Criminal Investigation
CRIMINAL JUSTICE PRACTICUM 8
CriminalInvestigation
CriminalInvestigation
Thereis an increasein understanding the use of forensic science in a criminalinvestigation. Nonetheless, approaches and models to promotecooperation between an investigator and the inquiryprocess arepoorly expressed.Thus, analysis of Rossy& Ribaux, (2014) article on crime investigation can reveal themost criticalcomponents of crime investigation process as discussed below.
Section1
CriminalInvestigation Effort
Criminalinvestigation effort is the actual operation and the will that drivesthe investigator and the relevant department to carry out aninvestigationregarding a crime.
Criminalinvestigation
Accordingto Rossy& Ribaux, (2014) criminalinvestigation is a way that felony isconsideredand the perpetrators brought tojustice. It is a long process of gating whoever participated incommitting a crime and getting him or her off the street. Theinvestigationis a vitalprocess for many crimes which include, but not limited to robbery,murder, arson, theft and assault. Acriminalinvestigation is not a process that can take place within a day andachieve the desired goal. Instead,it can take a day to many years for it to come to an end. However,some cases never come to an end.
Criminalinvestigation process
Inmany essentialcomponents, the inquiryprocess, even though reveals certain improvements, it still showsthat it has beeninfluencedby many immediatechanges in the policingsystem. For instance, Rossy& Ribaux, (2014)describes crime challenges and technological developmentsthat have taken in last three decades. In the main, our belief thatimprovements in police criminal investigation endeavors haveremained fundamentally separated from majorpolice responsibilities to avail more appropriate and effectiveresponses and be more determinedtothe crime challenges.
Criminalinvestigators
Asseen in the article, an investigator is an individual who collectsdocuments and assessesevidence and information. All these areachievedby carrying out an investigation. The most important duty of aninvestigatoris to unravel the truth.Thus, by making this his realand sole purpose, an investigator commits to his office oathaccompanied byethical behaviors to facilitate attainment of desired goals. The mainsteps include: establishing that a crime happened, identify and takeinto custody the suspect, responsesregarding stolenitem(s) and finally help in the trialof the party charged with the resulting crime.
Theknowledge beingusedin crime scene
Thecriminalinvestigator should have the skills to qualify him to be a goodproblem solver he must be a person who is sociable and can educateand question people as well an active listener to make him unravelcrime miseries. A university degree in criminology or any otherrelated field,as well as experience with regards to law enforcement,are the best knowledge requirements for this job or task, accordingto Rossy& Ribaux, (2014).
Theimportance of crime scene
Acrime scene has tangible evidence that is relevant to a criminalinvestigation beingundertaken.As a result, this evidence isobtainedby the investigatorthat oversees the crime scene and law enforcement officer since crimescene is believed to be a place wherethe offensetook place or a place that is consideredto have evidence from the actual crime.
Section2
AnOverview
CriminalInvestigation History
Acriminalinvestigation is an old science which can be traced back as far as1700 BC in the documentations of Code of Hammurabi (Rossy& Ribaux, 2014).In this code,it isproposedthat both the plaintiff and the complainant have the rights to showany form of valid evidence they have collected before a court of law.In modern days, criminal investigations are always being carried bypoliceforces while in some cases private investigators are often hired tohelp in investigating criminal cases.
Automatism
Automatismis an unconscious and involuntary behavior. Automatism could serve asa defenseto certain criminal cases in the sense that: to convict a defendantthe prosecution has the responsibility to prove toleaveno doubt with regards to a prohibited fault. By using automatism asevidence, the defendant allows his sanity to bequestioned.Undermental problems, the automatism can be found out to be resulting froma mental disorder hence the defendant would not be sentenced.
Facialreconstruction
Afacial reconstructionis an approach that isappliedin forensic science in case a crime involves unknown remains. It isoften doneby sculptor that is an identified expertise with regards to facialanatomy. In any way, the sculptormustwork together with a forensicanthropologist tohelp find out answers by through interpretation of features of askeleton which could assist identify age, the ancestryof the victim and sex. Sculptors can represent any body part such asfacial asymmetry, evidence of injured body parts, and teeth that werelostbefore death.
Crimescene investigation
Thesituations that investigators stumble upon at the sceneoften determine the methodology to use to analyze the scene. Forinstance, a homicide will probably need different treatment andprocessing compared to theft.
MajorTask Force
KeyCrime Task Force was established in 2006 when as a result of AttorneyGeneral’s directive following an increasein high-profilecases such as sectarian violence and assassination throughout Iraq. Thus, the task force composed of FederalBureau of the investigation,firearmsand explosives, tobacco DrugEnforcement Agency, Bureauof Alcohol and the US Marshals Services.
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Identifyingand Arresting Suspect
Anarrest takes places if a person is inpolice custody and is not allowed to leave or move about.Applying the use of physical force or use of handcuffs is notnecessary. Once, a person has been suspected as a criminal, thearrest process can just be complete whenpolicesaythat you are “underarrest”without applying the use of physical force. Hence, the foremostauthority to an arrest is an exerciseof police authority on a given individual hence that suspect caninvoluntary or voluntary submit.
PhysicalEvidence
Accordingto Rossy & Ribaux (2014),somecrimes such as robbery with violence and rape involve physicalevidence that must be captured and determined to assistin determiningthe case. After attaining the necessary evidence or identifying acrimescene, interview and integration of witnesses and the suspect can bedone to help find out the authenticity and establish the charges.While all these aredone,the investigator should operate within the means of Legal aspects ofhis or her investigation.He or she is not allowed to go overboard. Inthe crime scene,the investigator is obliged to determine the time the crime tookplace or time of death in the caseof murder.
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InvestigatingViolent
Thesuccess of investigation in violentcases such as murder or rape ishighly dependent ontime.Thus,it is very crucial that murder casesare givenattention that they need in theshortest periodpossible.
Injuryand death investigations
Injuryand death investigation are the trickiest cases because the evidenceneedsin-depthanalysis to determine the reality of the matter. They need expertanalysis and can never be assumed nor rushed.
Thecriminal laboratory
Someevident can only beanalyzedin the criminallaboratory. For instance, in cases where bullet remains are found ata crimescene, they aretakento the laboratoryfor further analysis.
Differentcharges dealing with Minor or Felony
Whenoffenders are foundguilty,they arecharged with diffetent types of crimes dependingonthe evidence collected.
Elementsof the crime
Indeed,crime can be broken down into different parts,which must beprovedby prosecutor beyond any reasonable doubt. They aredefinedin criminal statutes with exceptions.However,every crime committed has these three elements a criminal act,criminal intent and finally there must be the consequence.All these three must be present for the prosecutionto proceed.
Fieldnotes and reporting
Whilecarrying out an investigation,especial while in the field, an investigator takes notes based onvarious factors such as evidence found in the fieldto help locatethe lead. After they arecompiled,the findings arereportedto higher authority or department.
InvestigatingViolent Crime
Domesticviolence, abuse,and assault, women abuse, sex offenses, robbery and deathinvestigations are summed up by Rossy& Ribaux (2014)as violent crimes and explained that their investigation does notjust take place in a blink of an eye, but rather they need to bedetailed.
Reference
Rossy,Q., & Ribaux, O. (2014). A collaborative approach forincorporating forensiccase data into crime investigation using criminal intelligenceanalysis and visualization.Science& Justice,54(2),146-153.
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