Criminal Investigation Essay


Criminal Investigation Research Paper
Ever wonder just how investigations are conducted? Or how detectives can figure out what seems to be impossible? The answer is simple, it lies in the process of Criminal Investigation. Criminal Investigations are used to find, analyze, and process evidence and information useful to the crime scene. Criminal Investigations help solve crimes ranging from a simple B&E to even murder. On television and shows such as, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Investigations are not always accurate. Not only are
Criminal Profiling In Criminal Investigations
Criminal profiling is a technique used to identify the major personality and behavioral characteristics of an individual based upon the characteristics of the crime they have committed (Douglas et al. 1986,p.405). This technique has become increasingly popular and notorious through its exaggerated use in television and other popular media. Particularly in the movie Silence of the Lambs a thriller in which criminal profiling is used to apprehend a serial killer. There is no doubt that due to its popularity
Patterns Of Criminal Investigation
that every American has watched or read something about a criminal investigation. With so many popular shows, movies, and books all with the same basic plot, it is almost impossible not to. Criminal Investigation stories are everywhere, including in a recent Disney movie where a bunny must solve a seemly unsolvable case and catch the bad guy. The stories always follow a similar pattern. The hero detectives invoke on a criminal investigation to solve a case, they collect evidence and begin to solve
Criminal Investigation Process
Police officers and detectives play vital roles in the detection, investigation, and solving of crimes. In order to effectively solve a crime, it is imperative that a series of procedural steps occur. It is extremely crucial that the steps be completed in the proper order, never taking any time-saving methods or skipping of steps. Furthermore, if steps in the investigation process are skipped or not executed properly, your case has just been compromised, resulting in the possibility of an inaccurate
Criminal Investigation Summary
On August 31, 2015, this investigator was assigned an internal investigation to review the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) domestic violence investigation and arrest of Officer Johnn “Jason” Scott from an August 26, 2015, incident at his house at 6140 S. Franklin Rd. in Marion County. The allegation is Officer Scott strangled Lola “Courtney” Everette during a domestic dispute. The officer’s actions scratched, bruised and caused pain to Ms. Everette’s neck. There were four juveniles (Aubrey Everett
Criminal Investigation Effectiveness
When it comes to the effectiveness of the American Criminal Justice System meeting its goals, I’ve generally always had a good opinion about how effective the goals are met. There are some cases that have happened in the past and some even more recently were I believe the goals were not met effectively. For example, when the lead detective, Steve Thomas, was working the JonBenét Ramsey case, the Ramsey’s attorneys and others that were part of Team Ramsey did not want to help Detective Thomas solve
Evidence plays a vital role throughout criminal investigations. Typically, we think of evidence as things such as fingerprints, DNA, and fibers. However, evidence as evolved as the world of technology has expanded. Digital evidence also now plays just as much of an important role as traditional evidence. When beginning an investigation that involves digital evidence, it is important for the investigator to know what evidence to look for. Identification of evidence, collection including transportation
Synthesizing In The Criminal Investigation Process
Synthesizing criminal investigation involves integration new information with that of existing information to create an original impression, a new viewpoint, or form a new view of thinking to achieve an awareness. Synthesizing process has a complex method of comprehension strategies. This process happens if we are taking in the valued meaning throughout the information that is read. Our understanding of the criminal investigation is enhancing as we read more of the provide information, (Bynum, T
Several investigation agencies adopt different investigation techniques for every crime committed. However, these investigative techniques follow four major stages in criminal investigation which include; 1. Preliminary Investigation Preliminary investigation involves the collection of information from the victims or witnesses of the crime. This is always the first step to a crime response and is usually done by the patrol officer. These preliminary investigations are aimed at collecting information
Investigation Of The Criminal Justice Process
The criminal justice process begins with a report of violation of the law by a citizen or witnessed by a police officer first hand. Then after it is investigated where the police officer is to come to the area or scene of the incident to determine the extent and nature of the crime committed. Where sometimes an arrest is made on the scene of the incident and statements of the witnesses or evidence are taken to obtain evidence of the crime. In some cases there is a preliminary investigation where
Case Analysis : Criminal Investigation
what was discussed in the textbook, as well as what has been discussed during lecture. The body of this paper will examine the case of Pamela Foddrill and compare what happened in that real criminal investigation to the theory of criminal investigation discussed in our course textbook, Criminal Investigation: The Art and the Science. I will first examine the forensics evidence and
Confidential Informants And Criminal Investigations
This chapter provides insight on controversial issues troubling the criminal justice system, such as the use of confidential informants, three strikes laws, life without parole, and sex offenders, which is no doubt relative to prison overcrowding in the United States. The most question raised is which issue has been the most detrimental to this nation and should be eradicated immediately? This question is relatively difficult for me to answer, because I think they equally contributed to the prison
Miranda Warnings In Criminal Investigations
determine is whether the type of questioning is part of a criminal or administrative investigation (Doerner, 2012). Under Miranda warnings, an officer cannot be compelled to make a statement or answer questions if they could incriminate themselves criminally. That officer would also be in a custodial situation and was not free to go. If the officer chooses to make a statement and/or answer questions, they can be used against the officer in criminal proceedings. It should be standard practice for investigators
Anonymous Informant In Criminal Investigation
category may be highly reliable, and, as such, “a strong showing as to other indicia of reliability may be unnecessary. The second class of informants is the known informant from the criminal world who has provided previous reliable tips. This informant has established a relationship with the authorities, both as a criminal and as a past informant with accurate information and a willingness to cooperate. Because of this, law enforcement tends to value these types of tips as somewhat reliable.
Investigation Of The Criminal Justice Essay
disclose the overview of the criminal justice, especially in America. The result from the interview of one of the fractioned for instance, the attorney in the criminal justice will be the cornerstone of this report. In this case, the Attorney’s view about criminal justice will be thoroughly analyzed and compared with other sources to bring out the bright image of the criminal justice in America. The arguments of whether there is the efficient administration of the criminal justice system, their methodologies
Pursuing A Career In Criminal Investigations
working. Some careers out there that I find interesting are Criminal Investigators/Special Agents, Detectives/Criminal Investigators and First-Line Supervisors of Police and Detectives. They are all somewhat similar and fall into the same career field. They would all require a degree in Criminal Justice, which is what I plan on getting my degree in. A Criminal Investigator/ Special Agent is someone who Investigates alleged or suspected criminal violations of Federal, state, or local laws to determine
Constitutional Protections in Criminal Investigations
Running Head: CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTIONS IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS Constitutional Protections in Criminal Investigations What are constitutional rights and why are they so important to us? Our Constitutional rights are in place to protect us from wrongful conviction and improper police behavior. Originally these rights were made in reaction to the abusive conduct displayed by British authorities during Colonial times. Without the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, we would not be a
Criminal Investigation: Start to Finish
be in. With criminal investigations, which is my field of study can be the detectives, field officers or the crime scene technicians. The crime scene tech position is what I myself am going into. I believe that there is always going to be crime with that they would need the crime scene techs and they go out and process the crime scene without getting evidence and getting it process there as well not be a case. What I would like to let you know is how the techs start their investigations and what they
Eyewitness Testimony In Criminal Investigation
Eyewitness testimony has been questioned regarding its accuracy. Discuss the usefulness of an eyewitness in criminal investigations. Eyewitness testimonies is evidence given by people who have witnessed an event, such as a robbery. Eyewitness testimonies are useful as they can be used to help identify a criminal and lower the amount of suspects who are included. Police and similar services can use eyewitnesses to narrow down their searches by asking a series of questions about what they have witnessed
Essay about Dna in Criminal Investigation
Father!” to learning the descendents of former slaves are related to President Thomas Jefferson, we have come to rely upon and expect the accuracy of DNA. DNA almost immediately transformed the American Criminal Justice System. Law Enforcement, District Attorneys, Defense Attorneys, Criminal Court and Family Court all work
Popular Topics
- Criminal Justice Essay
- Criminology Essays
- Crisis Essay
- Essay on Crisis Management
- Critical Essay
- Critical Analysis Essay
- Critical Incident Essays
- Critical Reflection Essay Example
- Critical Review Essay
- Critical Thinking Skills Essay
- 1(877)219-7556 1(877)733-3925
Fully unique works only
Your privacy is our concern
Writing that is plagiarism free

Writing that are plagiarism free
Free Crime Investigation Essay Sample
Introduction.
Crime investigation is a process of gathering enough evidence of a crime that has been committed. The ultimate goal of gathering evidence is to determine the truth on how the crime occurred hence look for possible solutions.
Crime scene investigation
Police officers have powers of investigating criminal through following certain techniques to get the criminal. Patrol Investigation Policy is a policy designed to outline the procedures for patrol personnel when dealing with patrol investigations. Therefore, patrol officers should be given the responsibility of investigating the crime in order to gather enough evidence which will be used to get the criminals.
Evidence collection
Physical evidence is the most convincing evidence because it establishes its own reliability basis. Police and prosecutors can build cases when using physical evidence. In the homicide case, evidence can be evaluated and linked with a crime suspect. Evidence can either be individual or class characteristics. Individual evidence like footprints and finger prints can be used to detect the criminal.
Suspected blood stains should be photographed or measured and if possible the suspected blood stain should be taken and sampled. Victims should be examined and report submitted and fingernail scrapings of victims should be used by a medical doctor to investigate the crime.DNA test is important because blood or hair may give an evidence in a case where crime has occurred.
The investigator should photograph the print when collecting patent prints and encountered items found in the rooms like handguns. Evidence technicians may take investigators where the scene occurred and investigators should begin each role of film with a photograph.
Interviewing and questioning witnesses
The investigator should interview prospective witnesses. They should be questioned on what they saw or heard, what they can recall or what they can testify. Interviews and questions should be structured to cover all factors for instance; what was the witness doing when the crime took place? What was the time when crime took place? Can the witness remember and describe the events?

