Finally, inference development, is derived from and dependent upon analyses of the preceding four models. Remember that we begin with our end in mind considering our Results. Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/criminology/criminal-investigation-is-the-process-of-discovering-criminology-essay.php (last visited on 16june, 2020), [4] https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/criminalinvestigation/chapter/chapter-9-interviewing-questioning-and-interrogation/ (last visited on 16June, 2020). Official websites use .gov Try and develop at least two or three alternate theories. The item may be money, narcotics, guns, stolen goods, or any other commodity of interest. There may be a forcible confinement taking place. There is a possibility that the suspects had some inside knowledge of the jewellery store and the inventory through association with a person connected to the store. They intentionally selected this store because of the strip mall location and the easy access to inventory by smashing the display cabinets. Interested to publish your article on our website? The ability to link a suspect back to a crime and to form reasonable grounds for belief to make an arrest can depend on the existing evidence transfer. In this case, the report identifies an active event where the suspect is still at the scene and criminal activity may still be in progress. If you found any of such content on this website, please report us atinfo@lawcorner.in. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. In cases where the offender is not immediately identifiable, or the fact pattern of the event is not clear, the investigation becomes more complex and protracted. You can see a woman and two young boys looking out the front window of the premises. Please add lawcorner.in to your ad blocking whitelist or disable your adblocking software. A fourth criminal associate as a get-away driver and lookout. In this case, you call for a backup patrol unit to attend. Another airport employee is identified as a possible suspect because security cameras show him in the area of the utility storage area at 10:45 AM. This article by a Police Crime Analysis Supervisor describes five analytic tools for complex criminal investigations: link analysis, event flow charting, commodity flow charting, financial profiling, and inference development. He does not know if there is alcohol involved, although he does know that Randy often drinks heavily. If this is the case, the owner/manager may be providing an inflated inventory of items taken or perhaps incorrect serial numbers for the items taken to allow for the stolen items to be more easily disposable. The completed analysis should include such items as change in financial behavior, justification of such a change by legitimate circumstances, and correspondence of the change in time, type, and magnitude with alleged or suspected criminal activity. Setting and monitoring priorities is a critical piece of the mental mapping process. This was an example of both timeline evidence, namely being present at the scene when the event took place, and spatial relationship evidence, namely being one block away from the crime scene. Sometimes investigator has to go through in negotiations with the suspect in order to bring cooperation from his side by offering him assurance of less punishment, emotionally breaking his firm attitude, etc. At last, the investigator has to examine all the interviews and all the information from different witnesses is then set up in a thoughtful manner to find the true tale of the crime scene and thereby clues regarding perpetrators. You are in a marked patrol vehicle, and you are dispatched to attend a local jewellery store where a robbery has just taken place.
As you walk towards the house, the neighbour/witness, Bill Murphy, approaches you and states that Randy Smith just left the premises alone in his blue Dodge truck. This is truly the creative art of the investigative process and, as such, it is a process that can be enhanced through practice and experience.
Any investigation an investigator embarks upon must focus on the desired Results to guide the thinking and investigative action. Evidence transfer means that evidence will transfer from a suspect to the crime scene, a suspect to a victim, from the crime scene to the victim, or from the crime scene to the suspect. Like link diagrams, however, flow charts must be interpreted in order to have clear meaning. But only a few of them are useful. What relevant theories might be considered from the way the suspects were dressed? These connections within time and locations are spatial relationships, and although this circumstantial evidence from spatial relationships alone is not sufficient to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, it is often sufficient to form reasonable grounds to believe that an individual is implicated in the offence. If we know where we are going and what our results need to be, we will know how to prioritize our actions to reach those results. Based on the Strategic Investigative Response Funnel, all incoming information is flowed into the top of the funnel to start the process of analysis. There is no criminal record for Jane Smith. At that time, Randy Smith was arrested but not charged with assault. You know you have an eyewitness to the offence of assault, and, with this piece of witness evidence alone, you have formed reasonable grounds to believe the offence of assault has taken place. It could also be evidence that demonstrates where a suspect was during the critical times when the crime was occurring. What theories might be considered regarding the items taken? Outline the further avenues for investigations that you can undertake in this case. Your forensic team is at the scene dusting for fingerprints and photographing the damage. A criminal investigation is a process of scrutiny and inspection done in the criminal domain. The investigative strategies being planned are aimed at suspect identification as a first goal. Also Read How Is Evidence Used In A Criminal Trial? The caller, Bill Murphy, reports to dispatch that he heard a woman screaming and, when he went outside, he saw his neighbour, Randy Smith and Randys wife, Jane, standing on their front lawn yelling at each other. This Article is Authored by Pooja Sharma, 2nd Year BA LLB Student at University School of Law and Legal Studies(GGSIPU). Information facilitating collection of evidence, interviewing witnesses and interrogating possible suspects are three basic fundamental tools of a criminal investigation. These failures to provide an accurate account of what happened occur for a variety of reasons, including, but not limited to: With these kinds of motives in mind, an investigator analyzing and validating the facts and developing a theory of the crime should always consider four key questions to authenticate the crime report: Thinking about these questions as part of the Analysis can help the investigator to formulate possible theories and develop effective investigative plans.
