Violent Crime Investigation Techniques and Procedures

Violent Crime Investigation Techniques and Procedures

                                                                    Abstract

Actions used by investigating police to gather information and evidence for the trial of the offender will be considered a procedure; hence the investigating officer is bot limited to a specific process. When investigating a violent crime with sexual violence involved, one is not limited to protecting the crime scene, collecting evidence, testing DNA, identifying witnesses, interrogating suspects, profiling, and conducting surveillance. He or she can add an activity that will help solve the case.

Criminal investigation procedure used in the investigation of violent crimes

Introduction

Violent crimes are referred to as a crime involving aggravated assault, robbery with violence, sexual assault and rape, and murder. The crime committed by the apprehended suspect is a violent crime involving the rape of a juvenile female, burglary, and drug-related crime. Police apply very straight forward techniques to solve these cases. The procedure followed, and the methods employed by police to investigate this crime is very vital; it determines whether the offender is found if the conviction is secured if the offender confesses, the case is cleared and or the victim receives justice. The following procedures and techniques for the investigation of violent crimes.

Assess the crime scene

First, conduct a full assessment of the scene to determine the nature of the crime and the level of investigative work required. Then establish the complexity and the full scope of the stage and document the plan of the investigation.    Since this case involves different related crimes, it is vital to pay keen attention to every detail and record everything done or observed. It is crucial to prepare a preliminary report, with a record of record the time you arrived at the crime scene and the precise location of the scene. This report will include the weather and amount of lighting available, an interview of the first responding officer on the scene, other police officers, rescue team, and the duties that the officer conducted and documented(Bolz Jr, 2016)..

Secondly, identify potential witnesses to get the right witnesses and arrange for their transportation and interviews, it is recommended to transport the witnesses separately so that they may not influence each other. Take pictures of the crime scene and the car, also recordthe car details and registration

Thirdly, Control the scene and determine the extent the perimeter should extend to and call for assistance from the crime technicians to help collect material evidence and general processing of the scene.(Bolz Jr, 2016).

It is done to preserve the crime scene, to establish existing information on the scene, and to plan for investigation. If it is not done, some facts may be lost, witnesses may disappear, and one may not get a clear understanding of the nature of the crime(Quinlan, 2016).

Manage the crime scene

Document all the observation of in thecrime scene willbe used to connect physical objects like the drugs and the running computer and victims to suspects and any other scene. The evidence found in that crime scene or any different scene that will be used to link the offender to the crime will be referred to as associative evidence. It willalso include available blood samples or any bodily fluids, weapons used to commit the crime, fingerprints, body hair, material fiber, clothes, and shoes(Quinlan, 2016).

Analyze come up with reconstructive evidence that helps them relate to the actions of the offender at the scene. Look forforensic evidence such as Broken physical items, amount of blood spilled and spatter pattern, shoe prints, and missing items are used to shed light on what might have been going on during the time the crime took place. Additionally, collect known samples to be used as control samples; they may form trace evidence.Forensic evidence willinclude things like the running computer on the car, fingerprints, and glass samples. Gather Control samples help in Eliminating people who were in the crime scene but are not considered suspects is usually done by collecting samples of fingerprints and DNA samples (Bolz Jr, 2016).

oversee the Collection of physical evidencethat can establish facts about the crime or link the victim to the offender, the victim to the scene, the offender to the weapon used, and the offender to the scene or any other related scene. All the physical evidence at the scene must be recorded and acknowledged by the in your presence. It should also be protected as it is sent to the laboratory technicians for analysis. Analysis of the evidence is very vital since investigators use it to tie the crime to the real perpetrator(Mayhew, 2017).

In clearingrape and burglary cases, the investigators should collect all available physical evidence like nail scrapings, genital swabs clothing specimens, toxicology specimens, and histology specimens

An unmanaged crime scene can result in contamination of samples, loss of evidence and may be inadmissible in court

Conduct Forensic analysis

Conduct a fingerprint analysis of the crime scene; this will be used to uniquely identify every person who may have been at the crime scene; a positive match will directly link the person to the crime(Becker, 2018).

Conduct forensic DNA analysis to establish whether the suspect raped the victim. Request the victim to undergoa genital swab test,forensic analysis of the trace evidence should provide a positive match if the apprehended suspect raped the victim.

The DNA samples from the victim, crime scenes, and other related locations should be first collected, analyzed, and results obtained. The investigator then seeks a court order to collect DNA samples from the suspect(Becker, 2018).

DNA samples obtained at the crime scene are analysed to remove groups of people who are not connected to the crime, and the suspects’ list is narrowed down to those without an alibi. However, they are not cleared form the investigation (Becker, 2018).

conduct Forensic digital analysisto obtain available data on car registration, travel logs, and to locate the suspect at the scene of the crime;this will help tie the suspect to the ongoing case. Digital forensic experts should run file check on the computed found at the scene to establish what the suspect was doing with a running computer in a burglary come rape crime scene.

Conduct criminaltoxicology analysis on the suspect and clinical the victim to establish whether drugs were used on the victim,were abused by the suspect(Quinlan, 2016).

Without forensic analysis, one might not get decisive evidence linking the crime to an offender.

Questioning and interrogation and suspect handling

Interview the witnesses and the victim; this will describe and possibly physically identify the offender. You will also get information on how the crime happened and any other information relevant to the investigation.

Interrogate the suspect once there is a reasonable belief that the evidence against the suspect is direct otherwise question him. During interrogation, give themaximum suspect time and opportunity to disclose all the necessary information that might exclude that suspect from the investigations to the crime(Bolz Jr, 2016).

Ensure the suspect does not return to the scone to prevent any change of clothes as it may contain evidence of the crime. Advise the suspect of his or her rights before having any conversation with the suspect. Document thee conversations havinggiven the suspect a written waiver of his or her rights and

Irrespective of the crime suspects should be handled with caution to prevent legal roadblocks from interfering with the prosecution of the case. During interrogation, ensure all rights are afforded to the suspect

Improper handling of suspects and witness statements might lead to legal issues in court that may deter the investigations(Bolz Jr, 2016).

Conclusion

This research outlined violent criminal investigating techniques and procedures available for a combined crime ofsexual assault, burglary alongside drug possession. One should pay keen attention to the method for the case to be solved and the offender to be apprehended.

Knowledge of the right forensic tools to be applied to get the required evidence is very critical, and it would provide evidence that was not possible to be obtained or used. The handling of a crime scene, evidence, suspects, and witnesses can deter or improve the chances of clearing a case. It is therefore crucial that an investigation officer plans the case right from taking over from the reporting officer to trial and every stipulated procedure and technique of investigating a crime.

References

Mayhew, P. (2017). Counting the costs of crime in Australia.

Suspect survivors: Police investigation practices in sexual assault cases in Ontario, Canada. Women & Criminal Justice, 26(4), 301-318.

Becker, R. F., & Dutelle, A. W. (2018). Criminal investigation. Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Bolz Jr, F., Dudonis, K. J., & Schulz, D. P. (2016). The counterterrorism handbook: Tactics, procedures, and techniques. CRC Press.