Surveillance methods and undercover operations
Surveillance measures and undercover operations should be struck between the privacy right of an individual and that of state to investigate serious criminals. For instance use of tracking devices. Interception, monitoring and communication network systems should be available. Special investigation methods like electronic surveillance and undercover operations should be within domestic framework.
Criminal investigators carry the responsibilities of gathering evidence and give it to the prosecutor to present it in court. The investigator helps the prosecutor to compile the facts in the case and thereby provide the testimony if needed.

Have NO Inspiration to write your essay?
Ask for Professional help
Related essays
- The Free Exercise Clause
- The Chapdelaine and Gravel v. Air Canada Case
- Judicial Activism
- Criminal Justice Ethics
Search Free Essay
Please note!
Some text in the modal.

Provide details on what you need help with along with a budget and time limit. Questions are posted anonymously and can be made 100% private.

Studypool matches you to the best tutor to help you with your question. Our tutors are highly qualified and vetted.

Your matched tutor provides personalized help according to your question details. Payment is made only after you have completed your 1-on-1 session and are satisfied with your session.

- Homework Q&A
- Become a Tutor

All Subjects
Mathematics
Programming
Health & Medical
Engineering
Computer Science
Foreign Languages

Access over 20 million homework & study documents
Special crime investigation essay

Sign up to view the full document!

24/7 Homework Help
Stuck on a homework question? Our verified tutors can answer all questions, from basic math to advanced rocket science !

Similar Documents

working on a homework question?

Studypool is powered by Microtutoring TM
Copyright © 2023. Studypool Inc.
Studypool is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university.
Ongoing Conversations

Access over 20 million homework documents through the notebank

Get on-demand Q&A homework help from verified tutors

Read 1000s of rich book guides covering popular titles

Sign up with Google

Sign up with Facebook
Already have an account? Login
Login with Google
Login with Facebook
Don't have an account? Sign Up

