Criminal Investigations Exam 1

Sir Robert Peel

Associated with the 1829 London Metropolitan Police; “Bobby" became a colloquial term for a police officer

Copper

Term associated with early New York officers whose badges were made of copper

Edmond Locard

Associated with the development of the first crime laboratory in Lyon, France (1910)

Alphonse Bertillon

Developed an anthropometric system for identifying individuals

Henry Faulds/Sir Francis Galton

Important early figures in the development and classification of fingerprints

Alec Jeffreys

Associated with DNA markers and genetic fingerprinting

Forensic Science

The application of science to investigations and legal processes

Principle of Parsimony

Seek the simplest explanation for the phenomenon being examined

Specification

State exactly what will be done and how it will be done

Hypothesis

An anticipated or calculated answer/outcome and a proposed cause

Observation

Use controlled observation and appropriate instruments to examine evidence

Recording

Document procedures and results so the work can be repeated; replicability is central to science

Taxonomy

Classification of observed phenomena; a list/classification of identifiable characteristics

Analysis

Render information into a useful form

Theory

An explanation that can also be used to predict

Inductive Reasoning

Draw conclusions from observations/predictions

Deductive Reasoning

Draw conclusions from premises known to be true

Criminal Investigation

Applies the scientific method to analysis of a crime scene, but real investigations cannot always reproduce laboratory conditions exactly

Physical evidence

Tangible/perceivable evidence that can be examined or tested

Testimonial evidence

Statements or testimony from witnesses or defendants

Circumstantial evidence

Evidence other than eyewitness testimony; physical evidence is circumstantial

Probable cause to arrest

Information upon which a reasonable person would believe a crime has been committed or is about to be committed

Arrest

A seizure of a person

Predicate

The evidentiary foundation/threshold that must be established before evidence is admissible

Probative

Evidence that has the potential to influence the outcome of the trial after admissibility requirements are met

Miranda v. Arizona

Requires suspects subjected to custodial interrogation to be made aware of rights associated with the Fifth and Sixth Amendments

Objectives of police investigation

1. Crime detection

2. Locate/identify suspects

3. Locate/record/process evidence

4. Arrest perpetrators

5. Recover property

6. Prepare for trial

7. Convict the offender

Fourth Amendment

Protects against unreasonable searches and seizures; a reasonable search or seizure is tied to probable cause

Fifth Amendment

Includes protection against compelled self-incrimination

Sixth Amendment

Protects the right to counsel

Fourteenth Amendment

Includes privileges and immunities, due process, and equal protection; due process is especially important to this chapter

Probable cause to search

Information supporting a reasonable belief that an item is where it is purported to be and is connected to criminal activity

Reasonable suspicion

Lower standard used to justify a temporary detention/stop; stop-and-frisk requires articulable facts

Weeks v. United States (1914)

Applied the exclusionary rule to federal law enforcement

Mapp v. Ohio (1961)

Applied the exclusionary rule to state law enforcement

Nix v. Williams (1984)

Inevitable discovery: derivative evidence may be admitted if the state proves it would have been discovered by lawful means

United States v. Leon

Good-faith exception involving reliance on a warrant issued by a neutral magistrate that is later found invalid

Chimel v. California

Search incident to arrest: permits a search of the arrestee and the area within immediate control/arm’s reach

Fruit of the poisonous tree

Derivative evidence can be tainted by an illegal search, seizure, interrogation, or confession

Consent search

No probable cause is required when valid consent is knowingly and voluntarily given; refusal to consent does not itself create probable cause

Emergency exception

Permits entry to address an emergency without probable cause or a warrant; evidence in plain view after lawful emergency entry may be admissible

Exigent circumstances

Urgent circumstances such as flight, destruction of evidence, or possibility or violence

Plain-view exception

Officer is lawfully present, evidence is in sight, and there is probably cause to believe the item is illegal/evidence

Open fields

One of the recognized warrant exceptions in the course material

Vehicle inventory

administrative inventory; a key purpose is to protect police from false.spurious claims of theft, not to manufacture probable cause

Stop and frisk

Requires articulable facts supporting reasonable suspicion

Managing Criminal Investigations (MCI)

A management approach designed to determine which crimes are most solvable and use limited investigative resources effectively

Preliminary investigation

First-response phase; assist victims, identify people, secure the scene, protect evidence, determine the nature of the crime, and begin assessing solvability

Follow-up investigation

Review statements/evidence, recontact victims/witnesses/suspects, pursue leads, and continue documentation

Solvability factors

Information used to decide whether follow-up investigation is warranted and how resources should be directed

ICS

Incident Command System; a management tool for domestic incidents with sic functional areas: command, operations, planning, logistics, finance, administration

NIMS

National Incident Management System; a consistent nationwide approach allowing federal, state, and local governments to work together in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from domestic incidents

Hearsay

An out-of-court statement made by someone other than the person testifying

Draper v. United States

Reliable, corroborated informant information could contribute to probable cuase

Spinelli v. United States

Associated with the two-pronged approach to informant reliability

Illlinois v. Gates

Replaced the rigid two-pronged approach with the totality-of-the-circumstances test

VICAP

FBI Violent Criminal Apprehension Program; collects crime-scene information distinctive enough to link offenses/offenders and identify patterns

Signature

What makes a crime atypical and distinguishable from other crimes/offenders

Stakeout

Stationary surveillance requiring patience/resources; can gather evidence, establish probable cause, apprehend suspects, corroborate informants, assess routes, or protects undercover personnel

Interview

Primary goal is to gather information

Interrogation

Primary goal is to establish the truth

Contamination

Course materials state that all crime scenes are contaminated; the goal is not to add unnecessary contamination

Walk-through/preliminary scene survey

Passage through the scene to determine the nature of the offense, how it may ave occurred, and what types/locations of evidence should be sought

Field Notes

A readily available and reliable record of the scene'; include date/time, location, scene description, absent items, victim wounds, photo/video logs, and recovered evidence/location

Overall Photographs

Show the condition/layout of the scene and surrounding context

Midrange photographs

Frame the evidence with a recognizable landmark; normally taken before movement/manipulation and without a scale.

Close-up photographs

Document detail, with or without a scale

Search patterns

Lane/strip, line, grid, zone/quadrant, and circle/spiral

Rough sketch

Developed at the scene during assessment to help plan processing

Mapping

Assigns measurements to a crime-scene sketch

Sketch measurement techniques

Baseline, rectangularization, triangulation

Chain of custody

Documentation showing the possession/handling of evidence so it can be shown that the item was not misplaced, manipulated, or replaced

Presumptive blood test

Initial screening/search technique indicating the possible presence of blood

Luminol

Presumptive search technique producing chemiluminescence

Blood types

A, AB, and O

Antigen

Chemical structure residing on the surface of red blood cells

Antibody

A substance that reacts with its specific antigen

Serum

The fluid portion remaining after blood coagulates

Area of convergence

Two-dimensional location indicated by intersections of lines through the long axes of stains

Area of origin

Three-dimensional location from which blood spatter originated

Low-velocity impact

Blood dripping/falling primarily under inertia; drip patterns are associated with low-velocity force