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The Process of Criminal Investigation and Evidence Essay
Criminal investigation and evidence
Role of evidence in criminal investigation
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Mutual Legal Assistance is the process through which “states seek and provide assistance in gathering evidence for use in criminal cases.” [1] In a day and age where crime and evidence knows no borders, mutual legal assistance has become an essential tool in the field of crime prevention and criminal justice. International cooperation has become a necessity and many criminals would not be put to justice without collaborative efforts between member states. Extradition is a process that particularly benefits from mutual legal assistance since the entirety of the process is based on bilateral and multilateral treaties.
To facilitate the formation of treaties under international legal standards, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime published the Manual on Mutual Legal Assistance and Extradition. The Manual provides guidelines for member states to establish dialogue in order to collect evidence and prosecute individuals involved in transnational crime. At the core, the principle of Mutual Legal Assistance is based on effective
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[2] A popular form of investigation is police-to-police due to the existence of “well established networks of liaison officers throughout the world, as well as tried-and-true lines of communication and protocols with the many police agencies that they consistently deal with.” [3] Also, police organizations receive aid from INTERPOL for sanctioned investigations in foreign countries. The involvement of police organizations for the purpose of locating witnesses and the sharing of documentation can be achieved without a formal mutual legal assistance request. Similar requests can be carried out through agency-to-agency communication as well as consular communications depending on the sensitivity of the information
Western Australian Department of Education. (2009). Protocols for working with WA police. WA: Department of Education. Retrieved from http://www.det.wa.edu.au/policies/detcms/policy-planning-and-accountability/policies-framework/guidelines/protocols-for-working-with-wa-police.en?oid=com.arsdigita.cms.contenttypes.guideline-id-3743688
When police officers investigate suspect, especially a criminal suspect, public interest was against and officers owe a duty of care to general public for the purpose of public safety. Meanwhile, private interest was against as well and officers owe a duty of care to suspect to ensure suspect’s rights and avoid charging innocent person. In order to balance these two conflict interests, a clear standard of care need to be established so police officers could follow the procedures to prevent negligent investigation.
First, the citizens investigate allegations of police misconduct and report their findings to the head of the agency. Then certain officers investigate allegations and develop a conclusion, submitting it to the head of the agency for approval or rejection. Lastly, an auditor investigates the process the agency uses to accept and investigate complaints and reports to the agency and the community the thoroughness and fairness of the process (Finn). A final decision will be handed down and further implications against the accused police officer will be
From drug dealing to high-tech computer crimes, international organized crime is unique to every organization and each fraction of the organization. Despite the wide range in histories, structure, and activities, overlap does occur, and it is always seen in the lack of effort to stop the organized crime groups. On a local level, the authorities have tried to stop the expansion of organized crime. However, on an international level, little is being done to prevent, stop, and bring justice to offenders.
There are both provincial and universal benefits to gaining an international perspective on the various legal systems. First, by recognizing that our American legal system is not the only way possible, we become more aware and more critical of that system. When learning of the different processes in socialist and civil legal systems, it puts our own legal system into a new perspective. Not only do we gain this new insight, but an international perspective can foster ideas to improve our system. There is always the possibility that a criminal justice approach used in one country could be successfully implemented in another. On a universal level, an international perspective is vital. Crimes are no longer confined to individual territories. Transnational crimes are a rising concern. By understanding the various legal processes of other nations, we are better equipped to handle such situations (Reichel,
The problem of transnational criminal organization poses some unique challenges to the law enforcement community. The scope of these organizations’ activities and personnel creates exponentially more work for law enforcement than relatively isolated or contained criminal acts by individuals or small groups. Random and personal crimes committed by individuals can usually be handled by police at the local level, as the investigation is limited to the known crime (or crimes) that have been committed and reported. In these cases, identifying and apprehending the perpetrator is possible through investigation of the evidence of the specific instance of crime. This is not the case with large criminal organizations. The scale of criminal activity committed by transnational criminal enterprises dwarfs those committed by lone “local” offenders. Organized criminal enterprises have a pattern of wide-scale criminal activity on a daily basis that involves the participation of many individuals. Transnational criminal organization are somewhat like the mythological nine-header Hydra – when one of its heads was cut off, it would quickly grow back. So, in order to any impact on the organizations as a whole, law enforcement must target their leadership and coordinate their arrests. To achieve this end, law enforcement must work meticulously to identify the entire scope of the criminal enterprise’s operations and map of it organization – identifying key personnel and associates. Not only that, but in the course of this intelligence gathering, law enforcement must also gather credible evidence that will help bring about a conviction in court. A main analytical technique that can be used against transnational criminal organization is network ...
Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 15 November 2000, available at: http://www.osce.org/odihr/19223
As we can see, the system of Law Enforcement is formed over many centuries of history, starting as a horse guard and Rangers to modern police departments, agencies and states, performing a variety of functions and meeting the requirements of each time period. Comprehensive study of the evolution of foreign police forces is relevant and has a scientific significance; there may be a promising area of historical and legal research. Analysis of state-legal laws of development of the Law Enforcement system of different countries represent an important step in this direction.
When an individual enters the criminal justice system, it always begins with the police. So in order for police to be involved in any situation, there has to be a crime committed or violation of any law which has been put in place by the government. As the police act as the enforcement agents of these laws, they are the first ones to be involved. There are four steps that police follows when there is a crime – the crime itself, the report of the crime, the investigation of the crime, and the arrest to finish this process – these are the very basic avenues which police follows.
...th 2001). Roth argues that the concept of international jurisdiction is not a new idea but was exercised by the US government in the 1970 after an aircraft hijacking. Also the war crime courts established after the end of World War II exercised international jurisdiction. In fact the Geneva Convention states that is a person regardless of their nationality should be brought before the court of any state in which that person has committed grave breaches of law and convention. Roth states that the concept of international jurisdiction is not a new one but that only in recent years have states been willing to act on universal jurisdiction and go after criminals of the international community regardless of their stating or power within the international community. Roth believes in the ability and authority of international organizations and institutions (Roth 2001).
Many controversies have arisen nowadays as to whether international law is “natural law”, international law now faces considerable criticism as to its effectiveness as law and doubts as to its actual existence, and its power to bind countries .
Public International law International law contains of rules and principles, which preside over the relations and communication of nations with each other. International Law that is in most other countries referred to as Public International Law concerns itself only with questions of rights among more than a few nations or nations and the citizens or subjects of other nations. In dissimilarity, Private International Law deals with controversies among confidential persons, natural or juridical, arising out of situations having important association to further than one nation. In current years the line up connecting public and private international law have became more and more doubtful. Issues of private international law may also associate issues of public international law and numerous matters of private international law nave considerable meaning for the international group of people of nations. International Law consists of the basic, classic concepts of law in nationwide legal systems, status, property, responsibility, and tort. It also includes substantive law, procedure, process and remedies. International Law is rooted in receipt by the nation states, which comprise the system. Customary law and conventional law are primary sources of international law. Customary international law results when states trail convinced practices usually and time after time out of an intelligence of legal responsibility. Lately the customary law was codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties. Conventional international law derives from international agreements and may obtain any appearance that the constricting parties have the same opinion upon. Agreements may be complete in admiration to any substance except for to the leve...
To begin with, the relevant principle of jurisdiction should be examined in order to assess the validity of the extradition request. According to Glahn and Taulbee (2013), “principle of jurisdiction refers to the allocation of legal competence to regulate certain categories of persons, events, and things within a state and among various levels and institutions of government.” (p. 233). The definition implies that there should be an effective link connecting the state claiming jurisdiction and the event that took place. Currently, there are five principles of jurisdiction recognized by the international practice: territory, nationality or active personality, protective personality, passive personality, and universality (Glahn and Taulbee, p. 235). ...
While the policy regulations of states strive to maintain their sovereignty, states have long recognised their interdependence in policing transnational illegal activity (Gerspacher 2009). Transnational crime has long posed a significant obstacle to policing efforts. The extensive effects of globalisation, world political and economic shifts, technological advances, security challenges and the implications of climate change, have all served to influence the crime environment and make the job of policing the community more challenging than ever before (Keelty 2007). According to Hills (2009) there is a widely shared conviction that international police forces must co-operate if they are to respond effectively to the crime and insecurity facilitated by globalisation. Operation Cathedral and the Solomon Islands peacekeeping operation will be explored in order to illustrate the negative and positive consequences of involvement in international policing operations.
Criminal investigation may be a terribly troublesome and dangerous operation of police work. Once a criminal offense happens, a police officer goes to the scene of the crime, gathers information, and searches for for the potential suspects. If in case, there are witnesses to the crime; criminal investigation becomes easier because the suspect is know. Downside arises once the cops don't have any witnesses to the crime and there's no physical proof found within the cri...