actions like erasing or changing a document, disposing of an item that could be evidence, or hiding something that investigators might need to examine. It’s about the physical evidence itself, not about making false statements or presenting fake documents as real. That’s why other options—such as making a false entry in a government record, presenting a false government record as genuine, or possessing a blank government form with unlawful intent—fit different offenses that deal with falsification or possession, not the act of tampering with physical evidence.