CCJ 220 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Biological Hazard, Mercury Marquis, Trace Evidence
5.3.18
CCJ 220 – Lecture 15
Ch. 10 – Investigations
How important is proper Investigation?
• On April 9, 1995, Trooper Charlie Hanger of the OHP was traveling North on I-35, When
he saw a 1977 Mercury Marquis with no license plate
o What do you do?
Investigate
• The trooper stopped the car. He questioned the driver about the license plates and
requested the driver to get out when he was acting nervous. He noticed a bulge in the
man’s clothing. When asked, the man admitted he had a gun and was arrested.
Good Investigation = Good Results
• Who was that man that was arrested?
o Timothy McVeigh
Introduction
• Sherlock Holmes couldn’t compete with us today.
• The day of the magnifying glass are over
• Investigation – means to follow step-by-step by patient inquiry or observation; to search
into; to examine ad inquire into with care and accuracy; to find out by careful inquisition;
the taking of evidence; a legal inquiry.
• Criminal Investigation is the process of discovering, collecting, preparing, identifying
and preserving evidence to prove the truth or falsity of an issue in law.
• Criminal Investigation is a reconstructive process that uses deductive reasoning based
on specific pieces of evidence to establish proof that a suspect is guilty of an offense.
Other Terms Defined
• Crime – is an act in violation of penal law; an offense against the state.
• Felony – Serious crime that is punishable by imprisonment in a state or federal
penitentiary.
• Misdemeanor – a crime of lesser offense punishable by confinement in a local facility
such as a county jail.
• Criminal statute – legislative act defining a crime and its punishment
• Ordinance – city or county legislatively passed act
Goals of a Criminal Investigation
• Determine if a crime has been committed.
• Legally obtain information and evidence to identify the person(s) responsible.
• Arrest the suspect(s).
• Recover stolen property.
• Present the best possible case to the prosecutor.
• While committing crimes, people make mistakes. They almost always leave some type
of evidence.
• *All CRIMES ARE SOLVALBE*
• *NOT ALL CRIME ARE SOLVABLE (WHY?)
What is Evidence??
find more resources at oneclass.com
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(Broken. Down into 2 Categories)
• “Property which may be related to a crime or which may implicate or clear a person
of a criminal charge” – YCSO Property and Evidence Manual
• Testimonial – given in the form of a statement made under oath, or in some cases as a
voluntary consideration of case.
• Examples include: Microcassettes, videos, video statements, oral or written testimony
• Statement Analysis – Example
What is Evidence?? Broke Down into 2 Types
• Real or Physical Evidence – Anything with size, shape and dimension.
• Examples include: Torn clothing, hair, fingerprints, DNA, blood, urine, semen,
bruises, drugs, paraphernalia, photographs, surveillance video, foot and tire
impressions, glass, weapons, etc.
Goals of a Criminal Investigation
• A SUCCESSFUL investigation is one in which:
o A logical sequence is followed
o All available physical evidence is legally obtained.
o All witnesses are effectively interviewed.
o All suspects are legally and effectively interrogated.
o All leads are thoroughly developed.
o All details of the case are accurately and completely recorded and reported.
Basic Functions
• Provide emergency assistance
• Secure crime scene
• Photographing, videotaping and sketching
• Taking notes and writing reports
• Searching for, obtaining and processing physical evidence.
• Obtaining information from witnesses.
• Identifying suspects.
• Conducting raids, surveillances, stakeouts and undercover assignments.
• Testifying in court.
Terms
• Fact = an action performed, an event, a circumstance, an actual thing done or an
occurrence that has taken place.
• Inference = a process of reasoning by which a fact may be deducted as a logical
consequence from other facts or information already proven.
• Opinion = is a personal belief.
• Intuition = a sudden knowing without any conscious reasoning or apparent logic. It is
based on knowledge and experience.
Tough job but someone has to do it
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
He questioned the driver about the license plates and requested the driver to get out when he was acting nervous. He noticed a bulge in the man"s clothing. When asked, the man admitted he had a gun and was arrested. Good investigation = good results: who was that man that was arrested, timothy mcveigh. They almost always leave some type of evidence: *all crimes are solvalbe, *not all crime are solvable (why?) Basic functions: provide emergency assistance, secure crime scene, photographing, videotaping and sketching, taking notes and writing reports, searching for, obtaining and processing physical evidence, obtaining information from witnesses, conducting raids, surveillances, stakeouts and undercover assignments, testifying in court. Tough job but someone has to do it: characteristics of an effective investigator. Identifying, collecting, examining and processing physical evidence: measuring, photographing, videotaping and sketching the scene, searching for evidence, questioning victims, witnesses and suspects, recording all statements and observations in notes, establishing a crime scene log almost immediately.