Essay On The Criminal Investigation Process
The criminal investigation process is able to achieve justice to a great to a great extent. They are effective in achieving justice, as they are able to balance the rights of the victim, offenders and society and also provide fair and just outcomes. For these reasons, the criminal investigation process is largely able to achieve justice. The success of the criminal investigation process in achieving justice can be seen through its efforts to balance the rights of the victim, offender and the community, this is evident in the areas of police powers and discretion. Police powers constitute police officers to exercise special powers such as search and seizure and the use of reasonable force. These powers are outlined in the Law Enforcement (Powers …show more content…
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the criminal investigation process achieves justice by balancing the rights of the victim, offenders and society.
- Analyzes how the criminal investigation process balances the rights of the victim, offender, and community. police powers are outlined in the law enforcement (powers and responsibilities) act 2002.
- Explains that the process of gathering evidence largely depends on the role of discretion by the police. the evidence act 1995 (nsw) imposes certain limits on how police can gather evidence.
- Explains that the criminal investigation process has been able to achieve justice in the area of arrest, detention and charge.
- Opines that the criminal trial process has been able to achieve justice, but there are some limitations, which hinder its success.
The process of gathering evidence largely depends on the role of discretion by the police. Once police have decided to pursue a reported crime , they then begin the process of gathering evidence. To ensure that the process of gathering evidence is lawful, the police must follow the procedure outlined in the Evidence Act 1995 (NSW), which describes the manner in which evidence can be collected. This act imposes certain limits on the way police can gather evidence and the types of evidence that can be used. The Act is able to protect the rights of citizens by making it a requirement for the police to gain necessary legal documentation, such as search warrants, in order to obtain some types of evidence and thus, protects the rights of ordinary systems. In more recent times, the use of technology has come to play a major role in the gathering of evidence and with this comes complications in the law. New technologies in relation to the criminal investigation process are mainly in reference to DNA evidence, genetic material that can place a suspect at the scene of a crime. The introduction of DNA evidence into the criminal investigation process has been extremely effective in achieving justice, as it is able to secure convictions. Initially, there were some setbacks to the use of DNA evidence …show more content…
This is one of the most important aspects of the criminal investigation process due to the fact that if the proper procedures aren’t followed, the validity of the case will be jeopardized. The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) outlines the conditions of which a person can be arrested and detained. A key term in the arresting process is ‘suspicion on reasonable grounds’ as this describes the discretion of the police in making arrests. Although for most arrests, a warrant is needed, police can arrest someone if they genuinely believe that the person is guilty of a crime. After a person has been arrested, they will be detained in a police station and this process is also outlined in the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW). The Act outlines the rights a person who has been detained, such as refreshment periods, and the procedures that the police must follow, this is all done to help protect the rights of citizens. If a person is charged with a crime, they will either be put in remand or be allowed to post bail. Bail, also referred to as conditional freedom, allows a person to retain certain rights, such as spend their time awaiting trial in their home, and this is outlined in the Bail Act 1978 (NSW). Bail is a great example in the criminal trial process achieving justice, as the concept of bail seeks to
- explanatory
- Opines that in order to understand how to compile evidence for criminal cases, we must understand the most effective types of evidence.
- Explains that eye witness testimony is less reliable than forensic evidence, and that the study aims to determine if it is the deciding factor of guilt in criminal cases.
- Explains that circumstantial evidence is important because it is used in criminal proceedings. it is compared to eye witness testimony and forensic evidence.
- Proposes that forensic evidence is more likely to get a conviction than circumstantial or eye witness testimonies.
- Explains that there is not much research on the types of evidence affecting a person's willingness to convict, but there has been research related to forensic evidence.
- Explains that evidence strength is important with high-strength evidence because it results in a greater belief compared to low strength evidence. expert testimony's experience can play an important role in jurors' decisions.
- Explains that the csi effect is the idea that criminal shows and movies give viewers an inaccurate representation of forensic evidence and how it is used.
- Explains that forensic evidence is needed in order to get a conviction. another study found that when comparing homicide investigations, the outcomes could have been different because of the lack of evidence.
- Explains that the present study hypothesizes that when given the same criminal case with varying types of evidence, participants will be more likely and more confident in their conviction when forensic evidence is presented instead of circumstantial evidence and eyewitness testimony.
- Opines that well written procedures, rules, and regulation provide the cornerstone for effective implementing policies within the criminal justice system.
- Explains that theories have been explored and implemented as polices in addressing deviant behaviors produced by humans. models such as crime control through the conflict perceptive suggest the human nature is persuaded by social opportunities.
- Explains that law enforcement practitioners are mandated to follow protocols during the course of their daily operations. their practices of evidence gathering are subject to the constitutional values of search & seizures and the fourth amendment.
- Explains that two key individuals become part of the criminal justice accountability "equation" during the judicial proceeding.
- Explains that corrections are a vital component within the criminal justices system with the primary focus of accountability after sentencing.
- Explains that although laws differ from state to state, each state is required to adhere, comply, and implement federal polices within the criminal justice practices.
- Analyzes how the exclusionary rule is a derivative of policy violations and historical case redefining directly related to violation of search and seizures.
- Explains that policies design is based upon the responsive actions of criminal behaviors within society while utilizing proven theories, with a specific objective/goal, and with motivations in obtaining desired results.
- Opines that criminal justice theories are implemented as the basics of policy formulation in many jurisdictions. policies and laws regulate more than criminal behaviors.
- Cites oliver, n. e., peak, k. j. and schmalleger, f.
- Explains that the federal government and states have authority to prosecute for criminal behavior in the united states. each has its own criminal statutes, court systems, prosecutors, and police agencies to help deter crime.
- Explains that the federal government prosecutes organized, financial, and fraud crimes, as well as drug trafficking cases.
- Explains that the state only prosecutes crimes against the person, such as murder, assault, and crime against property.
- Explains the role of a prosecutor and the importance of the final report in determining which cases are prosecuted and which are not.
- Explains the impact of poorly written final reports on the prosecution of a case in criminology. they state that effective written communication is vital to prosecuting any case.
- Explains that the use of evidence in the stages of the criminal justice process is to solve the crime.
- Explains how each stage of the criminal justice process helps to build a successful litigated action.
- Explains the investigator's role in preparing a case for court is to ensure that their witnesses appear in court. they need to prepare the presentation of facts, obtain the court disposition of all their cases, and inform the officer in charge of the decision.
- Explains that investigators and prosecutor work together to enhance the courtroom presentation and develop a sound prosecutorial strategy. they need to closely target their efforts with the aim of collecting evidence that meets the legal requirements to prove crimes.
- Explains the difference between not guilty and acquittal, which is the verdict of the jury and the judgment issued by the court.
- Explains that trial judges and appeals courts can effectively acquit defendants by finding that there was insufficient evidence of guilt.
- Opines that an acquittal means that the investigator failed, that not enough evidence was presented in order to convict. the jury had doubt as to the prosecution's evidence.
- Predicts that new and improved technology and more control of crime through dna profiling will take place in criminal investigation within the next twenty years.
- Cites american bar association. standards on prosecutorial investigations, department of government and justice studies, the criminal justice process, appalachian state university.
- Cites hess, k. m., and orthmann, c. h. (2013). the iacp, preparing and filing the case.
- Explains the stages of the criminal justice system that involve arrest, pretrial, trial, and appeals.
- Explains that an arrest involves legal authority taking a person into custody. the offender's miranda rights are read to ensure that they don't self-incriminate themselves.
- Explains that if a person is arrested, the prosecutor has 48 hours to decide whether to file charges or not. the grand jury reviews the charges and the offender is arraigned.
- Explains that the preliminary hearing takes place after the arraignment, and the judge determines whether or not a defendant should be charged. the suspect can hire private counsel or an appointed lawyer from the state.
- Explains that trial is when a jury is selected to determine the interest of the juror in the case. opening statements are expectations of what they expect to happen based on the evidence provided.
- Explains how the jury decides whether the defendant is guilty or not, based on the evidence presented by both sides.
- Opines that the relationship between law enforcement and prosecutors, which goes hand-in-hand, can't be overlooked. evidence of a crime that detectives and police discover is equally important.
- Examines the investigative and criminal procedures following the arrest of an alleged criminal and the powerful effects via testimonies and evidence (or lack thereof). the primary function of the criminal justice system is to uphold established laws.
- Narrates how a young waitress in her twenties, named debbie carter, had taken off of her shift early at an ada bar. she enjoyed drinks with several old high school friends before heading home shortly after midnight.
- Analyzes how the murder of debbie carter flipped this small, rural, bible-belt, town on its head. people were outraged, overwhelmed, and stunned that such a thing could happen in this town.
- Narrates how dozens of people who had seen debbie the night of her murder went to the station and gave blood and hair samples. the investigation seemed promising, but months later leads began drying out and detectives found themselves back at square one.
- Explains that ada was notorious for finding snitches behind bars that could provide crucial evidence to the district attorney in return for reduced charges or lighter sentencing.
- Narrates how terri holland was a jail-house snitch in ada who needed to strike 'a plea deal' before trial for her third felony conviction. the local criminal justice system felt the pressure and holland needed help.
- Explains that the prosecutor in the williamson case knew the validity of his witness, but despite her criminal record, he used her on the stand anyway.
- Explains that the innocence project has taken up over 60 cases and dozens of these cases have been overturned. out of 111 death row pardons, 45.9% are accounted for by cases that snitches testified in.
- Explains that in the 80's scientific evidence was impractical in many instances. in the williamson case, the osbi examiner had very little reliability in any evidence he could study, compare, and use as testimony.
- Explains how the appellate court agreed with the osbi's decision that the "hair evidence placed [petitioner] at the decedent’s apartment." this is misleading because the expert who shared analysis during the trial did not state a positive identification from the hairs.
- Explains how detectives became convinced that williamson and fritz were behind the murder. they convinced examiners to exhume the body to re-examine the victims palm print.
- Explains that dennis fritz and ron williamson were tried in separate trials, and were both found guilty of the murder of debbie carter.
- States that coyne, randle, and harris, george c. "testimony for sale: the law and ethics of snitches and experts." pepperdine law review, 2000-2001.
- Opines that while the united states has made progress in becoming more equal and addressing some issues surrounding prejudice and discrimination, there still remains a long road ahead.
- Explains the three types of philosophical orientations involved in the study of crime prevention and criminal justice: political function, communitarianism function and authoritarian function.
- Opines that the communitarianism function is the most harmful philosophy. it allows for more discrimination towards minorities, less focus on protection and prevention, and has warped the way crime and the criminal justice system works.
- Opines that racial discrimination is harmful to society, since it impacts the social, political, and economic wellbeing of minorities.
- Opines that communitarianism stresses the obligation to behave in a just and moral fashion.
- Analyzes how communitarianism contributes to classism, including the views on welfare, such as temporary assistance to needy families and rehabilitation of criminals, neglected and delinquent children.
- Argues that welfare recipients find dealing with the system degrading, demoralizing, and embarrassing and would prefer working rather than continuing to rely on the government for assistance.
- Analyzes how communitarianism promotes xenophobia and racism, and how it is influenced by negative stereotypes about african americans.
- Argues that communitarianism is harmful in that it has contributed to oppressive ideas and sentimentalities leading to nationalism, militarism, racism, and intolerances towards religious and/or ethnic minorities.
- Opines that imprisonment is a way of pretending to solve the problem of crime, perpetuating the idea of retribution, thus maintaining the endless cycle of violence in our culture.
- Explains that stop and frisk is a program that allows police to stop black or hispanics males without probable cause.
- Explains that the nypd stops blacks and latinos at rates that are much higher than whites.
- Analyzes how the united states attorney general eric holder addressed the incarceration of us citizens at an annual meeting of the american bar association.
- Analyzes how minorities, especially african-americans, feel about the criminal justice system.
- Analyzes how judge scheindlin's decision upset both mayor bloomberg and police commissioner ray kelly. the judges view fell were lock step in with what has always been classified as racism.
- Argues that the criminal justice system is a key part of what he calls the domestic war on the marginalized.
- Opines that economics deserves its own place at the table. oj simpson hired some of the best trial lawyers in the country to defend him against accusations of murder.
- Analyzes how disparities in the criminal justice system are in part a function of the interrelationship between race and class and reflect the disadvantages faced by low-income defendants.
- Explains that it is best to select candidates who have as little affiliation as possible in research projects. using students from another class brings integrity, diversity, maturity, and intelligence.
- Explains that the questions seemed perfect for the assignment and less likely to cause participants’ to freeze or hesitate in giving their honest on such a tricky and sensitive subject.
- Explains that the similarities were split down the middle. over half of the participants' stated yes, the criminal justice system was racist.
- Analyzes vince scardina's response to question 1: do you believe that there is a connection between race and crime in america?
- Concludes that racism, poverty, and economics are the root of the problem in the criminal justice system.
- Explains that the criminal justice system in europe during the 1700s was the product of long tradition of aristocracy.
- Analyzes how the middle class's desire to preserve their own power led to the decline of convicted defendants who were accused of trivial offenses, and the collapse of european faith in the criminal justice system.
- Explains that cesare beccaria, an italian lawyer and legal philosopher, saw the then-actual criminal law as a messy jumble of laws, customs, and traditions derived from ancient roman and german cultures.
- Analyzes beccaria's argument on torture within the criminal justice system, though he never provides a counterargument.
- Analyzes how beccaria's influence on the united states was a mixture of good ideas and timing, and his principles of due process and trial by jury became ingrained into modern, civilized governments.
- Explains that the united states of america's criminal justice system is a system of law enforcement that is directly involved in apprehending, prosecuting, defending, sentencing, and punishing those who are suspected or convicted.
- Explains that terrorism is the use of violence or intimidation in pursuit of political aims. terrorists attack for revenge, religion, or just plain hatred.
- Explains that domestic terroristism occurs when people don't agree with the government and/or its citizens. the ku klux klan is known for hating african-americans.
- Analyzes how the united states' laws and ways of preventing crime are constantly changing, and how advancements in technology and individual rights are creating new forms of crime.
- Explains that terrorist attacks are dangerous because they are impossible to predict and the outcome is usually horrific. the world trade centers attack on september 11th changed the way our government viewed foreign conflicts.
- Explains that since the attacks on 9/11, our government has increased national security and turned the focus of its very own federal bureau of investigation’s services towards countering terrorism.
- Analyzes the fbi's terror plot chart, which lists the diversity in terror attacks from september 11th, 2001, to 2010. it also shows that terrorism is growing and becoming more diverse.
- Explains that the u.s. is currently involved in a conflict with the islamic state or isis, which has started attacking and taking over areas overseas in an attempt to increase their numbers and spread islam.
- Concludes that terrorists will never be stopped, not because the criminal justice system is flawed or corrupt, but because it is impossible to please everyone in a society.
- Analyzes how the criminal justice system has come under fire over the handling of many incidents involving police officers use of force and the lack of punishments being handed down to them.
