Investigating a home burglary

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A home burglary investigation, the objectives of this type of investigation, and how the objectives will relate to a successful completion. The first objective of a home burglary investigation is crime detection. Typically a home burglary is reported by the homeowner, once they have returned from being away. It could be found by the detection of property loss, or a forced entry point. A report by neighbors who keep an eye on their neighborhood and observe the burglary in progress is another example of crime detection. Naturally, a better outcome would be to have someone, a witness who sees the suspect enter the residence, report it. This will take us to the second objective much more quickly. A burglary in progress is dispatched immediately with a minimum of two officers, while a burglary report is dispatched within thirty minutes with a one officer response (Columbus Police 2007). The police will be dispatched to a burglary in progress quicker and with a larger response. The second objective is locating and identifying suspects. If it was a burglary in progress the responding officers will secure the outer perimeter and then conduct a systematic search of the residence looking for the suspect(s) (Columbus Police 2007). If the suspect(s) are located, an arrest is made. If the suspect(s) are not located, the responding officers will preserve the scene and any evidence which may have been left behind. This will make the residence safe for investigators to be in the area, and allow them to collect evidence. Now that the crime has been detected and perpetrators have been cleared from the area, officers can move on to the next objective of locating, recording, and processing evidence while observing all constitutional consideratio... ... middle of paper ... ...n of legally obtained evidence and statements. Each and every person involved in the process of the evidence collection and processing must be available for trial. If one of these parties is not available, it may cause some doubt in the juror’s mind, as to what was done with that piece of evidence. The case must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. In conclusion if any piece of this investigation is not followed by using established guidelines, the outcome will not lead to the successful conviction. Works Cited Columbus Police (2007). Patrol subdivision, standard operating procedures, section 3. Song, Sora. (2002, October). Body of evidence: all the high-tech gadgets and tests won't matter a bit if evidence isn't meticulously gathered at the scene of a crime. Time, 160(17), 28-29. Retrieved January 21, 2011, from ABI/INFORM Global. (Document ID: 633215341).

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