Criminal Investigation Guidelines

Constructing a set of guidelines on managing the preliminary investigation for a criminal case is very important as it gives a baseline for officers to follow to help prevent errors in the investigation. According to Hess and Orthmann (2010), “The initial response is crucial to the success of an investigation. Although it is popularly believed that cases are won or lost in court, more cases actually are lost during the first hour of an investigation … than in court” (p. 14). After containing the incident, officers upon arrive will begin examining the scene by taking photographs, sketches or videos. After the scene has been recorded visually, officers will search for evidence, and then collect it for examination and processing while documenting what has been found during the search for clues. The victims, suspects, and any witnesses will be questioned. Officers will canvas

This will help to prevent any steps from being missed during the investigation, and will also provide plenty of information for a follow-up investigation if needed for the crime that was committed. Communication is vital among the officers that will be working a case to prevent any information from being missed or time wasted following up on something that was already checked. Different crimes will be reported and handled in a different fashion, even among the different major crimes that are committed. No matter what type of crime an investigator is working on solving, they should all be knowledgeable, patient and persistent in doing their duties. Once an alleged perpetrator has been identified by the investigator, it is important to balance their rights against the rights of the community that is being served by the law enforcement agency. Following policy will help prevent problems and mistakes from