- Introduces officer derek rolland, a member of the hope mills police department. he graduated the basic law enforcement course in 2003 and has been an officer for the past seven years.
- Opines that the current criminal justice system is two-fold and has good aspects but at the same time has some bad aspects.
- Explains that the criminal justice system has a problem with housing of criminals and the cost associated with keeping someone behind bars.
- Analyzes officer rolland's opinion on the "ferguson effect," which is the slowing down of police officers' response and/or their enforcement of laws due to public scrutiny.
- Explains that body cameras allow police officers to capture the close up uninterrupted truth of what happens during an incident.
- Analyzes how the use of deadly force has called into question the tactics of police officers and why they are not implementing non-lethal force to stop suspects.
Related Topics
Course info
Special crime investigation-2.
CDI-3: SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION
Photo Source: Georgetown Peabody Library
ALBERTO S. NUGAL, MA Crim.
Assistant Professor –I
EDWIN A. IRENE Instructor-1
College of Arts and Sciences
BS Criminology
A provider of relevant and quality education to a society where citizens are competent, skilled, dignified and community- oriented.
An academic institution providing technological, professional, research and extension programs to form principled men and women of competencies and skills responsive to local and global development needs.
QUALITY POLICY
Northwest Samar State University commits to provide quality outcomes-based education, research, extension and production through continual improvement of all its programs, thereby producing world class professionals.
CORE VALUES
Resilience. Integrity. Service. Excellence .
INSTITUTIONAL GRADUATE OUTCOMES
Creative and critical thinkers
Life-long learners
Effective communicators
Morally and socially upright individuals
Table of Contents
Type chapter title (level 2) 2
Type chapter title (level 3) 3
Type chapter title (level 2) 5
Type chapter title (level 3) 6
This CDI-3 Course Module is developed by Prof. Alberto S. Nugal, MA Crim.
And Edwin A. Irene Instructor 1 for the students’ preparation for professional Investigation. This will guide the Instructor and students through their learning semester period. Students will have the idea what will be the next activity or what activities will they have by next meeting which he/she might consider for preparation in advance.
The Module can be used either by classroom interface or distance learning. The Module’s Manuscript shows the topics and subtopics followed by Graded Exercises. The students are required to look for the definitions, concepts and theories, explanations, functions, and lists of types and classifications from the official Textbooks and other references---printed and/or online.
Course Code: CDI-3
Course Title: SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION
Course Description: This course covers the special study of modern technique in the investigation of crimes involving crimes against persons, and other related offenses. This course also introduces the application of medical science in crime investigation with emphasis on the medico-legal aspects of physical injuries, death, abortion, infanticide, burn and poisoning. It develops framework of investigating crimes, crime scene processing, and report writing. The course deals with the study of major crimes based on the application of special investigative techniques. Special Crime Investigation is consisting of special investigative techniques. It concentrates more on physical evidence, its collection, handling, identification and preservation in coordination with the crime laboratory special crime investigation. It involves a close relationship between the investigator in the field and the crime laboratory technician. They work together as a team and both must be competent and well trained, sharing and extending one another’s theories and finding, working patiently and thoroughly to know the truth from their criminal enquiries.
Philippines justice system, particularly the court, relies more on physical evidence rather than extra-judicial confessions and testimonies unless supported by corpus delicti.
Course Outcomes:
At the end of the course, students must be able to:
1. Define Key Terminologies in Special Crime Investigation;
2. Discuss Special Crime Investigation
3. Understand the basics of Criminalistics;
4. Understand the basics of Criminal Law and Jurisprudence related to Special Crime Investigation ;
5. Demonstrate applicable concepts and theories of Special Crime Investigation in relation to Court proceedings; and
6. Know the organisation, functions and duties of Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO)
Course Content:
This course, CDI-3 Special Crime Investigation is intended for students of Bachelor of Science in Criminology.
The table below shows the outline and description of the topics grouped into 5 Modules to be discussed in classroom or to be taken by the students for distance learning.
Course Requirements:
In general, the requirements of CDI-3 are as follows:
§ Class Participation
§ Class Report
§ Portfolio Output
§ Quizzes and
§ Exams
Grading Criteria:
Course Materials:
§ Textbooks
§ Visual Aids
§ Videos
§ Rubric Matrix for grading system
§ Course policy Manual
References:
1. Guevara, R.M. (2019). Criminology Licensure Outcomes Based Examination
Reviewer. Danlyn Publishing House. Philippines:Valenzuela City
2.
MODULE I TRAINING PLAN
MODULE TITLE: The concepts of Special Crime Investigation.
MODULE DESCRIPTION: This module provides the concepts of Special Crime Investigation particularly its focus and importance to court proceedings.
TARGET AUDIENCE : STUDENTS ENROLLED IN CDI- 3
VENUE : Designated Classroom / As appropriate
TIME ALLOTTED: Six (6) hours
ACTIVITIES: Reading Assignment (Home)
Student Report/Exercises
Classroom Discussion
LEARNING AIDS : (As appropriate)Textbook
Multi-Media Projector
Laptop /Computer
Projector Screen
Internet/Broadband Connection
STUDENTS’ REQUIREMENTS : (As Appropriate) Prescribed uniform (Tamang
Bihis),Paper, flash drive, ballpen, pencil, paper module, references
REFERENCES :
TRAINING GOAL : This block of instruction will help the students understand the concepts of Special Crime Investigation.
Module Outcomes: The students are expected to learn the concepts, role and importance of special crime investigation in court proceedings.
Module Requirements: At the end of this module, the students will come up with a Report Paper, outstanding portfolio and quiz.
ASSESSMENT : The students will be evaluated through Objective and Essay Tests.
Introduction
Special Crime Investigation is consisting of special investigative techniques. It concentrates more on physical evidence, its collection, handling, identification and preservation in coordination with the crime laboratory special crime investigation. It involves a close relationship between the investigator in the field and the crime laboratory technician. They work together as a team and both must be competent and well trained, sharing and extending one another’s theories and finding, working patiently and thoroughly to know the truth from their criminal enquiries.
Philippines justice system, particularly the court, relies more on physical evidence rather than extra-judicial confessions and testimonies.
It generates tracing evidence that leads to the apprehension of dangerous criminals. Oftentimes, potential valuable evidences are destroyed or rendered useless be careless behaviour and handling at the crime scene (Guevara, 2019).
Definition of Terms
Look for the definition of the following:
1. First Responder
2. Criminal Profiling
3. Crime Scene Processing
4. Physical Evidence
5. Corpus delicti
6. Murder
7. Homicide
8. Parricide
9. Murder-suicide
10. Photography
11. Sketching
12. Crime-scene sketch
13. Rough sketch
14. Court proceedings
16. Prosecution
17. Conviction
18. Acquitted
20. Court of Appeals
21. Supreme Court
Special Crime Investigation
First responders or any authority who arrived first at the crime scene are responsible to the following:
1. Preserve life and identify the suspect/s;
2. Locate (if evaded) the suspect;
3. Secure witnesses;
4. Preserve the integrity of the crime scene’s physical boundaries; and
5. Reconstruct the Crime Scene
A. Preservation of integrity of the Crime Scene
1. 6 Elements of Crime Scene Policy
2. 3 Barriers for Ideal Cordon
3. Definition of SOCO
B. Reconstruct the Crime Scene - Definition
C. 5 Categories of Reconstruction
D. 7 Steps in Reconstruction
E. 5 Basic Crime Scene Protocol
F. Functions and importance of Special Crime Investigation to Court proceedings. Rules of Evidence (Rules 128, 130 sec 1-19; 132 sec 19-40; 133 ) transposed to Part 1 of Rules of Court
Graded Exercises:
1. Discuss the Preservation of integrity of the Crime Scene
4. List the 6 Elements of Crime Scene Policy. Discuss each.
5. What are the 3 Barriers for Ideal Cordon? Explain each.
6. What is SOCO stands for?
2. Define the Reconstruction of the Crime Scene
3. What are the 5 Categories of Reconstruction? Explain each.
4. Enumerate the 7 Steps in Reconstruction and discuss each.
5. What are the 5 Basic Crime Scene Protocols?
6. Discuss the functions and importance of Special Crime Investigation to Court proceedings .
7. Keep your portfolio in an expanded envelop.
Prepare for Module 1 Quiz
MODULE 2 TRAINING PLAN
MODULE TITLE: The Basics of Criminalistics
MODULE DESCRIPTION: This module provides the basics of Criminalistics particularly the tools in Forensic Sciences.
TARGET AUDIENCE : STUDENTS ENROLLED IN CDI- 4
TIME ALLOTTED : Thirteen (13) hours
2. https://lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_128-134_evidence.html#:~:text=Rules%20of%20Court%20%2D%20Evidence&text=1a)-,Section%203.,parties%20to%20be%20heard%20thereon.
3. https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/criminal-evidence.html
4. Other online refeences
TRAINING GOAL : This block of instruction will help the students understand the basics of Criminalistics.
Module Outcomes: The students are expected to learn the basic concepts of tools of forensic sciences.
1. Criminalistics
2. Physical Evidence
3. Documentary Evidence
4. Fingerprints processing
10. Instrumentation
11. Forensic Ballistics
12. Police Photography
13. Poligraphy
14. Legal Medicine
15. Forensic Medicine
Concepts of Criminalistics
Tools of Criminalistics
1. Personal Identification
1.1. Preservation of fingerprint evidence
1.2. Bite marks
1.3. Broken fingernails
1.4. Body fluids
1.5. Shoe and or tire
1.6. Hair strands
1.7. Fibers
1.8. Paint
1.9. Glass
1.10. Blood/stains
1.11. Dried Blood Stains
2. Police Photography
2.1. Definition
2.2. Forensic Photography
2.3. Difference of Police Photography and Forensic Photography
3. Forensic Ballistics
3.1. Bullets and casing Examinations
3.2. Bullets
3.3. Cartridge Cases
3.4. Ammunition
3.5. Powder and Shot Pattern
3.6. Gun Serial Number
Watch video: 1 ) watch
2 ) watch
4. Examined Questioned Documents
4.1. Rules on Evidence Rule 130 secs 2-3; 10-19
4.2. Examples of Documentary Evidence for special crime (death threat prior to death, letter of inciting rebellion, terrorism; official receipts, delivery receipts, bank statements, checks used in purchases to execute the crimes, etc.).
5. Poligraphy
5.1. Definition and concepts
5.2. Lie Detection definition
6. Forensic Medicine
6.1. Definition
6.2. Importance of Forensic Medicine
6.3. Difference of Legal Medicine and Forensic Medicine
6.4. Concepts of Medico-legal
Graded Exercises
1. Discuss the concept of Personal Identification in Crime Scene
2. Define and Discuss the Following Evidences:
2.1. Preservation of fingerprint evidence
2.2. Bite marks
2.3. Broken fingernails
2.4. Body fluids
2.5. Shoe and or tire
2.6. Hair strands
2.7. Fibers
2.8. Paint
2.9. Glass
2.10. Blood/stains
2.11. Dried Blood Stains
3. Define Police Photography.
4. What is Forensic Photography?
5. Differentiate Police Photography from Forensic Photography
6. Define Forensic Ballistics
6.1. What are the 3 types of Ballistics?
6.2. What is gunshot residue? Discuss.
7. Define and discuss the following evidence
8. Bullets and casing Examinations
8.1. Bullets
8.2. Cartridge Cases
8.3. Ammunition
8.4. Powder and Shot Pattern
8.5. Gun Serial Number
9. Define Examined Questioned Documents
9.1. Discuss the Examples of Documentary Evidence for special crime (death threat prior to death, letter of inciting rebellion, terrorism, etc.).
9.2. How will the suspects/accused be convicted based on the Rules on Evidence?
10. Define Poligraphy
10.1. Lie Detection definition
11. Define Forensic Medicine
11.1. What is Importance of Forensic Medicine
11.2. Differentiate Legal Medicine from Forensic Medicine
11.3. What is medico-legal? Discuss.
12. Keep your portfolio in an expanded envelope.
Prepare for Module 2 Quiz
Prepare for Mid-term Examination
MODULE 3 TRAINING PLAN
MODULE TITLE: The Basics of Criminal Law and Jurisprudence related to Special Crime Investigation
MODULE DESCRIPTION: This module provides the basics of Criminal Law and Jurisprudence related to Special Crime Investigation.
Week : 9-11
TIME ALLOTTED : Ten (10) hours
3. https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-procedure/criminal-evidence.html https://www.lawphil.net/courts/rules/rc_110-127_crim.html
TRAINING GOAL : This block of instruction will help the students understand the basics of Criminal Law and Jurisprudence related to Special Crime Investigation.
Module Outcomes: The students are expected to learn the applicable Rules on (Criminal) Evidence and Criminal Procedure;Applicable concepts and theories of Special Crime Investigation in relation to Court proceedings
MODULE TITLE: The basics of Criminal Law and Jurisprudence related to Special Crime Investigation
The outcome of many criminal law cases will depend upon the strength and admissibility of evidence -- including physical proof, scientific evidence, and witness testimony. Criminal evidence law can be complex (Criminal.Findlaw, N.d.) and it can determine the fate of the case ---length of trial, and the conviction or acquittal of the accused.
1. Criminal Law
4. Corpus delicti
5. Arrest
6. In flagrante delicto
7. Preliminary Investigation
8. Search Warrant and Seizure
9. Warrant of Arrest
10. Inquest
11. Court Procedure
12. Arraignment
13. Guilty Plea
14. Prosecution
15. Pre Trial
22. Jurisprudence
Rules on Criminal Evidence
1. Definition of the Law of Criminal Evidence
2. The Concept of Evidence
3. Definition of Hearsay Evidence
4. The Concepts of Scientific and Forensic Evidence
5. Rule 128,
6. Rule 130 sec 1-19
7. Rule 132 sec 19-40;
8. Rule 133
Rules on Criminal Procedure
1. Rule 110; 112-14
2. Search Warrant and Seizure, Rule 126
3. Right of the accused, Rule 115
4. Arraignment and plea, Rule 116
5. Pre Trial, Rule 118
6. Trial, Rule 119
7. Judgment, Appeal, Rules 120-125
Jurisprudence
1. Alphonse Bertillon methodology used
2. DNA or fluid of the body used led to accused conviction
3. Handwriting and signature were exhibited to the court and made the accused served in prison
4. Fingerprints were identified, located and arrested the suspect to his judgment of a crime.
5. Depressed marks were found by the investigators that led to suspect’s arrest and discoveries of other evidences, and the accused was convicted.
1. What is Criminal Law?
2. Define the Law of Criminal Evidence
3. What is the Concept of Evidence?
4. Discuss the Hearsay Evidence
5. What are the Concepts of Scientific and Forensic Evidence?
6. Discuss Rule 128, (100-200 words)
7. Discuss Rule 130 sec 1-19 (100-200 words)
8. Discuss Rule 132 sec 19-40; (100-200 words)
8. Discuss Rule 133 ; (100-200 words)
9. Discuss Rule 110; 112-14 (100-200 words)
10. What is Search Warrant and Seizure, Rule 126? (100-200 words)
11. Discuss the Rights of the accused, Rule 115 ( 100-200 words)
12. Discuss the Arraignment and plea, Rule 116 (100-200 words)
13. What is Pre Trial, Rule 118? (100-200 words)
14. What is Trial, Rule 119? (100-200 words)
15. Discuss Judgment, and Appeal, Rules 120-125; (100-200 words)
16. Give 1 jurisprudence for the following:
16.1 Alphonse Bertillon methodology used
16.2 DNA or fluid of the body used led to accused conviction
16.3 Handwriting and signature were exhibited to the court and made the accused served in prison
16.4 Fingerprints were identified, located and arrested the suspect to his judgment of a crime.
16.5 Depressed marks were found by the investigators that led to suspect’s arrest and discoveries of other evidences, and the accused was convicted.
17. Keep your portfolio in an expanded envelope.
Prepare for Module 3 Quiz
MODULE 4 TRAINING PLAN
MODULE TITLE: Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
MODULE DESCRIPTION: This module introduces the organisation, functions and duties of Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
Week : 12-15
TIME ALLOTTED : Six (6) hours
2. PNP
3. Online references
TRAINING GOAL : This block of instruction will help the students know the Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
Module Outcomes: The students are expected to learn the organisation, functions and duties of Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) and Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) are operational groups of PNP.
1. Investigator
2. First Responder
3. Criminal Profiling
4. Crime Scene Processing
5. Physical Evidence
6. Corpus delicti
7. Murder
8. Homicide
9. Parricide
10. Murder-suicide
12. Statutory Rape
13. Forensic Science
14. Forensic Evidence
Scene of the Crime Operation (SOCO) Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG)
Roles of SOCO; CIDG
Functions of SOCO; CIDG
Duties of SOCO; CIDG
1. What is SOCO? Discuss.
2. What is CIDG? Discuss
3. What are the Roles of SOCO?
4. Discuss the Functions of SOCO
5. What are the Duties of SOCO? Discuss each.
6. Differentiate SCOCO from CIDG. (200-250 word)
7. Watch any SOCO (of ABS-CBN) video from youtube. Summarise the story and Discuss the substandard or police officers of investigation and violations of the rights of the accused. (300-500 words)
8. Keep your portfolio in an expanded envelope.
Prepare for Module 4 Quiz
Prepare for Final Examination
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
1. To foster the values of leadership integrity, accountability and
Responsibility while serving their fellowmen community and
2.To prepare the students for careers in crime prevention,
Law enforcement, scientific crime detection and correction
Administration and
3.To encourage research and inquiry on the nature, causes
Treatment or punishment of criminal behavior and how
Criminal justice agencies respond to crime criminal and
Victims
COLLEGE OBJECTIVE
The colleges of Arts and Sciences aims to produce highly
Skilled, proficient and competent graduates imbued with
Values and desirable character particularly in the areas
Of agriculture, environmental science, criminology,
Development communication, community development,
And guidance and counselling
- Teacher: alberto nugal
- Police Photography
- Personal Identification
- Forensic Medicine
- Lie Detection and Interrogation
- Forensic Ballistics
- Questioned Documents
- Forensic Chemistry and Toxicology
- Administration Of Police Organization
- Patrol Organization And Operation
- Police Operational Planning
- Intelligence And Secret Service
- Industrial Security Management
- Criminal Law (Book 1)
- Heinous Crimes Act Of 1993
- Republic Act No. 8294
- Anti-Money Laundering Act Of 2001 R.A. NO. 9160
- Criminal Procedure
- Criminal Evidence
- Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation
Special Crime Investigation
- Fire Technology and Investigation
- Traffic Operation and Accident Investigation
- Drug Education and Vice Control
- Police Report Writing (Technical English)
- Introduction to Criminology
- Criminal Justice System
- Juvenile Delinquency
- Human Behavior and Crises Management
- Seminar on Contemporary Police Problem
- Police Ethics and Community Relations
- Penal Management
- Criminology Board Exam Result
- Criminology Board Exam Topnotchers
- Top Performing Criminology Schools
- privacy policy