$120,000 worth of jewellery was taken, Some of the watches and diamonds stolen are identifiable by serial numbers, Suspect fled out the front door and south around the corner of the building. LockA locked padlock Each piece of information you have can assist in forming beliefs regarding the safety of persons. This timeline evidence provides some significant information, as it establishes a time range when the crime occurred and it establishes that the suspect was at the airport during the possible time of the crime. The time of the offence could have been intentionally chosen closer to the end of the day on a Saturday in the hope that more cash would be in the store. After everyone was on the floor, the two men started smashing glass display cases and dumping the contents into white cloth bags that they had with them. The fact that they are all wearing jackets on a summer day in August might indicate that they were covering up tattoos, scars, or other distinguishing features that might otherwise assist in identifying the suspects. Additional forensic evidence collection and interrogation would follow to develop reasonable grounds for belief and possibly the grounds to lay a charge, if additional forensic evidence could be developed. In this Situation phase of our STAIR tool, you have been provided with a limited amount of information. We will discuss these more in-depth later in our chapter on forensic evidence; however, the point is that forensic comparisons are only one form of evidence that is developed to create circumstantial connections between a suspect, the crime, and/or the victim. assault, or assault causing bodily harm, and/or forcible confinement, and possibly impaired driving), Verify the identity of Randy Smith as the person responsible for identified offences, If an offence and an identity of the suspect are verified, broadcast a Be On Lookout For (BOLF) to arrest Randy Smith for assault, Protecting the life and safety of persons at this crime scene is no longer an issue because the armed suspects have now left the scene, Protecting property will be an issue because $120,000 worth of merchandise and $350 in cash have been taken and need to be recovered, Gathering and preserving evidence will be an issue because there are witnesses to interview at the scene and possibly physical evidence left behind by the suspects, Accurately documenting the event will be necessary, Establishing reasonable grounds to identify and arrest offenders will certainly be the desired outcome, Examine the crime scene and call upon forensics for evidence collection, Broadcast a description of the suspects and incident details as a BOLF, Identify all witnesses and victims present, Run each witness and victim through police databases to determine any criminal records, history of criminal conduct, or association to known criminals, Take individual statements from each witness and victim, Date of offence:Saturday August 15, 2012, Location:jewellery store in down town strip mall, Owner/manager and one employee present (witnesses), Two elderly women shopping together present (witnesses), One 25-year-old female shopper present (witness), Three apparently male suspects entered the store through front door, All suspects were wearing ski masks, gloves, blue jeans, and dark jackets, Suspects told everyone to lay on the floor, Suspects smashed display cases and loaded jewellery and watches into bags, Each suspect carried away the stolen goods in white bags, One suspect had the manager open the cash register and took $350 cash, Approx. Dispatch advises you that the call has been received from a neighbour to the home where the domestic dispute is taking place. It is 9 PM on Saturday evening, and you receive a radio call from dispatch assigning you to attend a domestic dispute complaint in a residential neighbourhood. His arrest is followed by questioning at a serious level in order to induce him to confess his crime and disclose the identity of other accomplices who aided or assisted him in crime. The tools which are discussed above are the basic three tools that are accommodated in every criminal investigation irrespective of dynamism of concept. It is very likely that the three suspects knew each other well enough to establish the level of trust required to carry out the robbery. It is August 15, 2017, 4 PM on Saturday. Six charts are included. This is a well-planned robbery executed by three or four experienced criminals. To plan this robbery and execute it with this level of precision, it is very likely that the suspects spent at least some time looking over the premises and the surrounding area to plan their approach, execute the robbery, and plan their escape. If an offence did occur, did it happen at the time being reported? Each and everything which is collected is scrutinized and apparently there are only a few of them which prove useful as evidence. Considering that the items taken were specialty itemsand that some were marked with identifying serial numbers, it