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Contemporary law enforcement issue
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Without a doubt, the role of the criminal investigator in law enforcement is an extremely challenging position to possess. Although the rest of law enforcement observe an individual who wears plainclothes, drives an unmarked vehicle, and is allowed off on the weekends the amount of stress inherent in the position is staggering (Dempsey, & Forst, 2016). Consequently, personal experience in both the patrol and investigation fields allows me to say the above thoughts are valid and current. The issue is that a majority of cases that investigators are asked to solve have no suspects, physical evidence (thanks to C.S.I. shows), and no identifiable markings. Even though the investigators may believe a particular individual is a possible suspect due to the area or history, proof is necessary for a conviction. Thus, departments are advancing the use of “solvability factors in the field of law enforcement. …show more content…
Additionally, other factors such as traceable property, physical evidence, and substantial motive are other factors which affect the amount of time a detective devotes to the case. Subsequently, using solvability factors to determine which cases to focus on utilizes increased time management and wise appropriation of resources (Keglovits, McCrary, & Ramsland, C.M.I.-V, 2013). Moreover, in large departments with ever-increasing caseloads spending time on crimes without leads could cause cases that are solvable to go unsolved. Thus, there is a definite attraction for law enforcement agencies to use scales to determine, which cases to
In criminal justice, detectives need many skills that help capture the suspect. One of the important skills is finding and presenting evidence. This is significantly important because according to the Criminal Justice
Well of course there is leg work and interviews, but without a police report there is case the criminal cannot be put away with pounds of evidence without the police report being filled out correctly. My criminal investigation professor has said many times that if you cannot write a police report you will not make it as an investigator. Reports are read by other officers, media, judges, etc. If an attorney finds mistakes in a report the same way they are found in college students papers then it would be easy to make the police officer seem stupid. There might be unclear sentence, wordiness, overuse of jargon or abbreviations. There many rules to writing reports because they are so necessary to the job
Many experts look at experts’ looks at data and research. Great experts find out and test their research. Traditional old concepts of police work caused many to venture and test anything. George Kelling and James Q. Wilson analyzed and tested their hypothesis. I will break down their “Broken Windows Theory” and how this has changed law enforcement today.
Many police departments have researched the effectiveness of using solvability factor checklists as screening process to ensure detectives devote their time to important cases that possess a realistic chance of being solved (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). Due to effectiveness of these checklists and point scoring many police departments have adapted their crime reports to emphasize solvability factors (Dempsey & Forst, 2016). I agree with using solvability factors to determine case assignment and manage investigative caseloads, especially when it pertains to property crimes. Solvability factors cannot be used as an elimination process in all cases due to officers’ concern, for political reasons, public safety, and some cases are so important or serious they will require a follow-up investigation despite an improbable chance of solvability (Dempsey & Forst,
In recent years, however, such programs as CSI that follows detectives at the Las Vegas Police Department Crime Scene Investigations Bureau as they solve puzzles and catch criminals. Perhaps one of the most well known shows with a forensic psychology theme, CSI has a large impact on viewers perceptions of forensic psychology. On one hand, the increased popularity of forensic psychology because of the show is good and more people are taking an interest in forensic psychology as a career. On the other hand, the forensic psychology that viewers see every week on television may not be exactly the same as forensic psychology in reality. Particularly programs such as CSI also overstate the ability of “hard” evidence (also known as forensic evidence), such as fingerprints and DNA, to provide evidence of definite innocence or guilt (Trask, 2007). They often disregard other components of the investigative process, such as police questioning, despite these being equally valid to establishing guilt (Nolan, 2006). This over-reliance on forensic evidence, due to the importance of forensic science being dramatized by television crime dramas, is also known as the CSI
In today’s time, modern Crime Scene Investigation has increased rapidly. From throughout the late 1900’s and in the early 2000’s (Taylor 1). For all of the evidence that they find, a solid foundation has formed over the thousands of years of Crime Scene
In most cases, law enforcement involves investigation of all forms of suspected, potential or actual criminal activities and presenting evidence arising from investigation to the courts for determination of criminal culpability and subsequent punishment. Law enforcement is also concerned with detaining criminal suspects pending further investigation or judicial action. These, however, are not the only responsibilities or functions of law enforcement. Law enforcement is also concerned with deterrence and prevention of crime as well as enforcement of all the orders given by the law courts such as writs or warrants. In addition, law enforcement play an important role in ensuring public safety, maintaining public order, operating c...
