Unit I FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION The field of criminal investigation is as broad and varied as the criminal with the ingenuity of those who constantly devise new patterns of crime. However, there are time proven principles and techniques that the investigator applies, in different ways to the endless assortment of situation that confront the criminal investigator. The reality of criminal investigation is a far cry form the glamorized accounts of detective fiction in which the nearly packaged investigation is considered complete when the culprit has been plausibly implicated or confesses. The tedious labor of interviews, tracing, identification, interrogation, assembling the proof, and presentation of testimony are the essence of effective investigation. Methods of investigation are dictated by the number of the crime and the procedures permitted by the rules of law. Most investigations begin with careful, objective observations that are then assembled, collected, and match against applicable loss. There is reason to assume that a crime has indeed been committed, further investigation is undertaken using more scientific methods and techniques. Technological Advances have been incorporated into criminal investigation as well. Concept of Criminal Investigation Criminal investigation is a branch of jurisprudence that uses scientific theories and principles, including time tested philosophical analysis. To uncover, collect and process facts. Then developed information that can lead the mind of a sensible person to see the truth. It involves a legal search for people and things that can be used to construct a crime and the mental state of the offender. The objective is to determine the truth as far as it can be discovered in any “Post-Factum Inquiry”. This is done by gathering facts that can be used to elucidate leading to crime or involving a criminal case. Definition of Investigate Etymology: Latin investigates, past participle of investigare to track, investigate, from in + vestigium footprint, track. Different Definition of Criminal Investigation 1. Criminal investigation is a legal inquiry, by virtue of a complaint to follow up, examine, trace, track and search, step by step, by patient and meticulous observation, the fact of the commission of a crime, the identity of the actors, and the circumstances to the end that violators of the law be brought to the bar of justice and the innocent believe therefrom. 2. Criminal investigation is the collection and analysis of facts about persons, things and places, subject of the crime to identity the guilty party, locate the whereabouts of a guilty party and provide admissible evidence to establish the guilty party involved in a crime. : 3. Criminal investigation is legally defined as a branch of jurisprudence that applies the theories, principles and time tested practices of philosophical analysis, arts and sciences in judicial and extra-judicial proceedings. Criminal Investigation as a Science and as an Art 1. Criminal Investigation as an ART Criminal investigation is an art that deals with identification and location of criminal offenders and then providing their guilt through criminal proceedings. Some authors stressed that criminal investigation is more than an art rather than a science because it is not governed by rigid rules or principles. Most often than that, Like it is governed by intuition, Felicity or inspiration, and to minor extent by chance. This idea is based on the tradition made popular by the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, A fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 2. Criminal Investigation as a SCIENCE Criminal investigation is a systematic method of inquiry that is more like a science than art. Criminal investigators primary applies scientific knowledge principles and methodologies in order to discover, identify, collect and process facts and evidence to promote justice. However, use of scientific method must be supplemented by the investigators, initiative, and resourcefulness in finding solution to criminal cases. Secrets the sequence of investigation must follow a scientific operating framework that requires imagination, innovation and creativeness on the part of the investigator. 3. Criminal Investigation as a PROCESS Criminal investigation involves the scientific process of identifying, collecting, preserving and evaluating data or raw facts to produce valuable information to prosecute a criminal offender that eventually leads to proper administration of justice. HISTORICAL ORIGINS OR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION (Contributors) A. The Evolution of the Detective 1. “Tribes” or “Clans” An early groups existed with the methods of detecting and resolving undesirable acts. The method used was based on assigning responsibility to a given individual or family. “Retaliation” The term used to describe the detection, apprehension, and even execution of the offending party or member by the other family members. 2. “Law of Hammurabi” Developed by Babylon about 1200 BC. This necessitated the means of detecting those who refused to obey the law. After the majority of individuals involving ancient criminal detection were members of the military. B. European Origins 1. Frank-Pledge System During Middle Ages A system of mutual protection please control of fellow human beings on the shoulder of each individual. Communities were subdivided into smaller groups consisting of 10 families. “Tithing” is the name or term used to the member of each subgroup. They were responsible for detecting and controlling any negative behavior on part of a group member. 2. Watches in the Seventeenth Century A conglomeration of government and merchant-finance patrols. They were literally composed of the dregs of society. 3. Parliamentary Reward System in the Eighteenth Century : Use with the England government to attempt to stop the floodtide of crime. A system for refunding expenses of prosecution and witnesses. This concept attached financial reward to various felony crimes. 4. Thief Catching a. Jonathan Wild One master criminal who became London's most effective criminal investigator in the 1720s, employing one who was “a thief to catch a thief.” b. Eugene Vidocq Another notorious thief catcher and former convict.He and those criminals, under his direction, operated with a complete sanction of the police. C. The English Detectives 1. 1748 Henry Fielding, the English author of the novel, Tom Jones, was appointed magistrate for the areas of Westminster and Middlesex. He operated out of a court in London located on Bow Street. After his taking office, the London population saw a group of police officer attached to the Bow Street court, and not in uniform, performing criminal investigative functions. For never before had the English people experienced police officers who were not readily identified. In failing health, Henry Fielding relinquished control of the Boss Street court to his brother John Fielding in 1753. 