might be theorized that the robbers have a prearranged or preplanned means of disposing of the items or otherwise converting them to cash. You are in the strategic investigative response mode. Do your theories present any avenues where you can investigate further to gain additional information? Click Here to submit your article. Here interview refers to asking questions to the witnesses of crime in order to extract information from them so that perpetrator could be apprehended. Along with theory development and investigative plan making, we have examined the ways physical and circumstantial evidence of spatial relationships can be used to confirm, negate, and modify theories and investigative plans. The manager estimates that approximately $120,000 worth of inventory was stolen. Considering the likelihood that these suspects conducted surveillance of this store to select it as a target, we should look at security cameras in the strip mall area and from the victims store for images of possible suspects watching the store on the previous Saturday at this same time. They have some means of converting or disposing of the stolen items for cash. As you proceed through the STAIR tool, the process of Analysis and Investigation can become somewhat circular, as the investigation reveals new information, and new information is analyzed to confirm, disprove, or modify the theories of suspects and events that you are considering. If an offence did occur, did it happen at the place being reported? We try our level best to avoid any misinformation or abusive content. As mentioned above, in defining and assigning priorities to the Results, the top priority is very clear: protecting the life and safety of persons. The criminal investigation is a science that seeks to collect evidence from a crime scene with the purpose to reach out to the criminal. Chapter 3: What You Need To Know About Evidence, Chapter 5: Strategic Investigative Response, Chapter 6: Applying the Investigative Tools, Chapter 9: Interviewing, Questioning, and Interrogation. Does the evidence support the report that an offence occurred? Beginning with your end in mind, you now consider what will be the Results for this case: With our Results priorities clearly in mind, you now undertake some specific Tasks of the STAIR tool: After completing your victim and witness interviews and your database searches, you have the first pieces of information from which the Analysis component can begin. This is true of many in progress occurrences that police attend. As with Theory #1, this is a well-planned robbery executed by three or four experienced criminals; however, the store was selected because they had an inside person, employee, or former employee working with them, and were provided with information to assist in the plan. Interviewing a witness isnt as simple as just asking questions and getting answers rather it requires interactive skills on the part of the investigator where he has to analyze the reliability of information and credibility of the witness itself because not all witnesses give complete and accurate information. You decide that if you do not hear or see any ongoing immediate threat, you will approach by knocking on the front door and making contact. If an offence did occur, did it happen the way the fact pattern being reported suggests (Arcaro, 2009)? After you have completed your own analysis, theory development, and investigative plans, move to the end of this chapter and check your assumptions, analysis, theories, and investigative plans against the answers provided there. guard at door, making patrons lie down on the floor, bags to carry away goods). The information comprises of details and data which access knowledge to investigator regarding the perpetrator. Each piece of information here can contribute to the forming of reasonable grounds to enter onto private property or to make an arrest. No vehicle was seen. Personal gain or financial reward, such as insurance fraud, Attempting to take revenge on someone by accusing them of a crime, Covering up personal involvement in the criminal act to avoid prosecution, Attempting to shift responsibility for a crime to someone else, Covering up the involvement of an associate to divert prosecution. The owner/manager of the store could be involved as part of an insurance fraud scheme. In working through the strategic process, we have practiced examining the fact patterns of events and making the assumptions to drive theory development directing the engagement of our investigative plans. Based on the theories considered in our robbery investigation, everyone present in the jewellery store at the time of the robbery is being considered a possible suspect. Theorize and consider if these three suspects wereworking alone. To examine this process of strategic investigative response, we will look at a more complex scenario where additional skill sets and strategies need to be considered within the STAIR Tool. The neighbour did not see the two boys.
