TWO

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TWO

• Investigators, the Investigative Process, and the
  Crime Scene

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WHAT IS A CRIME?

• A crime is the commission or omission of any act,
  which is prohibited or required by the penal code
  of an organized political state, to which some
  punishment or sanction is attached.
• Classifications
• Felony
• Punishable by death or imprisonment for more than
  one year in a state prison.
• Misdemeanor
• Punishable by fine and/or imprisonment for up to
  one year in a local or county jail.
• Infraction or Violation
• Minor offenses punishable by a fine only.

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THE INVESTIGATOR

• Someone who gathers, documents and evaluates
  evidence.
• Strong professional training and experience
• Strong degree of self-discipline
• Uses legally approved ethical methods
• Strong people skills
• Includes all evidence of innocence as well as
  guilt
• Uses systematic methods of inquiry
• Uses both inductive and deductive reasoning
• Compassionate, not calloused and cynical
• Has wide ranging contacts across many occupations
• Remains objective at all times
• Leaves nothing to chance during investigation

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THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESS

• Objectives
• Establish if a crime was committed
• Collect, document and preserve evidence
• Identify and apprehend the suspect(s)
• Recover stolen property
• Assist in the prosecution of the person(s)
  charged with the crime(s)

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THE PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION

• The actions taken at the scene of a crime
  immediately following its detection and report to
  the police
• Receipt of information and initial response
• Emergency care
• Crime scene control
• BOLO alerts
• Crime scene determination
• Evidence
• The report

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FOLLOW-UP INVESTIGATION

• Subsequent investigation
• Contacting witnesses who left the scene
• Checking out suspect(s) alibi
• Gathering additional evidence from other
  locations
• Talk with informants
• Attempt to locate additional witnesses
• Evaluate evidence collected and laboratory
  results of tests
• Obtain search and/or arrest warrants
• Recover stolen property
• Confer with prosecutor

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CRIME SCENE

• Location where the offense was committed
• May include surrounding areas where evidence may
  be located
• Always start big . . . Its much easier to make
  it smaller than to expand it at a later time
• There may be more than one crime scene
• Macroscopic versus Microscopic scenes

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ORGANIZATION OF THE CRIME SCENE

• Overall coordination
• Handled by assigned case agent
• Power to call in additional resources
  coordinate all investigative activities
• Technical services
• Crime laboratory personnel supervisors
• Investigative services
• Interviewing witnesses and victims
• Neighborhood canvass
• Suspect field interrogations

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CATEGORIES OF EVIDENCE

• Corpus Delicti evidence
• Evidence that helps to prove the elements of the
  crime(s)
• Associative evidence
• Evidence that connects the suspect to the scene
  and/or victim or connects the scene/victim to the
  suspect
• It is bidirectional
• Trace evidence
• Small or microscopic evidence, or evidence in
  limited amounts

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EVIDENCE RECOVERY LOG

• A chronological record of who found what
  evidence, where, witnessed by whom, and notations
  about other ways the evidence may have been
  documented, e.g., photography

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EVIDENCE RECOVERY LOG

• The evidence recovery log is an important
  document which records all pieces of physical
  evidence found at a crime scene. This is critical
  if the case is to be successfully prosecuted
  later.

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CRIME SCENE CONTROL

• The actions which the first arriving officer at
  the crime scene takes to make sure that the
  integrity of the scene is maintained
• Control also includes preventing people at the
  scene from becoming combatants and separating
  witnesses

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CONCEPTUALIZATION

• Keep known fact AND inferences in mind when
  processing scene
• Facilitates reconstruction of the offense
• Identification of the modus operandi
• Identification of certain types of evidence
• Assists in establishing investigative direction

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CAUTION

• Dont destroy evidence
• Make crime scene bigger than expected and shrink
  as necessary
• Dont overlook fruitful areas for exploration
• Do more than a cursory examination

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INCLUSIVENESS

• Obtain every piece of evidence
• If not sure, take it as evidence until it is
  ruled out
• Do not dismiss items of possible evidence
• Be careful of rationalization and fatigue

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DOCUMENTATION

• Constant Activity
• Starts with rough shorthand field notes
• Sketches
• Diagrams to scale
• WAYS TO DOCUMENT A CRIME SCENE VISUALLY INCLUDE
• Video taping
• Photographing
• Sketching

(Courtesy Lewiston, Maine, Police Department)
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THREATS TO INVESTIGATORS HEALTH AND SAFETY AT
CRIME SCENES

• Insect bites
• HIV/AIDS
• Hepatitis B and C
• Tuberculosis

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MAJOR CONSIDERATIONS OF THE CRIME SCENE SEARCH

• Boundary Determination
• Choice of Search Patterns
• Instruction of Personnel
• Coordination
• Documentation

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CRIME SCENE SEARCH PATTERNS

• Spiral
• Strip/Line
• Grid
• Zone/Quadrant
• Pie/Wheel

• The crime scene coordinator may choose from a
  variety of crime scene search patterns based upon
  the type and size of the crime scene.

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