The Edvocate
- Lynch Educational Consulting
- Dr. Lynch’s Personal Website
- Write For Us
- The Tech Edvocate Product Guide
- The Edvocate Podcast
- Terms and Conditions
- Privacy Policy
- Assistive Technology
- Child Development
- Classroom Management
- Early Childhood
- EdTech & Innovation
- Education Leadership
- First Year Teachers
- Gifted and Talented Education
- Parental Involvement
- Policy & Reform
- Special Education
- Best Colleges and Universities
- Best College and University Programs
- HBCU’s
- Higher Education
- Higher Education EdTech
- International Education
- The Awards Process
- Finalists and Winners of The 2021 Tech Edvocate Awards
- Finalists and Winners of The 2020 Tech Edvocate Awards
- Finalists and Winners of The 2019 Tech Edvocate Awards
- Finalists and Winners of The 2018 Tech Edvocate Awards
- Finalists and Winners of The 2017 Tech Edvocate Awards
- Award Seals
- GPA Calculator for College
- GPA Calculator for High School
- Cumulative GPA Calculator
- Grade Calculator
- Weighted Grade Calculator
- Final Grade Calculator
- The Tech Edvocate
- AI Powered Personal Tutor
18 Ways to Teach Struggling Students to Wait on Assistance From the Teacher
Logic: everything you need to know, most interesting utopia essay topics, utilitarianism essay topics, american history essay topics to write about, most interesting urbanization essay topics to write about, most interesting urban planning essay topics to write about, most interesting uniform essay topics to write about, essay topics on unemployment, good research topics about uncle tom’s cabin.
Crime Investigation Essay Topics