Jane Smith, the complainant in that case, would not proceed with charges, and there were no independent witnesses to the assault. Your tactical investigative response plan is to approach the premises using concealment and cover as you and your backup unit assess what you can hear and see as you approach the scene. They are instead linkages in times and common locations within those times. When an investigator develops strong reasons to believe that a particular person or group of person could have committed the crime then such a person is arrested. The use of financial profiles allows investigators to order financial data concerning an individual, group, or organization so as to establish a pattern of financial behavior. ongoing assault), you know you can enter the premises without a warrant under exigent circumstances to protect the safety of persons. Allegations have no significance if they are not supported by evidence. Upon questioning, it is determined that he had also been on flight AC204 and that his boarding pass was for seat 16B. In this chapter we will work through some investigative STAIR scenarios to demonstrate the required investigative awareness required to transition from the tactical investigative response to the strategic investigative response. This can be any type of evidence that demonstrates a connection or relationship between the suspect and the criminal event or the suspect and the victim. Is it possible that the suspects had been at the store sometime prior to this robbery? 
These individual Results may also sometimes be sacrificed, one in favour of the other, depending on the way events unfold. Criminal investigators delve to find these elements with evidence to support their against the guilty persons in the court of law. The use of masks and non-descript outfits might indicate that the criminals were experienced. For now, with our Results concept in mind, let us apply the STAIR tool in the following scenario. Indian legal system and judiciary stand is very specific and clear when it comes to investigation. Your new priorities become: In this case, the offender was easily identifiable. In this step of the Analysis process in theSTAIR, what logical theories can you develop to explain how this crime may have been committed, and who may have been involved? Alternately, the fact that they have taken items that are identifiable by serial numbers may indicate a level of haste or even inexperience because these items, if discovered after being sold, may be traced back to the robbery suspects. If you do see or hear evidence to indicate there is an ongoing threat to the safety of a person (e.g. They were wearing gloves probably because they already have criminal records and know that any fingerprints left behind may allow for the suspects to be identified. Can aspects of your theories be confirmed or disconfirmed against an examination of the existing physical evidence? Since the handguns used were likely stolen, we should look for incidents of stolen handguns recently reported. Interrogation of a suspect demands virtues of patience, calmness and strong persuading skills in investigators. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The entire robbery happened in just under five minutes and, when the robbers left the store, they ran south around the corner of the building. Depending on the typical customer traffic volume in the mall area on a Saturday, the suspects may have hoped for more traffic volume to assist with their escape. Note The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. Characteristics of Negotiable Instruments, Lalman Shukla Vs Gauri Dutt Case Analysis, Bandhua Mukti Morcha Case [Bandhua Mukti Morcha Vs Union Of India And Ors AIR 1984 SCC 802], https://law.jrank.org/pages/1654/Police-Criminal-Investigations-Criminal-investigation-defined.html, https://www.ukessays.com/essays/criminology/criminal-investigation-is-the-process-of-discovering-criminology-essay.php, https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/criminalinvestigation/chapter/chapter-9-interviewing-questioning-and-interrogation/. Do the theories above present any avenues where you can investigate further to gain additional information? The Results priorities now change as well. What theories might be considered from the way the robbery was carried out? This chapter presents two investigative scenarios each designed to illustrate steps of the STAIR tool allowing the student to recognize both the tactical and the strategic investigative responses and the implications of transitioning from the tactical to the strategic response. From the overall planning and precision in the execution of the robbery, it might be theorized that this is not the first robbery that these three have done together. 12 Noon: time the body was found by the janitor, 10:45 AM: time the suspect was recorded on security camera near the crime scene, Victim and suspects boarding passes show that they were both on Fight AC201 and were seated next to each other, Security video puts the suspect in the area of the crime scene during the timeframe when the crime occurred, The suspect is an airport employee and was in possession of a key that would open the door of the crime scene. This kind of evidence can be considered by the investigator in forming reasonable suspicion and reasonable grounds to believe and take action at a later point in time. There were also two store employees working at the time. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Criminal Investigation Is The Process Of Discovering Criminology Essay. The setting and defining of priorities for Results will be further illustrated and practiced in several scenarios presented below. Recall the example of the young man standing behind a tree one block away from the scene of the warehouse break in. Other circumstantial evidence can be illustrated that connect suspects to the crime through relationships, associations, and chronology. We need money to operate the site, and almost all of it comes from our online advertising. But, once a suspect or suspects have been identified, because of some circumstantial association or linkage to the crime scene, it does not mean they can immediately be arrested.