2. 1753 Under the younger Fielding's personal guidance, these early investigators, known as the Bow Street Runners, became quite effective. Many of the practices of this small group are still in effect, such as developing paid informants, printing wanted notices, employing criminal raids and bearing firearms and handcuffs. Although John Fielding was blind, he would often visit crime scenes, take information, and set his investigators on the track of a suspect.Presiding over criminal cases in court fielding would sit quietly with bandage over his eyes. Detecting a falsehood in a witness statement, he would dramatically descend from the bench waving a switch and demanding the truth. 3. Sir Robert Peel The one who reiterated the idea of Patrick Colquhoun of a sizable uniformed police force in the city in the House of the Commons. “Metropolitan Police Act” Was to have a tremendous impact on the history of criminal justice in general and on the development of criminal investigations specifically. “ BOBBIES” The nickname of officers of the London Metropolitan Police of Scotland Yard. D. U.S. Origins 1. Rattle Watch. The first New York City patrol in 1656. It consisted of mere six men sounding rattles, yelling such phrases, “by the grace of the gods, two o'clock in peace.” 2. Inspector Thomas Byrnes. He was the chief detective in New York City, who became one of the most famous investigators in the 19th century. Byrnes Paint his detectives in recognizing individual criminal technique, “MODUS operandi” or “Method of operation”, the scientific method of operation employed by a criminal during the commission of an offence. This is considered an essential tool of investigation today. : 3. Allan Pickerton. America's Foremost private detective. He worked for a brief time as a deputy sheriff in Cook Country.Pinkerton became the first detective of the Chicago Police Department in 1849. Methods pioneered by the Pinkerton Agency were “shadowing” and assuming a role. Pinkerton was an incorruptible individual who established a code of ethics and adhered to it. Pinkerton assigned the task of protecting President Lincoln; He is credited with detecting and preventing at least one assassination plot during with the outbreak of the Civil War. Pinkerton performed a private detective agency with attorney Edward Rucker. The trademark was an open eye above the slogan “we never sleep.” The trademark gave rise to the use of the term, “Private Eye” in reference to any investigator. E. Development of Criminalistics “Criminalistics” or the more generic term “forensic science.” The application of many fields of natural science to the detection of crime. Chemistry, physics, biology, and mathematics are frequently considered the backbone of forensic science. In the short span of less than 70 years, Criminalistics has become an absolutely indispensable cornerstone of criminal investigation. 1. Alphonse Bertillon Frenchman is unquestionably the founder of criminal investigation, in addition to being instrumental in the development of forensic science. After Bertillon’s military discharge in 1879, he worked as a minor clerk. His main duty was to copy onto the cards the physical description of arrested and wanted suspects. The system was dependent on highly accurate methods of measurements. 2. Juan Vucetich Vucetich was an early pioneer in the development and classification of fingerprints. He introduced a system of fingerprint classification, credited by many to be the first complete system in Argentina in 1884. He became the first individual in South America to secure a criminal conviction based upon fingerprints as the sole due. Founder of the Field of Fingerprint Classification and forensic Scientist. 3. Francis Galton The first individual to publish a definite study of Dactylography. Wild, much scientific data to prove that fingerprints are both unchangeable and unique for each individual. 4. Edward Richard Henry Henry device, a classification scheme of fingerprint known as the Henry System of Classification adopted by most countries today. 5. Arthur Conan Doyle He created the fictional detective. He was a profile writer. 6. Calvin H. Goddard He developed the standard system of creasing, bullets, and associated evidence to weapons from which they were fired. He was the founder of the Bureau of Forensic Ballistics. In 1926, in New York. : He perfected the bullet comparison microscope and assembled the first complete collection of handguns, powders and bullets for comparison purposes with aides of his fellow criminalist. 7. Hans Gross A professor of law at the University of Graz, Austria. Gross’s career touch. Many areas of the criminal justice system. He was the one of the first to stress the scene of a crime as an indispensable starting point for gathering evidence. He is possibly best known for his field Handbook of Criminal Investigation. 8. Robert Heindl Heindl Was a German criminalist and chief of many Bureau of Criminal Investigation.The reliability of witnesses, observations and statements intrigue Heindl. His book containing a classification of all known “fire patterns” was used with success as one of the earliest cases involving such evidence. 9. Edmond Locard One of the foremost criminalised in the world.He said research, particularly concerned with the analysis of minute evidence. 10. Rudolph Reiss A university professor of police science and director of several crime laboratories.He is well known for his work on ink discharge forged fingerprints and developing methods for preserving footprints. 11. Harry Soderman He was one of the founding members of the INTERPOL organization. Soderman wrote Modern Criminal Investigation in 1935. It became the classic text presenting forensic material in a practical way for thousands of detectives. He wrote many manuals on Poly science and instructed the police on subjects on firearms examination to collect dust from the clothing of suspects. 12. August Vollmer Born in America, Vollmer was known principally for his concepts of police organization and administration. Vollmer encouraged his Berkeley officers to experiment in all areas of criminology and forensic science. Under his supervision, officer John A. Larson developed the first practical polygraph. 13. Paul L. Kirk He was the best-known US criminalist. Kirk invented a new density - measuring device for soil samples found at outdoor crime scene. He accumulated an extensive crime scene investigation kit that was highly portable yet extensively equipped. :
