What are the steps and characteristics of a successfulcriminal investigation?
Why is evidence collection so important to a crime sceneinvestigation?
What can negatively and positively impact evidencecollection? Provide examples from a particular crime scene featured in CriminalInvestigation or another source
The first step in theinvestigation is determining if the said crime has taken place on the scene.The second is verifying the jurisdiction of the investigators to ensure thatthey do not overstep on their mandate. Thirdly, it is necessary to ensurediscovery of all the facts and physical evidence in the crime scene. The nextstep is recovering any stolen property and identifying the perpetrators. Withthe necessary authority the perpetrator are apprehended and the arraigned inthe court for prosecution with proper and effective witness testimonies. Havinga prosecutor during the crime processing is important since he or she can getfirst hard-undistorted information from the scene as well as get the evidencefrom the scene of crime. A prosecutor will be able to address his case betterdue to the presence in the processing.
No two crimes will have the same evidence, and each jurisdiction isalso different. Evidence collection is an important to a crime sceneinvestigation. This is because the investigators are able to relate it to thelogic of reasoning or any other scientific research investigation that might ofimportance in further research (Becker and Dutelle, 2013). The evidence helps proofthe working theories that demonstrate clear patterns of inference, the cause orany described effects.
The tagging, labeling & marking of the proof adds credibility& control to our ability to identifying the item. The chain of custody isdefined as the witnessed, written record of all of the individuals whomaintained unbroken control over the items of proof. It establishes the proof thatthe items of proof collected at the crime scene is the same proof that is beingintroduced in a court of law (Byrd, 2015).
Consequently having competentinvestigators, proper resources, and proper preparation for the in depthinvestigation will positive affect data collection. For example in a scene ofrobbery, the investigators need to use all the available means to get therelevant information.
People are oftenaccused of crimes they didn’t commit. DNA can beused to clear these suspects. In cases where a suspect has not yet beenidentified, biological evidence from the crime scene can be analyzed andcompared to offender profiles in DNA databases to help identify the perpetrator(Using DNA,2014). In 1996, a man pleaded guiltyto robbing a gas station, and his DNA was collected for analysis and inclusionin the Virginia DNA database. They were backlogged, then came the summer of2000, and the evidence was analyzed. However many years later his DNA was analyzed,he was found guilty and sentenced to nine years in prison. There are also manycold cases that have been solved using DNA evidence, such as the BostonStrangler.
The languagebarriers, lack of honest witnesses or withholding important information mightnegatively affect collection of evidence. According to TOM FOREMAN: ABC News(voice-over) And former Denver prosecutor Craig Silverman says, “add to that avirtual war between the police chief and the Boulder district attorney overhandling of evidence and sharing of evidence with Ramsey family attorneys,and the case was doomed.” CRAIG SILVERMAN, Former Denver Prosecutor (Myles,2000).
References
Becker, R.F. & Dutelle, A. W. (2013). Criminal investigation (4th ed.)Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers.
Byrd, M.(2015). Proper Tagging and Labeling of Evidence for Later … Retrieved fromwww.crime-scene-investigator.net/tagging.html
Myles, S.(2000, April 7). [PDF]Criminal Investigation Case Management.pdf. Retrievedfrom www.emich.edu/…/Criminal%20Investigatio… Eastern Michigan University
UsingDNA to Solve Crimes – US Department of Justice. (2014, September 9). Retrievedfrom www.justice.gov/…/advancing-justice..
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