Criminal Investigations - Chapter 1 Notes

Wise Words

  • Quote: “Nothing matters but the facts. Without them, the science of criminal investigation is nothing more than a guessing game.” — Blake Edwards

Crazy Facts

  • There are approximately 12{,}000{,}000 crimes committed in the United States every single year.

  • There are over 100{,}000 rapes in the United States every single year.

  • Every year, one out of every five people is a victim of a crime in the United States.

  • Example/non-statistical impact: mother and five children died in a house fire in New Jersey after nailing their doors shut as they feared being crime victims.

  • One in five teenagers has been the victim of a violent crime and are twice as likely as any other group to be shot, stabbed, or sexually assaulted.

Crime and the Investigator

  • Crime is a major concern in the U.S. and is the number one fear for many people as potential victims.

  • Approximately 2.5\,\text{million} people over age 12 are victimized by a violent crime annually.

  • The National Crime Survey reports that less than half of serious crime is reported to authorities.

  • Key question: Why don’t people report crime?

Crime

  • Questions raised:

    • Are all crimes solved?

    • Are all crimes solvable?

    • What is a Part One Crime?

    • How are crimes solved?

  • Note: the slide content shows a partially obscured or garbled cross-out related to crime scene text (e.g., "NOT CRO" / "RIME SCE"). The intended takeaway is the recognition of crime scene boundaries and proper handling, i.e., Do Not Cross barriers.

Criminal Investigations (Definition)

  • A criminal investigation is the process of discovering, collecting, preparing, identifying, and presenting evidence to determine what happened and who is responsible.

Key Terms

  • Crime: an act or violation of law.

  • Felony / Misdemeanor

  • Criminal statute: a legislative act relating to crime/punishment.

  • Criminal Intent: knowing the act is illegal.

  • Elements of a crime / corpus delicti.

  • Modus operandi (MO): how a criminal operates.

Deductive and Inductive Reasoning

  • Deductive reasoning: reconstructive process where specific pieces of evidence establish proof of guilt.

  • Inductive reasoning: move from the general to the specific by gathering facts.

  • Outcome-based consideration: what is best outcome given the facts.

Investigative Process (Stages)

  • Initial Report

  • Initial Investigation

  • Incident Review

  • Follow-Up Investigation

  • Case Preparation / Approval

  • Prosecution

  • Conclusion

  • Note: Slide includes the word "PROTECT" and fragments like "CAR CAGO POL" which likely reflect mnemonic prompts about protecting the scene; focus on the core stages above.

Protecting the Crime Scene

  • Locard’s Principle of Exchange: material transfer occurs when objects come into contact.

  • Transfer of material from one object to another is central to crime scene evidence.

  • Critical to the investigation: scene protection and evidence integrity.

  • Lock down the scene; manage hazards at outdoor scenes.

  • Keep perimeter large, then shrink as needed.

  • Assign duties to all officers involved.

  • KEEP A LOG of all actions and movements at the scene.

Preliminary Investigation

  • Questioning everyone: interview potential witnesses, suspects, and bystanders.

  • Canvass the area for additional information.

  • Crime scene sketching and documentation.

  • Searching for evidence.

  • Processing physical evidence and performing field tests.

  • Recording all statements and observations.

Importance of Forensic Evidence

  • Since the Miranda decision, forensic evidence has become increasingly important.

  • Forensic evidence has many good points; physical evidence usually speaks for itself (not always).

Forensic Evidence Statistics (Jury Expectations)

  • 46\% of juries expect to see some kind of forensic evidence.

  • 22\% expect to see DNA evidence in every case.

  • 36\% expect fingerprint evidence in every case.

  • 32\% expect firearms-related evidence in every case.

Investigative Philosophy

  • Principle: Prove the suspect innocent! (A counterintuitive but emphasized idea in some training materials.)

Investigative Philosophy (Remove the Means, Motive, Forensics)

  • Remove the Means.

  • Remove the Motive.

  • Remove Forensics.

  • Confirm Alibi.

  • Move on to the next potential lead.

Goals of an Investigation

  • More than just identifying and arresting a suspect.

  • Goals:
    1) Crime detection / determine if a crime was committed.
    2) Locating, recording, and processing evidence.
    3) Locating and identifying suspects / making arrests.
    4) Recovering stolen property.
    5) Presenting the best case to prosecution.

A Successful Investigation

  • A successful investigation follows a logical sequence.

  • All evidence is legally obtained.

  • All witnesses are effectively interviewed.

  • All suspects are legally and effectively interrogated.

  • All leads are thoroughly developed.

  • All details are accurately and completely recorded and reported.

  • Successful testimony in court.

The Role of the Investigator

  • To meet goals/objectives and conduct a successful investigation, the investigator must:

    • Be creative

    • Have ethics

    • Have good morals

    • Understand human nature

    • Possess strong communication skills

    • Respect the law and the Constitution

Investigative Ethics

  • What are ethics?

  • Professionalization of criminal investigations.

  • Causes of unethical behavior.

  • Reminder: WE ARE OBJECTIVE FACT FINDERS!

Desirable Traits of the Investigator

  • Imagination

  • Intuition

  • Observation skills

  • Organizational ability

  • Legal knowledge

  • Cultural knowledge

  • Being relentless

Computer-Aided Investigations

  • CompStat—started by William Bratton.

  • Four Principles:

    • Accurate and timely intelligence

    • Rapid deployment of resources

    • Effective tactics

    • Relentless follow-up / assessment

Crime Mapping

  • Crime mapping uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and geographic profiling.

  • Hot spot policing.

  • New trend in policing.

  • Data mining.

Investigations and Relationships

  • Interactions with:

    • Uniformed patrol

    • Dispatchers

    • Prosecutors

    • Defense counsel

    • Community corrections

    • Social services

    • Physicians / Coroners / Medical Examiners (ME)

Investigations and Interrelationships (continued)

  • Forensic crime laboratories.

  • Citizens, witnesses, victims.

  • Nothing gets done alone.

Dealing with the Media

  • Do not contact journalists unless it is your responsibility.

  • Be courteous; keep the public and media away from the crime scene.

  • Do not say "no comment"; avoid misquotations and statements out of context.

  • If subject to press coverage, have a Public Information Officer (PIO) speak on your behalf.

  • Question of truthfulness in communications remains.

How Can the Media Help?

  • Media channels can disseminate information and assist in investigations when used correctly (e.g., NEL News, Channel News, etc.).

Investigative Checklist

  • Information disseminated.

  • Communications Center notifications.

  • Contact with outside agencies.

  • Crime analysis maps.

  • Composite drawings.

  • Video recording and playback.

  • Tags and installation of video surveillance.

  • Canvass operations.

  • Ram tags (search and tagging of items).

  • Media releases.

  • Predictive policing integration.

  • Surveillance and directed patrols.

  • Identification of patterns and crime alerts.

Solvability Checklist

  1. Follow-up interviews with victims/witnesses.

  1. Narcotics involvement.

  1. Stings.

  1. Informants.

  • Note: Other solvability factors (items 1–16) are not listed here but are implied in comprehensive investigations.