- Methods of Crime Investigation
- Criminal Psychology Introduction
- Introducing Forensic Science Through Criminalistics
- Differences between Real and Fictional Violence in Criminology
- Investigation of Crime: The Role of Forensic Psychology
- Sexual Assault and Consent in Criminal Justice
- Classical and Positive Criminology, Circle Sentencing, and Risk as a Gendered Factor
- Criminology’s Use of Computer Forensics
- Criminal Justice and Forensic Evidence
- Gathering Biological Data for Criminal Investigations
- What Is the Prison Problems’ Solution in Criminology?
- Waterboarding as Torture in Criminal Justice
- Chicago’s Crime Problem: Silence of the Witnesses
- Criminology: Prisons Impact on Crime Rates
- Criminology: Prisoners with Special Needs
- Criminology: Critique of the Current Rehabilitation Options
- How the CSI Effect Influences American Jurors
- Criminal Psychology: CSI Has an Impact on Jurors
- The CSI Effect: Crime-Related Programs and the Judiciary
- Investigations into Crimes and Hate Crimes
- Juvenile Detention Facility: Criminology
- Circles of Support and Accountability in Criminology
- Robert Salmon’s crime: The Historical Investigation
- Criminal Psychology’s Social Bonding Theory
- Current Crime and Classical Criminology
- Theories of Crime Causation and Conflict Criminology
- Criminology’s Use of Conflict Theory and Politics
- Process and Investigations in Criminal Justice Changes
- Criminal Investigation: Police Officers’ White Lies
- Criminal Investigations Using Unethical Methods
- Investigating Different Kinds of Death in Crime
- Criminological Physical Evidence
Essay Topics on Crime Investigation
- Guidelines for Crime Scene Investigation
- Contemporary Criminology, Sociology, and Positivism
- Criminal Psychology’s Proactive and Reactive Approaches
- The Crucial Function of Various Criminological Analyses
- Criminal Psychology: Recidivism of Female Offenders
- Credible Proof in Criminal Psychology
- Principles and Methods of Crime Scene Investigation
- Crime Scene Analysis: Different Styles of Examining
- Criminal Psychology as a Life-Course
- Criminal Psychology’s Theories of Genetic and Social Bonds
- The Utilization of Interviews and Surveys to Collect Data in Criminology
- Investigating Crime Evidence: Forensic Science
- Criminal Justice: Social Control Theory
- Criminal Justice: Social Disorganization Theory
- Environment-Based Crime and Hot Spots Policing
- Experiences and Competencies for Studying Criminology
- Criminal Characteristics: Explosives, Both High and Low
- Analyses and Procedures for Computer Crime Investigation
- Criminal Justice: Social Learning Theory
- Criminal Investigations Involving Physical Evidence
- The Significance of Forensic Science in Criminal Justice
- Utilizing GPS for Criminal Investigation
- Investigating Crime Scenes and Classifying Evidence
- Criminal Justice and Computer Forensics
- Criminal Justice: The Routine Activities Theory
- Criminology, Equality, and the Incarceration of Women
- Report on Forensic Science’s Current Situation
- Justice System Errors and Forensic Science
- Criminal Profiling Using Forensic Science
- Governmental Corporate Crime and Criminal Investigation.
- Drunk Driving, Crime, and Control in Criminology
- Law and Forensic Science: Daubert Decision by the U.S. Supreme Court
Crime Investigation Essay Titles
- Definition of the Term “Forensic Science”
- Police Duties Include Fingerprinting and Forensic Science
- The Article “Race, Gender, and Class in Criminology” by G. Barak
- The Book Gregg Barak: Race, Gender, and Class in Criminology
- Research Techniques in Criminology and Criminal Justice
- Criminal Psychology: The Core by Larry Siegel
- Criminal Psychology’s Central Topic: Hate Crime
- Criminal Psychology’s Situational Inducement
- Are Hung Juries in Criminal Proceedings a Problem?
- Criminal Justice Positivist School
- Criminal Probes: Criminal Probes: Investigators
- Investigations into Organized Crime Around the World
- Developing Theories: A Review of Criminology
- Criminal Psychology Theories of Social Processes
- Gendered Criminology Theory About Women’s Crime
- Investigative Methods that Are Effective in Math and Criminal Justice
- Investigating a Crime Scene is Part of the Criminal Justice System.
- Gun Types and the Characteristics of Gunshot Wounds According to U2 I.P. Forensic Science
- Criminal Psychology Fingerprinting and Casting
- Criminological Theories of Different Kinds
- Political Implications for Criminology
- Theories of Criminal Justice and Youth Crime
- Characteristics and Properties of Glass Used in Forensic Science
- Criminal Case: O. J. Simpson’s Case Summary
- Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Criminology, Jeffrey R. Wilson
- Criminal Justice Forensic Science: A Well-Respected and Highly Specialized Field of Science
- Criminal Psychology: Historical Theory
- Criminal Justice: Integrate Community Justice into Corrections
- Domestic Violence in the U.S.: Crime Theories
- Currently Accepted Biosocial Criminology
- Criminology Comparative Around the World
- Current Theories of Criminal Justice and Criminology
- The Fundamental Principles of Classical and Positive Schools of Criminology
Interesting Topics to Write about Crime Investigation
- Computerized Crime Scene Analysis & Good Practice Guide
- Terrorism and Cybercrime Investigations
- Criminal Psychology Used Personally
- The Murder of Brianna Denison is Being Investigated by the Police.
- Criminology Definition and Aspects
- Criminal Justice: Increasing Investigator Professionalism
- Investigational Linkage and Criminal Profiling
- Comparing Traditional Methods and Criminalistics
- The Strain Theory in Criminology and the Classical School of Thought
- Criminal Investigation: A Practiced Art
- Systems and Procedures of Law in Criminology
- Evidence Gathering in Criminal Justice
- Environmental Fatalities in Criminal Justice
- Crime Theory Application to Characters in Blood in Blood Out
- Crime: Theories of Criminal Behavior
- The Aileen Wuornos Case in Criminal Psychology
- Understanding Crime Through Criminology
- Addressing the Subject of Criminology
- Current Concepts in Criminology
- Forensic Human Identification in Criminology.
- Criminal Psychology; Prison Staff Satisfaction
- Applying Criminology Theory
- Criminology’s Guiding Principles for Justification and Defense
- Mara Leveritt: Criminal Inquiry in the “Devil’s Knot”
- Forensic Science’s Use of Ballistics.
- A Summary and Analysis of Criminology Models
- Police in the USA: Criminology
- Criminal Justice in the 21st Century
- Administration of Controlled Substances
- The Use of Crime Theories in Criminology
- Terrorism and Security for Major Events in Criminology
- Insect Evidence in Forensic Science
- Criminal Investigations and the Chain of Custody
Interesting Electrical Engineering Essay Topics
E-learning localization: everything you need to know.
Matthew Lynch
Related articles more from author, 60 infrastructure essay topic ideas & examples, diabetes research essay topics, good essay topics on modernization theory, fascinating essay topics to write about fast fashion, hrm essay topics, research topics about alfred hitchcock.

