Comprehensive Criminology & Forensic Science Study Notes

Criminal Investigation: Definitions & Core Concepts

• Criminal Investigation
  • Tasked with discovering the identity, location and arrest of offenders, plus the identification, collection, preservation and evaluation of evidence to bring them to justice.
  • Encompasses gathering information, applying instrumentation / criminalistics, and skillful interview-interrogation.
  • Three traditional tools:
    • Information (sensory, written, physical, concrete)
    • Instrumentation / criminalistics (laboratory science & technology)
    • Interview / Interrogation
• “Investigative Process” = the logical sequence of the above activities.
• “Criminal Inquest” = summary investigation by a prosecutor after a warrantless arrest.

Information & Its Handling

• Regular / cultivated / grapevine sources supply:
  • $\text{Sensory information}$ – what witnesses saw/heard
  • $\text{Written}$ – documents, letters, records
  • $\text{Physical / Concrete}$ – tangible objects
• After collecting & preserving data, the investigator must evaluate it to test prosecutorial sufficiency.

Tools of Criminal Investigation

• Information – always first in sequence.
• Instrumentation / Criminalistics – tangible aids (e.g., lab work, forensic devices) that detect crime, identify criminals, and facilitate case objectives.
• Interview / Interrogation – verbal techniques for extraction and clarification of data.

Rights of Suspects (Republic Act 7438)

• Custodial rights attach from the moment of arrest, detention or actual custodial questioning. Invitation for questioning may already trigger rights.
• Suspect must be informed of:
  • Right to remain silent
  • Right to counsel (of choice; if none, one provided)
  • Right to be visited by immediate family (spouse, fiancée, parents, child, siblings, grandparents, grandchildren, great-grandparents/children, guardian/ward) or by doctors, priests, CHR personnel.
• Forced / uncounseled confessions are inadmissible; extra-judicial confession must be voluntary, with counsel, & corroborated.
• RA 7438 violation is malum prohibitum; rights cannot be waived.

Cardinal Points of Investigation

• Six interrogatives: What, Who, When, Where, Why, How – called the Cardinal Points.

Stages / Phases of Investigation

1. Discovery of the offense & police arrival
2. Protection of scene & golden rules (touch nothing until identified, measured & photographed).
3. Crime scene search.
4. Gathering & preservation of evidence.
5. Identification of the offender (confession, eyewitness, circumstantial evidence, physical ID… NOT corpus delicti).
6. Arrest / interrogation (Miranda + RA 7438 compliance).
7. Case build-up & filing.

Confession vs Admission

• Confession
  • Direct, positive, voluntary acknowledgment of guilt (cannot be implied).
• Admission
  • Statement of facts that, with other proof, tends to establish guilt (may be implied).
• Requirements for validity of confession:
  • Voluntary
  • With counsel
  • Corpus delicti established independently
  • Must be corroborated; judge/fiscal ratification NOT required.
• Forms: verbal, written, or via crime reenactment (videoed dramatization using the suspect’s own written confession as script).
• “Admission by Silence” – party hears accusation and fails to deny when denial is natural.

Corpus Delicti

• Elements:

1. Proof a specific crime occurred (body of the offense).
2. Criminal agency of someone.

• Chain of custody is evidentiary but not element of corpus delicti.

Identification of Suspects

• Methods (portrait parlé, rogues’ gallery, cartographic sketch, police line-up, composite artist, systematic interviews).
• Factors affecting eyewitness ID accuracy: capacity to observe/remember, lighting & visibility, mental state, time lapse.

Evidence Handling & Chain of Custody

• Physical integrity
  • Photograph → identify/mark → package → seal.
• Legal integrity
  • Proper documentation → chain of custody.
• Chain of custody: continuous accountability from discovery → collection → transport → storage → examination → disposal. Must prove:
  • Same item presented in court;
  • Free from alteration/contamination/switching;
  • Any change explained.

Crime Scene Processing

• Photography
  • Over-all, medium, close-ups; body in situ then after removal; reserve shots; no distortion; must be material & not unduly prejudicial.
• Sketching
  • Rough sketch (simplest, shows measurements), finished sketch. Direction or elevation sketches as needed.
• Search Methods
  • Strip / grid, zone, spiral, wheel, rectangular / circular. Choice depends on area, manpower, object sought.
• “Eavesdropping the scene” – mingle with crowd to pick up info.
• “VES” approach in cyber-investigation: Violation, Evidence, Suspect (Victim).
• First officer actions: secure scene, attend to emergencies, start log.

