Chapter 1: The concept of Investigation
Etymology of Investigation
•
The term came from the latin word investigare (vestigare in some books) which means
“to track or to look into for traces”. Fundamentally, it may have been derived from vestigium ,
another latin word which means footprint. (MS Encarta Reference Library, 2009)
Investigation refers to the process of carrying out a detailed examination or inquiry usually in
official manner, to discover something or somebody.
A.Criminal Investigation
•
Criminal Investigation is a logical process of collection and analysis of facts about persons,
things and places relative to a crime. It includes:
a. Identification of the guilty party
b. The location of the whereabouts of the guilty party, and
c. Providing admissible evidence to establish the guilt of the parties
involved in the crime.
B. Criminal investigation is an undertaking that seeks, collects, and gathers evidence of a crime for a
case or specific purpose (http://www.pinow.com/investigations/criminal-invesrigations)
C. Criminal Investigation as
1. an art because we use tools that are related to art and sometimes based on intuition.
2. a science because it involves the application of knowledge of forensic
sciences.
3. a process because it involves systematic procedure.
THE SIX (6) CARDINAL POINTS OF INVESTIGATION
•
1. WHO QUESTIONS: These are questions used to inquire on the identity of the victims or
offended party, name of suspect, accomplices, accessories and witnesses of the crime.
•
2. WHAT QUESTIONS: The purpose of these types of questions is to find out what happened or
what took place before, during and immediately after the commission of the offense.
•
3. WHERE QUESTIONS: These are questions that localize the place of the incident- the city or
town, the district or barangay, the street or road, the number of the house or building. Where
questions are necessary in specifically pinpointing the particular location of the crime scene
•
. 4. WHEN QUESTIONS: These are questions needed to determine and fix the time, day, month
and year when the crime was committed. When questions should be specified and as accurate
as possible
•
5.WHY QUESTIONS: These are questions that endeavor to ascertain the motives, causes,
antecedents, previous, incidents, related facts, background occurrences that might help explain
the commission of the offense.
•
6. HOW QUESTIONS: These are designed to help the investigator determine how the crime was
committed, the means/tools are employed, the crime was discovered, and the culprit enters the
building/room.
Three tools of investigation
•
1. INFORMATION
•
2. INTERVIEW AND INTERROGATION
•
3. INSTRUMENTATION
INFORMATION
It is the knowledge/data which an investigator acquired from other persons and records.
Interview and interrogation
INTERVIEW
- is a conversation with a purpose, motivated by a desire to obtain certain information from the
person being interviewed as to what was done, seen, felt, heard, tasted, smell or known.
- this is the questioning of a person believed to possess knowledge that is in official interest to
the investigator.
Interrogation
is a questioning of a person suspected of having committed an offense or a person who is
reluctant to make full disclosure of information in his possession which is pertinent to the investigation.
Purpose of interrogation
a. To obtain confession to the crime
b. To induce the subject to make admission
c. To learn the facts of the crime
d. To learn the identity of the accomplice
e. To develop information which will lead to the recovery of the fruits of the crime
f.
To discover the details of other crimes participated by the suspect.
BASIC DOCTRINES IN CRIMINAL JURISPRUDENCE
1. DOCTRINE OF FRUIT OF THE POISONOUS TREE
The doctrine of poisonous tree was established in a US Supreme Court decided case sometime
in 1961. This doctrine upholds that illegally obtained evidence is inadmissible in state criminal
prosecutions. This criminal law principle is, however, rooted in an earlier case decided by the US
Supreme Court in 1914. In the case of Weeks vs. United States, the Supreme Court established that
products of illegal search, seizure and arrest are excluded as admissible court evidence. This doctrine is
otherwise called Exclusionary Evidence Rule.
2. MIRANDA DOCTRINE
Miranda doctrine is a rule or principle in criminal jurisprudence that requires mandatory preinterrogation warnings concerning self-incrimination and the right to legal counsel of the suspect.
Miranda doctrine mandates that prior to any questioning, the police must make known to the suspect
that:
a. He has the right to remain silent – that anything he says can and will be used against him in the
court of laws;
b. He has the right to hire and consult with an attorney, and to have his counsel present
during questioning – and if he cannot afford to hire an attorney, one will be appointed to represent
him before any questioning, if he wishes one; and
c. He cannot waive these MIRANDA RIGHTS except in writing and in the presence of a counsel.
RIGHTS OF PERSON UNDER CUSTODIAL INVESTIGATION
From the provisions of Article III, Section 12, 14 and 17 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, these are
the primary constitutional rights a person under custodial investigation:
1. The right to remain silent
2. The right to counsel
3. The right to be informed of his rights
4. The right against use of torture, force, violence, threat, intimidation, or any other means
which vitiate the free will
5. The right against secret, solitary, incommunicado, or other similar forms of detention
6. The right to due process of law
7. The right against self-incrimination
Initial steps in Criminal Investigation
Applied to the criminal realm, a criminal investigation refers to the process of collecting
information (or evidence) about a crime in order to:
(1) determine if a crime has been committed;
(2.) To legally obtain information or evidence;
(3.) To identify persons involved in the crime;
What are the 9 Golden Rules to be observed by the Investigator upon his arrival at the scene of the
crime?
a.
Identify and if possible, retain for questioning person who first notified the police.
b.
Determine the perpetrator by direct inquiry or serve him, if his identity is immediately apparent.
c.
Detain all persons present at the scene.
d.
Summon assistance, if necessary.
e.
Safeguard the area by issuing appropriate orders by physically isolating it.
f.
Subsequently, permit only authorized persons to enter the area.
g.
Separate the witnesses in order to obtain independent statements
h.
Do not touch or move any object.
I.
Definitely assign the duties of the search if assistant is present.
One of the Golden Rules is “Do not touch or Move any Object.
The Investigator upon his arrival at the scene of the crime should consider the following two
important steps before touches or moves any object.
a. If the victim is still alive, the investigator should try to gather or acquire information from the victim
himself with regard to the surrounding circumstances of the crime, while calling for assistance for an
ambulance from the nearest hospital. Then measure, sketch and photograph the crime scene
immediately after the victim is removed and brought to the hospital for medical attendance.
b. If the victim is dead, the body should be removed only after the crime scene is measured, sketch and
photographed.