Want to create or adapt OER like this? Learn how BCcampus supports open education and how you can access Pressbooks . Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices. -->
Chapter 1: Introduction
It is too bad we can not just provide you with a basic template to follow every time you needed to conduct a criminal investigation; but it is not that simple. Criminal investigations can be imprecise undertakings, often performed in reaction to unpredictable and still-evolving events with incomplete information to guide the process. As such, it is impossible to teach or learn a precise methodology that can be applied in every case. Still, there are important concepts, legal rules, and processes that must be respected in every investigation. This book outlines these concepts, rules, and processes with the goal of providing practical tools to ensure successful investigative processes and investigative practices. Most importantly, this book informs you on how to approach the investigative process using “investigative thinking.” In this first chapter, we set the foundation for the book by calling attention to five important topics:
- Criminal investigation as a thinking process
- The need to think through the process
- Towards modern-day investigation
- The path to becoming an investigator
- Understanding the investigative mind
Topic 1: Criminal Investigation as a Thinking Process
Criminal investigation is a multi-faceted, problem-solving challenge. Arriving at the scene of a crime, an officer is often required to rapidly make critical decisions, sometimes involving life and death, based on limited information in a dynamic environment of active and still evolving events. After a criminal event is over, the investigator is expected to preserve the crime scene, collect the evidence, and devise an investigative plan that will lead to the forming of reasonable grounds to identify and arrest the person or persons responsible for the crime. To meet these challenges, police investigators, through training and experience, learn investigative processes to develop investigative plans and prioritize responses.
In this book, these investigative responses, information analyses, and plan-making skills are broken out using illustrations of both tactical and strategic investigative thinking. The aim of the book is to guide you into the structured practices of tactical investigative response and strategic investigative thinking.
Criminal investigation is not just a set of task skills, it is equally a set of thinking skills. To become an effective investigator, these skills need to be consciously understood and developed to the point where they are deliberately engaged to work through the problem-solving process that is criminal investigation. Trained thinking and response can be difficult to adapt into our personal repertoires because we are all conditioned to be much less formal and less evidence driven in our everyday thinking. Still, as human beings, we are all born investigators of sorts. As Taber (2006) pointed out in his book, Beyond Constructivism , people constantly construct knowledge, and, in our daily lives, we function in a perpetual state of assessing the information that is presented to us. Interpreting the perceptions of what we see and what we hear allows us reach conclusions about the world around us (Taber, 2006). Some people are critically analytical and want to see evidence to confirm their beliefs, while others are prepared to accept information at face value until they are presented facts that disprove their previously held beliefs. Either strategy is generally acceptable for ordinary people in their everyday lives.
Topic 2: The Need to Think Through the Process
Diametrically opposing the analysis processes of everyday people, in the role of a police investigator, the process of discovering, interpreting, and determining the validity of information is different and this difference is critical. As an investigator, it is no longer sufficient to use the strategies that ordinary people use every day. Instead, it is incumbent on investigators to critically assess all the information they encounter because every investigation is an accountable process in which the investigator is not just making a determination about the validity and truth of the information for personal confirmation of a belief. Rather, the police investigator is responsible and empowered under the law to make determinations that could significantly affect the lives of those being investigated as well as the victims of crime.
The investigator’s interpretation of information and evidence commonly requires answers to many questions that can lead critical of decisions, actions, and outcomes, such as:
- What must be done to protect the life and safety of persons?
- Should force, up to and including deadly force, be used to resolve a situation?
- Who will become the focus or subject of a criminal investigation?
- What is the best plan to apprehend the person or persons responsible for a criminal act?
- Will someone be subjected to a search of their person or of their home?
- Will someone be subjected to detention or arrest and questioning for a criminal act?
- Will someone have a criminal charge sworn against them?
- Will someone be subjected to a criminal trial?
- Will someone’s liberty as a free person be at risk?
- Will justice be served?
- Will the community be protected?
Significant to these possible outcomes, the investigator must always be ready to explain their thinking and actions to the court. For example, when an investigator is asked by a court, “How did you reach that conclusion to take your chosen course of action?” an investigator must be able to articulate their thinking process and lay out the facts and evidence that were considered to reach their conclusions and form the reasonable grounds for their actions and their investigative decision-making process. For an investigator speaking to the court, this process needs to be clear and validated through the articulation of evidence-based thinking and legally justifiable action. Thinking must illustrate an evidence-based path to forming reasonable grounds for belief and subsequent action. Thinking must also demonstrate consideration of the statutory law and case law relevant to the matter being investigated.
Considering this accountability to outcomes, it is essential for police investigators to have both the task skills and the thinking skills to collect and analyze evidence at a level that will be acceptable to the criminal justice system. Investigation is the collection and analysis of evidence. To be acceptable to the court, it must be done in a structured way that abides by the legal rules and the appropriate processes of evidence collection. Additionally, it must be a process the investigator has documented and can recall and articulate in detail to demonstrate the validity of the investigation.
Obviously, it is not possible for someone to remain in a constant state of vigilance where they are always critically assessing, documenting, and determining the validity of every piece of information they encounter. However, when on duty, it is frequently necessary for a police investigator to do this. For a police investigator, this needs to be a conscious process of being mentally engaged and “switched on” to a more vigilant level of information collection, assessment, and validation while on duty. A police investigator must master this higher and more accountable level of analytical thinking for both tactical and strategic investigative response. The “switched on” police investigator must:
- Respond appropriately to situations where they must protect the life and safety of persons
- Gather the maximum available evidence and information from people and locations
- Recognize the possible offence or offences being depicted by the fact pattern
- Preserve and document all evidence and information
- Critically analyze all available information and evidence
- Develop an effective investigative plan
- Strategically act by developing reasonable grounds to either identify and arrest those responsible for criminal acts, or to eliminate those who are wrongfully suspected
Most traditional police training provides new officers with many hours of instruction in the task skills of investigation. However, the learning of investigative thinking skills is expected to develop through field experience, learning from mistakes, and on the job mentoring. This learning does not always happen effectively, and the public expectations of the justice system are evolving in a model where there is little tolerance for a mistake-based learning.
The criminal investigation of serious crimes has always drawn a substantial level of interest, concern, and even apprehensive fascination from the public, the media, and the justice system. Police actions and investigations have been chronicled and dissected by commissions of inquiry and the media. From the crimes of the serial killers like Paul Bernardo (Campbell, 1996), and Robert Pickton (Oppal, 2013) to the historical wrongful convictions of David Milgaard (MacCallum, 2008) and Guy Paul Morin (Kaufman, 1998), true life crimes are scrutinized and the investigations of those crimes are examined and critically assessed.
When critiquing past investigations, the same types of questions are frequently asked:
- Is it possible that the wrong person was arrested or convicted?
- Is it possible that other persons were involved?
- Were all the possible suspects properly eliminated?
- Was information properly shared among police agencies?
- Did the investigators miss something?
- Was all the evidence found?
- Was the evidence properly interpreted?
- Were the investigative theories properly developed and followed to the correct conclusion?
- Was tunnel vision happening and misdirecting the investigation?
Today, transparency throughout the criminal justice system and public disclosure of evidence through investigative media reports make it much easier for the public and the media to examine the investigative process. Public and media access to information about police investigative techniques and forensic tools has created an audience that is more familiar and sophisticated about police work. The ability of both social and traditional media to allow public debate has created a societal awareness where a higher standard for the investigation of serious crimes is now an expectation.
One only needs to look at the historical and contemporary judicial reviews and public inquiries to appreciate that there is an expectation for police investigators and police organizations to maintain and demonstrate a high level of competency. In a judicial review, it is often too late if an investigator discovers that they have pursued the wrong theory or they have failed to analyze a piece of critical information or evidence. These situations can be career-altering or even career-ending. A good investigator needs to be conscious of his or her-own thinking, and that thinking needs to be an intentional process.
Topic 3: Towards Modern-Day Investigation
Today, criminal investigation is a broad term encompassing a wide range of specialities that aim to determine how events occurred, and to establish an evidence-based fact pattern to prove the guilt or innocence of an accused person in a criminal event. In some cases, where a person is found committing the criminal act and apprehended at the scene, the criminal investigation is not a complex undertaking. However, in cases where the criminal event is discovered after the fact, or when the culprit is not readily apparent, the process of criminal investigation becomes more complex and protracted.
Although in both cases the criminal investigator must follow practices of identifying, collecting, recording, and preserving evidence; in the case of the unknown suspect, additional thinking skills of analysis, theory development, and validation of facts must be put to work.
The craft of criminal investigation has been evolving since the birth of modern policing in the mid-1700s when the Chief Magistrate of Bow Street, Henry Fielding, organized a group of volunteer plainclothes citizens and tasked them to attend the scenes of criminal events and investigate crimes. This group became known as the Bow Street Runners. Their existence speaks to an early recognition that attending a crime scene to gather information was a timely and effective strategy to discover the truth of what happened (Hitchcock, 2015).
From these early investigators, one of the first significant cases using forensic evidence-based investigation was recorded. To summarize the account by McCrery (2013) in his book Silent Witness ; in one notable recorded case in 1784, the Bow Street Runners removed a torn piece of paper wadding from a bullet wound in the head of a murder victim who had been shot at point-blank range. In this early era of firearms, flintlock muskets and pistols required muzzle loading. To muzzle load a weapon, gunpowder would be poured down the barrel of the weapon, and then a piece of “wadding paper” would be tamped into place on top of the gunpowder using a long metal rod. The wadding paper used in this loading process was merely a piece of thick dry paper, usually torn from a larger sheet of paper kept by the shooter to reload again for the next shot. The musket ball bullet would be pushed down the barrel on top of the wadding paper. When the gun was fired, the wadding paper would be expelled by the exploding gunpowder, thus pushing the lead ball-bullet out of the barrel as a deadly projectile. This loading process required the shooter to be in possession of dry gunpowder, wadding paper, and musket balls to reload and make the weapon ready to fire. The Bow Street Runners considered this weapon loading practice and knew their shooter might be in possession of wadding paper. Upon searching their prime suspect, they did find him in possession of that kind of paper and, in a clever forensic innovation for their time, they physically matched the torn edges of wadding paper found in the victim’s wound to a larger sheet of wadding paper found in the pocket of their suspect. From this evidence, the accused was convicted of murder (McCrery, 2013).
This use of forensic physical matching is an example of circumstantial forensic evidence being used to link a suspect to an offence. This type of early forensic evidence also illustrates the beginnings of what exists today as a broad variety of forensic sciences to aid investigators in the development of evidence. This is also the beginning of forensic evidence being recognized as an investigative tool. In 1892, not long after the Bow Street Runners investigation, Sir Francis Galton published his book on the study of fingerprints. In 1900, Galton’s work was used by Sir William Henry who developed and implemented the Henry System of fingerprint classification, which is the basis of the fingerprint classifications system still in use today (Henry, 1900).
Only a few years earlier, in 1886, the use of photography for the first Rogues Gallery of criminal photographs was implemented by the New York City Police Department. This first Rogues Gallery was an organized collection of photographs of known criminals taken at the time of their most recent conviction for a crime (Byrnes, 2015). Prior to this organized collection of criminal photos, facial characteristics on wanted posters had been limited to sketch artists’ renderings. With the advances evolving in photography, having the ability to preserve an actual picture of the suspect’s face amounted to a significant leap forward. With this innovation of photography, the use of mugshots and photographic identification of suspects through facial recognition began to evolve.
These early forensic innovations in the evolution of criminal investigation (such as physical matching, fingerprint identification, and facial recognition systems) demonstrate a need for investigators to develop the knowledge and skills to locate and utilize physical evidence that enables circumstantial links between people, places, and events to prove the facts of criminal cases. Physical evidence is the buried treasure for criminal investigators. Physical evidence can be collected, preserved, analyzed, and used in court to establish a fact. Physical evidence can be used to connect an accused to their victim or used at a crime scene to establish guilt or innocence. Forensic evidence may prove a point in fact that confirms or contradicts the alibi of an accused, or one that corroborates or contradicts the testimony of a witness.
Another significant development in forensic evidence from the 1800s started with the work of French criminal investigator Alphonse Bertillon who developed the Bertillon system of recording measurements of physical evidence (Petherick, 2010). One of Bertillon’s students, Dr. Edmond Locard, a medical doctor during the First World War, went on to further Bertillon’s work with his own theory that a person always leaves some trace of themselves at a crime scene and always takes some trace of the crime scene with them when they leave. This theory became known as “Locard’s Exchange Theory” (Petherick, 2010). To this day, Locard’s theory forms the foundational concepts of evidence transfer theory.