Reconstruction & Reasoning

• Deductive → Inductive logic to build theory.
• Physical Reconstruction (recreate appearance).
• Mental Reconstruction (test witness accounts; no unsupported assumptions).

Interrogation & Interview

• Ideal witness statement: narrative + Q&A combination.
• IRONIC interview stages: Identity, Rapport, Opening-statement, Narration, Inquiry, Conclusion.
• Effective interrogation hinges on privacy + rapport; questioning flow: chronological → general-to-specific → backward; “going upward” is invalid.

Informants & Surveillance

• Informant Types
  • Incidental, Casual, Automatic (cultivated), Recruited.
• Surveillance
  • Stationary, mobile, technical; ABC, Leap-Frog & Combined foot-auto methods.
• Undercover (“roping”) – assumes false identity to infiltrate.

Homicide Investigation Highlights

• Golden Rules – do not move/alter anything until documented; if moved cannot be restored.
• “Bridges burned” (irreversible errors): body moved, embalmed, cremated/contaminated without chain.
• Verify death; legal death when respiratory, cardiac & CNS activity cease (all three).
• Autopsy: immediately where violence suspected.
• Signs of death onsite: lack of breathing/heartbeat, nail-bed pressure, etc.

Wound & Injury Recognition

• Abrasion – superficial epithelial loss via friction.
• Contusion – bruise; hematoma – blood collection; patterned wound reveals object.
• Lacerated (blunt force), Incised (sharp).

Physical Evidence Uses

• Reconstruct crime, identify participants, confirm/discredit alibi, determine modus, NOT “determine cause of crime” per se.
• Introduction at trial requires: identification, chain, relevance; legality of procurement also tested.

Traffic Management & Accident Investigation

• Traffic enforcement = detection, apprehension & penalization.
• Agencies & Laws:
  • LTO under $\text{DOTC}$ (now DOTr);
  • MMDA traffic power via $\text{RA 7924}$;
  • $\text{RA 4136}$ – Land Transportation Code;
  • $\text{RA 8749}$ – Clean Air; $\text{RA 8750}$ – Seatbelt; $\text{PD 1612}$ – Anti-Fencing.
• Accident sequence concepts:
  • Point of possible perception, hazard perception, start of evasive action, point of no escape, impact, disengagement, final rest.
• Evidence priority: photograph → sketch → record (e.g., cigarette butt question 2-3-1 order).
• Skid vs scuff marks, debris, drag factor.
• Hit-and-run = driver flees; must report at once.
• Student permit valid <=12 months; minimum age NP DL $18$, Prof DL $17$.

Organized & Transnational Crime

• Organized Crime = continuing illegal activity for profit; hierarchical, exclusive, monopolistic, violent, corruptive; self-perpetuating subculture.
• Models
  • Cressey’s Cosa Nostra: Family → Boss → Underboss → Consigliere → Caporegime → Soldiers (“wise guys/made men/button men”).
  • Albini’s Patron-Client: loose networks centered on Capo–Sottocapo–Consigliere patrons.
• Italian Families (“Big Five” NYC): Gambino, Genovese, Lucchese, Colombo, Bonanno. Most powerful historically = Genovese. Money-laundering mastered by Meyer Lansky.
• Triads (Dragon Head/Mountain Lord; Blue Lantern = uninitiated).
• Yakuza adopts Oyabun-Kobun parent-child bonds; uses yubitsume finger cutting.
• Motorcycle gangs: Hells Angels, Outlaws, Pagans, Bandidos (NOT Tongs).
• Colombian cartels: Medellin, Cali, North Valle; Sinaloa cartel “Blood Alliance” (El Chapo) deemed most powerful.
• “Big Six” TOC groups: Sicilian/US Mafia, Russian Mafiya, Yakuza, Triads, Colombian cartels, Mexican Federation.

