Essays on Criminal Investigation

What are some of the ideal structures that are currently in use today? Conduct a web search on four types of departments. Choose one department that is very large (more than 1000 sworn police officers); choose one that is considered large sized (more than 150 but less than 1000); choose a medium sized department (between 50 to 149 sworn officers) and finally a small department (less than 50 sworn officers). Go to each department’s website and find their Year-end Report. If one doesn’t exist for the department you choose, try to find another agency in the same ...

Introduction

Conducting a successful criminal investigation begins with the ability to carry out an efficient preliminary investigation; from which the major case and criminal investigation are built (Four, Five, & Six, 2015). The effectiveness of an investigation depends on the attitude of the investigating officer, and the guiding principles followed. It is important for officers to select appropriate groundwork procedures that will lead to definitive evidence collection as well as subsequent crime investigation. Most cases are different; therefore, there is no standardized routine for conductive investigations. However, officers should be flexible, creative, and open-minded when following the basic guidelines for conducting ...

Question and Answer- Criminal Justice

Question and Answer- Criminal Justice Q. 1 The main similarity between mens rea and actus reus regarding their roles is that both elements are ways through the criminal law ensures that only guilty actions or conduct and minds or intention can secure the safe legal conviction of accused persons. Moreover, they both play the role of making the role of the prosecution and defense easier when proving the commission of a crime. The difference is that while mens rea plays the role of helping the court know the accused’s intent at the material time, actus reus plays the ...

The exclusionary rule holds that, when the police violate a suspect’s constitutional rights, that suspect has the option of requesting a court to “exclude” or declare inadmissible any evidence that was obtained as a result of the constitutional violation. The exclusionary rule is not a constitutional right but rather a judicial tool established by the Supreme Court in 1914, as a means of deterring police officers and law enforcement officials from violating the Constitution when arresting suspects and conducting criminal investigation (Weeks v. United States, 1914). Up until 1961, the exclusionary rule was only available to defendants in ...

Paper Outline

Introduction Thesis Statement: The use of DNA in a criminal prosecution has helped advance justice for both victims and suspects by, among other things, eliminating the possibility of wrongful conviction due to inaccurate identification. This way, it has also tremendously helped the law enforcement agencies in the criminal justice system in fighting and solving crime through effective investigation of offenses. However, there are also legal -particularly human rights- and ethical challenges regarding DNA application in criminal prosecution (Naughton & Gabe 245).

Sub-Points

-Improved the functionality of the criminal Justice system The use of DNA in a criminal prosecution has enhanced the ...

Reconstructing a crime scene incorporates three specific environments: crime scene, Investigation, and court (Lee & Howard, 2011). There are inherent limitations in a reconstruction and imitations are tied to each of these three environments. It is important for a reconstructionist to not go beyond what he knows, but at the same time be cognizant of the fact that the very thing that can neither be defined nor acknowledged may be more powerful than what can be defined (Lee & Howard, 2011).It is also paramount that an appropriate methodology is employed that suitably corroborates the process (Lee & Howard, 2011). The process ...

French criminalist Edmond Locard is credited with establishing the “Exchange Principle”, which states in relevant part that a criminal offender necessarily leaves something at the crime scene, that if discovered will or can be used to identify him (Forensics). Nowhere is this both truer and less accurate than in the perpetration of crimes in a digital era. The increasing integration of technology into every facet of life and they myriad ways that people, both law abiding and criminally deviant, make use of technology has provided law enforcement authorities with a number of advantages, as well as more than a ...

Abstract

Forensic Science has long found important application in a criminal investigation, and its correct usage will enhance its effectiveness in crime detection. The use of forensic science in intelligence has allowed the possibility of crime scene reconstruction, identification of a suspect and the elements therein. Law enforcement has gone a notch higher in crime investigation in the sense that scouring for limited evidence at crime scenes has been made possible long after the perfect crime has taken place. The sole purpose of finding the obscure evidence is to have the criminals responsible brought to book and as a result, ...

Discussion 5

Introduction The primary goal of every investigating officer is to apprehend the perpetrator before he/she strikes again. Hence, the police will look to push for swift solving of cases. However, while the attitude of police should receive commendation, their motives can wrongfully convict innocent people. Zealous crime fighting often leads to the suffering of innocent people. From the time a crime happens, police officers will be under pressure to solve the crime. The pressure from office bearers and superiors will increase depending on the nature of the crime. This pressure often translates into police misconduct during eyewitness identification lineups ( ...