Whereas the real picture of forensic evidence is unlike what is represented in movies and television shows where a fingerprint or a trace of hair is found, then it’s game over for the criminal. Reality is not as straightforward. As more people are exposed to the unreal forensic world through television and media the likeliness for a wrong conviction increases with juries assuming the evidence involves more science than what it really does, this is known as the CSI Effect. Further education and training is needed for the people of the court, the forensic specialists, and so called experts. The people in courts do not question any of the ‘professionals’ and just trust in their expertise. The court could overcome this perception by requiring explanation of error rates in a forensic field. To do this, testing examiner error rates will be necessary which means further research. Forensic science has such a large effect on the prosecution of suspects, experts have been known to provide questionable and at times incorrect evidence. When a false conviction occurs the true perpetrator is set free. Once realized, the public doubts the justice system and the reliability of the forensic evidence even more. At this point in time, forensic is an inexact
Crime Analysis has many benefits to the community. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. Crime prevention and community satisfaction with police services, while linked to the number of officers on the streets, does not depend entirely on the visibility of patrol officers. Community engagement, targeted initiatives, strategic use of resources, and data-driven decision-making contribute to decreasing crime. So in closing I believe that departments that take the positive elements of foot patrols and combine their efforts with crime analysis that focuses on the time, location, and type of crime, may use the findings to develop strategies to decrease crime and enhance the quality of life in their communities.
Collecting evidence from a crime scene is a crucial aspect of solving crimes. Before evidence can be seized, there must first be a court order approving the search of the crime scene and the seizure of the evidence found at the scene. Standard protocol for officers is for them to always use latex gloves, avoid plastic bags, double wrap small objects, package each object separately, and to collect as much evidence as possible. It is better to have too much evidence than to not have enough. There are countless amounts of evidence that can be found at a crime scene.
Denise Moore 's criminal report starts the investigation. A police investigation of a crime is the entryway into the criminal justice system, once Denise Moore reported the crime, Detective Riley and Detective Clay conducted a photo lineup, an investigative tool used when the suspect is unknown and not in custody, to identify the suspect (Burns, 194).
Imagine pulling into your driveway and seeing your neighbor’s house surrounded by police, flashing lights, and caution tape with bodies covered in white sheet on the lawn. It was a drive by shooting. Next, a van pulls up and a Criminal Investigator steps out and starts assessing the crime scene. She begins taking photos, marking shell casings, packaging evidence, documenting tire treads on the pavement and inspecting and collecting DNA evidence from the bodies. Criminal Investigators are highly trained college graduates that are a vital part of bringing criminals to justice.
Forensic science has now been recognized as an important part of the law enforcement team to help solve crimes and cold cases. The advances in technology are being used each day and we must continue to strive to develop better advances in this field. The recent discovery of using DNA in criminal cases has helped not only positively identify the suspect, but it has helped exonerate hundreds of innocent individuals. “With new advances in police technology and computer science, crime scene investigation and forensic science will only become more precise as we head into the future.” (Roufa, 2017) Forensic science and evidence helps law enforcement officials solve crimes through the collection, preservation and analysis of evidence. By having a mobile crime laboratory, the scene gets processed quicker and more efficiently. Forensic science will only grow in the future to be a benefit for the criminal justice
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...
For this reason, it is important that cases be assigned for follow up investigations. Because follow up investigations can sometimes be lengthy and tedious, not every officer is a good follow up investigator. However, a good follow up investigator can often find additional information pertaining to the case/crime, connect it to other known intelligence, and find key information and evidence related to the case/crime. Large criminal investigations can go on for years. It is important for follow up investigations to continue even if it seems all investigative leads have been followed. Possible witnesses to crimes, who were afraid to come forward initially, may later feel more comfortable speaking to investigators. Technology is ever changing, and physical evidence collected may one day become valuable in solving a crime. It is important for Investigators to not only use their current senses and resources to do their job efficiently and safely, but to continually train and learn new techniques valuable to their