Terrorism

• UN: Any act intended to cause death/serious harm to civilians to intimidate a population or compel gov’t/IO to act/omit.
• Types: revolutionary, apolitical, state terrorism, state-sponsored, left/right-wing, religious, single-issue.
• Traditional tactics: bombing, hijacking, arson, assault, kidnapping/hostage; rape not traditional.
• Safe havens: physical (ungoverned regions) & virtual (internet/media).
• Funding via Zakat misuse & Hawala transfers.
• Key groups: Al Qaeda (leader = Emir; slain in Operation Neptune Spear), ISIS/Islamic State (global caliphate aim), Jemaah Islamiya, Abu Sayyaf.
• PH law: RA 9372 – Human Security Act (defines & penalizes terrorism).
• PNP SAF Oplan Exodus killed Zulkifli bin Hir (Marwan) in Mamasapano.
• INTERPOL notices:
  • Red – seek arrest/extradition
  • Blue – info on identity/activities
  • Green – warnings on likely re-offenders
  • Yellow – locate missing persons
  • Orange – threats (planned attacks)
  • Black – unidentified bodies
  • UN Special – sanctions list.

Human Trafficking (RA 9208)

• Core elements: Act (recruit, transport, harbor, receive) + Means (force, fraud, coercion, abuse of vulnerability) + Purpose (exploitation). Motive of profit is usual but not obligatory in UN definition.
• Forms: sexual exploitation, forced labor, domestic servitude, forced marriage, child begging, organ removal, child soldiers.
• Prosecution in camera (closed-door to protect victims). Prescriptive period $15$ years; none if syndicated/large scale.

Money Laundering

• Goal: disguise illegal proceeds to appear legitimate.
• Stages:

1. Placement – introduce into financial system.
2. Layering – complex transactions to hide trail.
3. Integration – re-entry as clean funds.

• FATF created by G-7 (US, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada).
• UN 2000 Palermo Convention broadened laundering to all serious crimes.
• PH: RA 9160 (as amended RAs 9194, 10167, 10365). Crimes: transact, facilitate, or fail to report suspicious activity.
• PCTC (EO 62) under Office of the President; mandates coordination, database, research vs transnational crime.

Dangerous Drugs (RA 9165 – Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act 2002)

• Drug trafficking = cultivation, manufacture, sale, transport, distribution, import/export, possession.
• Big Four world drug groups: Heroin, Cocaine, Methamphetamine (Shabu), MDMA (Ecstasy).
• Shabu unbailable if possession $\ge 50$ g; marijuana $\ge 500$ g.
• Ecstasy = $\text{MDMA (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine)}$.
• THC-containing cannabis: marijuana (leaves/flowering tops), hashish (resin, $8!–!10\times$ stronger).
• “Golden Triangle” (Thailand–Laos–Myanmar) supplies $80\%$ world opium; “Golden Crescent” (Afghanistan–Iran–Pakistan) SW Asia.
• Drug user penalties: first-time use → minimum 6-month rehab; minors’ sentence suspended & referred to DSWD.
• Mandatory drug testing: gov’t/private employees, driver’s license, firearm permit, military/police, accused with potential sentence $\ge6$ yrs.

Fire & Arson Investigation

• Fire Tetrahedron: Fuel, Heat, Oxygen, Uninhibited Chemical Chain Reaction.
• Classes of Fire
  • $\text{Class A}$ – ordinary combustibles
  • $\text{Class B}$ – flammable liquids
  • $\text{Class C}$ – energized electrical
  • $\text{Class D}$ – metals
• Heat Transfer: Conduction, Convection (fluids), Radiation.
• Fire Stages: Incipient → Free-burning (highest intensity) → Smoldering/decay.
• Key Phenomena:
  • Pyrolysis – decomposition by heat.
  • Flashover – simultaneous ignition of room contents.
  • Backdraft – explosion when O$_2$ suddenly re-enters.
• Indicators:
  • Alligatoring (charred wood patterns)
  • V-patterns toward point of origin
  • Charring depth (deepest at origin).
• Motives & Profiles: insurance fraud, pyromaniac (insanity), revenge, terrorism.
• Evidence: accelerants detected by gas chromatography / ion spectrometry; ammonia masks odors.
• Investigation order: secure scene → extinguish → photograph → search → collect.
• PD 1613 = Law on Arson; >$80\%$ insurance vs value → prima facie arson.
• Fatal fire: absence of CO in blood indicates victim died before fire.
• Fire Code of the PH = RA 9514; BFP enforces (RA 6975 creation).
• Suppression vs control vs prevention vs inspection definitions clarified.
• Fire protection systems: wet/dry standpipe, sprinklers, fire alarms, ladders (bed vs fly sections).