Discussion 4

Introduction The scene of the crime is the best location to look for evidence and clues which can lead to the arrest of the perpetrator. However, processing a scene of criminal activity is not easy. The task is exhaustive. The common problems while processing a crime scene is contamination. Whenever a 911 call alerts the police of a crime, it is immediately conceivable that contamination is in progress. The person who finds the crime scene initially is the first contributor to the contamination. Next, the police officer who arrives first on the scene. Although it is the duty of ...

A centralized warehouse that distributes electronic equipment is vulnerable to theft, and, therefore, all risks should be analyzed and minimized to keep the equipment safe. It is important to know that according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, about $30 billion of shipments are lost each year (Heyn, 2014), and this is the exact reason why a security team in a warehouse should minimize all risks and follow the necessary procedures when investigating a theft and collecting evidence.

NEW SECURITY EMPLOYEE GUIDE

Theft Prevention Ensure routine inspections A large volume of product is stored at the warehouse, and routine inspections will help to ...

ABSTRACT

Child pornography is generally considered an almost unspeakable perversion. John Doe is a 21-year old Caucasian male that has been arrested and tried for possession and distribution of this material. A postarrest mental health assessment shows that his main problems are social and emotional in nature. The criminal postarrest assessment hypothesizes that this criminal activity may be due to social awkwardness. These two differ in nature because the former looks to establish a mental evaluation, exploring the personal aspects of this activity, while the second looks for motives in order to contrast his behavior with the law. He has ...

Policing may occur by both private and public investigators. Policing is the maintenance of peace in a community. Security is the goal. Private police originally emerged because the public police could not fulfill all the needs and securities of individuals. Corporations and private landowners were the first to hire private investigators, but today, they are being hired by railroads, airports and even the government. There are very few similarities and many differences between these two types of investigators. The most obvious difference between private and public investigators is the involvement of government: One works for the government and the ...

Part 1: Prosecutor’s Duty to Report

Although the American criminal law is based on the adversarial system where the prosecutor, representing the state, and the defense, representing the accused, engage in openly confrontational activities in order to persuade a neutral decision-maker of the truth of their story; the Supreme Court has held that under some circumstance, and despite the adversarial nature of the relationship, the prosecution must assist the defense in the preparation of their case. The underlying reason for this counter-intuitive element of the adversarial system, is the traditional belief that the substantial power of the state, as expressed through its law enforcement and ...

Abstract

Actions taken at the beginning of a crime scene investigation can have far-reaching implications in the resolution of the crime, apprehension of the suspects and prosecution in the court of law. Meticulous and thorough investigation is key in ensuring that potential evidence is not destroyed or tampered with and witnesses overlooked. While many criminal investigation agencies employ a wide range of programs, techniques and equipment used in crime scene processing, the resources available and level of training vary from country to country. Apparently, the ability to investigate crimes has improved dramatically over the years with advances in information and ...

Abstract

Daigle (2012) suggests that the rampant misuse and misunderstanding of the Garrity warning is something that has a profound effect on the administrative and managerial part of law enforcement. Law enforcement has to have a way to elicit responses from employees to determine employees’ willingness and ability to do their jobs; this should be entirely separate from the criminal prosecution that can occur as a result of criminal misconduct (Daigle, 2012). Administrative and internal affairs professionals must be able to appropriately understand how and when to use the statements given to them by personnel. When an officer issues a ...

Abstract

Collection and analysis of evidence in modern crimes has turned out to be difficult. However, with the technological advancements, new techniques have been devised which aid in this procedure. Evidence could exist in biological, physical, or verbal forms. Among the biological evidence, hair has turned out to be a significant bit of evidence in most scenes of crime. This paper discusses hair as a rich source of evidence in crimes, the nature of hair as evidence, collection techniques and the true value of hair as evidence. The paper also explains why hair as evidence cannot be used to know ...

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency in the United States of America, which is tasked with the responsibility of criminal investigation and intelligence services. It functions under the Department of Justice and was formulated in the year 1908 as the Bureau of Investigations. However, its name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the year 1935. The FBI plays various roles in crime prevention. One of the most influential roles is protection of the United States from terrorism and terrorism related activities. It also protects the country from foreign intelligence operations, actively participates in ...