Today, the ability of forensic experts to identify suspects and to examine physical evidence has increased exponentially when compared to early policing. Scientific discoveries in a wide range of disciplines have contributed to the development and evolution of forensic specialities in physical matching, chemical analysis, fingerprints, barefoot morphology, odontology, toxicology, ballistics, hair and fibre, biometric analysis, entomology, and, most recently, DNA analysis.
Many of these forensic science specialties require years of training and practice by the practitioner to develop the necessary level of expertise whereby the courts will accept the evidence of comparisons and subsequent expert conclusions. Obviously, it is not possible for a modern-day investigator to become a proficient practitioner in all of these specialties. However, the modern-day investigator must strive to be a forensic resource generalist with an understanding of the tools available and must be specialist in the deployment of those tools to build the forensic case.
In a criminal investigation, there is often a multitude competing possibilities guiding the theory development of how a criminal incident occurred with circumstantial links pointing to who committed the crime. Competing theories and possibilities need to be examined and evaluated against the existing facts and physical evidence. Ultimately, only strong circumstantial evidence in the form of physical exhibits, testimony from credible witnesses, or a confession from the accused may satisfy the court beyond a reasonable doubt. Critically, the quality of an investigation and the competency of the investigators will be demonstrated through the manner in which that evidence was located, preserved, analyzed, interpreted, and presented.
In the past, police officers generally took their primary roles as first responders and keepers of the peace. Criminal investigation was only a limited component of those duties. Now, given the accessibility to a wide range of effective forensic tools, any police officer, regardless of their assignment, could find themselves presented with a scenario that requires some degree of investigative skill. The expectation of police investigators is that they be well-trained with the knowledge and skills to respond and investigate crime. These skills will include:
- Critical Incident Response
- Interpretation of criminal law and offence recognition
- Crime scene management
- Evidence identification and preservation
- Engaging forensic tools for evidence analysis
- Witness assessment and interviewing
- Suspect questioning and interrogation
- Case preparation and documentation
- Evidence presentation in court
In addition to these task skills of process and practice, investigators must also have strategic analytical thinking skills for risk assessment and effective incident response. They must have the ability to apply deductive, inductive, and quantitative reasoning to examine evidence and form reasonable grounds to identify and arrest suspects.
Engaging these higher-level thinking skills is the measure of expertise and professionalism for investigators. As our current justice system continues to change and evolve, it relies more and more on information technology and forensic science. With this evolution, the need for investigators to demonstrate higher levels of expertise will continue to grow.
Topic 4: The Path to Becoming an Investigator
For many people, their idea of what an investigator does is based on what they see, hear, and read in the media, movies, TV, and books. These depictions characterize personas ranging from dysfunctional violent rebels fighting for justice by their own rules, to by-the-book forensic investigators who get the job done clinically using advanced science and technology. The truth is, good investigation and real-life investigators are unlikely to make a captivating fictional script. Professional investigators and competent investigation is about the tedious processes of fact-finding and sorting through evidence and information. It is about eliminating possibilities, validating events, and recording evidence, all the while engaging in an intentional process of thinking, analyzing, and strategically working towards predetermined goals; not to mention extensive note taking and report writing.
Sometimes, new police investigators are, at first, deluded by fictional representations, only to find out, by experience, that the real job, although having moments of action, satisfaction, and excitement, is more about hard work and deliberate attention to detail.
Another common misnomer about the job is the conception that investigation is the exclusive domain of a police officer. Although this may have been true in the earlier evolution of the investigative craft, it has become much less the case today. This change is a result of the enactment of many regulatory compliance statutes that require investigative knowledge, skills, and thinking. Compliance investigators maintain adherence to regulated activities which often involve legal compliance for industries where non-compliance can pose significant risks that threaten the lives and safety of people or the environment. These regulated activities are often responsibilities of the highest order. What starts as a regulatory violation can escalate into criminal conduct. The investigative skills of compliance investigators and inspectors must be capable of meeting the same tests of competency as the police.
Not just anyone can become an investigator. There are certain personal traits that tend to be found in good investigators. Among these traits are:
- Being passionate about following the facts to discover the truth, with a goal of contributing to the process of justice
- Being detail-oriented and observant of the facts and the timelines of events
- Being a flexible thinker, avoiding tunnel vision, and being capable of concurrently examining alternate theories while objectively using evidence as the measure to confirm or disconfirm validity of theories
- Being patient and capable of maintaining a long-term commitment to reaching a conclusion
- Being tenacious and not allowing setbacks and false leads to deter continued efforts
- Being knowledgeable and skilled at the tasks, process, and procedure while respecting legal authorities and the limitations to take action
- Being self-aware of bias and intuitive responses, and seeking evidence to support gut-feelings
- Being trained in the processes of critical thinking that provide reliable analysis of evidence that can later be described and articulated in reports and court testimony
Considering this list of traits, we can appreciate that good investigators are people with particular attitudes, aptitudes, and intentional thinking processes. These traits all form part of the investigative mindset. Although you cannot teach someone to be passionate about discovering the truth, anyone who has these traits can work towards developing and refining their other traits and skills to become an investigator. Developing the mindset is a learning journey, and the first step of this journey is to become intentionally aware of and engaged in your own thinking processes.
Toward this point, the investigator must always be mindful of the proposition of Shah and Oppenheimer (2008) in their book Heuristics Made Easy: An Effort Reduction Framework . Shah and Opprenheimer remind us that people have learned to become quick thinkers using mental short cuts, known as heuristics, in an effort to make decisions quickly and problem solve the challenges we encounter. They offer the proposition that heuristics reduce work in decision-making by giving the user the ability to scrutinize a few signals and/or alternative choices in decision-making, thus diminishing the work of retrieving and storing information in memory. This streamlines the decision-making process by reducing the amount of integrated information necessary in making the choice or passing judgment (Shah, 2008).
In this book, we will point out that these heuristic shortcuts are often instinctive or intuitive reactions, as opposed to well-reasoned, evidence-based responses. Although they may serve us well in our everyday thinking, they must be monitored and recognized for their short-falls when we are required to investigate matters where the outcomes are critical.
To achieve the investigative mindset and be an objective investigator, it is important to be aware of the heuristic shortcuts and other negative investigative tendencies that can become obstacles to successful outcomes. For example, a good investigator needs to be focused on the objective of solving the case and making an arrest in a timely manner, but becoming too focused can lead to “tunnel vision,” which is the single-minded focus on a favourite suspect or theory to the extent that other suspects or alternate theories are ignored. Moreover, a good investigator needs to take responsibility and be accountable for the outcomes of the investigation; however, taken to the extreme, this can lead to an investigator taking complete ownership of the investigation to the exclusion of allowing the ideas of others to provide guidance and influence. Finally, a good investigator needs to be careful about how much information is shared with others. However, excessive secrecy can inhibit information sharing with those who might contribute to the successful conclusion of the case.
Thinking as an objective investigator, it is often necessary to consider and evaluate several competing theories or possibilities of how a crime was committed and who the suspect may be. Often, new investigators, or those uninitiated to the objective mindset, will focus on a favourite theory of events or a favourite suspect, and rush to be first to reach the conclusion and to make the arrest. There is a trap in shortcuts and the focused rush to make a fast arrest. In this trap, other viable suspects and theories are too quickly ignored or discarded. This sometimes leads to investigations being derailed by “tunnel vision.” Worse yet, tunnel vision can lead to the misinterpretation of evidence, ultimately leading to charges against an innocent person, while the guilty remain undiscovered.
To summarize the observations made by Kim Rossmo (2009) in his book on criminal investigative failures, tunnel vision and lost objectivity have been part of the findings in many public inquiries. Commissioners at public inquiries have concluded that, at times, investigators relentlessly pursue a favourite suspect. Sometimes an alternate suspect should have been apparent, or exculpatory evidence was present that should have caused the investigators to stop and re-evaluate their favourite suspect, but tunnel vision had set in and the objective investigative mindset had been lost (Rossmo, 2009).
Similarly and not totally unrelated to tunnel vision, other negative thinking responses also come into play, and can be observed in the behaviours of case ownership and excessive secrecy. It may seem that an investigator taking ownership for his or her investigation, and maintaining some degree of secrecy in the management of case related information, is completely acceptable and perhaps even desirable. However, as happens with any human behaviour, it can negatively influence the outcome of investigations. Information appropriately shared with the right people can often reveal connections that contribute to the evidence of a case, and investigators must remain open to this appropriate sharing. Many negative examples can be found where a police investigator, or even an investigative team, adopted the attitude that the conduct of an investigation is their own exclusive domain (Campbell, 1996). With that exclusive ownership, no one else is entitled or allowed to participate, and relevant information that needs to be shared with others can be jealously guarded. Opportunities are missed for other investigators to see details that could connect a similar fact pattern or make the connection to a viable suspect.
Topic 5: Understanding the Investigative Mindset
When we talk about the investigative mindset, in part, we are talking about the self-awareness and the organizational-awareness to avoid negative outcomes. Once learned and practiced, this awareness can be a safety net against destructive investigative practices (i.e. tunnel vision, case ownership, and excessive secrecy). Criminal investigation can require complex thinking where the investigator must assess and determine the validity of information and evidence to guide the investigative process. This thinking strives to move from a position of mere suspicion to one of reasonable grounds for belief to make an arrest and ultimately articulate evidence upon which the court can make a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This is a conscious process of gathering and recording information, and thinking analytically to form reasonable grounds for belief supporting defendable actions of arrest and charges. From this conscious process, the investigator in court can articulate a mental map to describe how they derived their conclusions.
As we proceed towards learning the investigative thinking process, keep in mind that:
- Investigative thinking is disciplined thinking, and investigators must be consciously aware of and consciously in control of their own thinking
- This is a process of being intentionally engaged at a high level of analytical thinking
- This thinking process is strategically focused, prioritizing investigative plans and actions to achieve outcomes
- Developing a mental map, the investigator deliberately selects a path of the investigation will follow. He or she travels that path with the knowledge that the outcomes of the investigation will only be accepted by the court if the rationale for the path taken can be recalled accurately and articulated in detail
In this chapter, we have identified the investigative thinking processes as being distinctly different from the thinking processes used by most people in their everyday lives. The critical responsibilities that exist for police investigators in conducting their duties demand that investigators learn to think and respond in a structured and accountable manner. To this end, we have illustrated some of the common negative thinking processes that investigators must avoid, and we have looked at the traits and values that need to be pursued to become a criminal investigator. We have described structured and accountable thinking as the means to achieve an investigative mindset. You will find that investigative thinking and the investigative mindset are a theme throughout this book.
Study Questions
- Provide two reasons why it is very important for a police investigator to routinely critically assess all of the information they encounter.
- Provide two reasons why evidence gathered as part of an investigation must be collected in a structured way.
- What do we mean when we say that an investigator must be “switched on”?
- In a single sentence, summarize “Locard’s Exchange Theory” (Petherick, 2010).
- List seven characteristics commonly found in good investigators.
- What are the skills a modern-day officer must achieve to respond to events and investigate crimes?
- What is the first step in developing an investigative mindset?
- What is the level of forensic knowledge that a modern-day investigator must achieve to become an effective investigator?
- Why must police investigators be mindful of the heuristic shortcuts discussed by Shaw and Oppenheimer (2008)?
- In addition to heuristic shortcuts, what are the other three negative investigative tendencies that can become obstacles to successful investigative outcomes?
- Why must investigators be mindful of excessive secrecy?
Introduction to Criminal Investigation: Processes, Practices and Thinking by Rod Gehl is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
Crime Scene Investigation Essays. If a murder, a homicide and or a suicide occur, the crime scene investigator(s) collects the clues and evidence that will be
Free Essays from Bartleby | Ever wonder just how investigations are conducted? ... A Criminal Investigator/ Special Agent is someone who Investigates
Crime investigation is a process of gathering enough evidence of a crime that has been committed. The ultimate goal of gathering evidence is to determine
SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION ESSAY 1. If ever given a chance to become a criminal investigator, what specific crime or incident would you investigate and
The criminal investigation process is able to achieve justice to a great to a great extent. They are effective in achieving justice, as they are able to
Special Crime Investigation is consisting of special investigative techniques. It concentrates more on physical evidence, its collection, handling
Special Crime Investigation - is a special study of modern techniques in the investigation of serious and specific crimes including murder, homicide, rape
Special Crime Investigation deals with the study of major crimes based on the application of special investigative technique. The study concentrates more on
What Is the Prison Problems' Solution in Criminology? Waterboarding as Torture in Criminal Justice; Chicago's Crime Problem: Silence of the Witnesses
Physical evidence is the buried treasure for criminal investigators. Physical evidence can be collected, preserved, analyzed, and used in court to establish a