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CHAPTER 7 SPECIALIZED ROLES OF POLICE
Chapter 7 Outline
Introduction
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Specialization
Investigation/The Detective Unit
Forensic Science
The Investigator
The Preliminary Investigation
The Follow-Up Investigation
Investigative Responsibilities
Identifying Missing Persons and Human Remains
Profilers
Psychics
Intelligence Officers
Undercover Officers
Internal Affairs
Juvenile Officers
Vice Officers
Illegal and Legal Gambling
Prostitution and Pornography
SWAT Officers
K-9 Units
K-9 Case Law
Reserve Officers
Other Specialized Police
Summary
Discussion Questions
Gale Emergency Database Services Assignments
Internet Assignment
References
Cases Cited
Chapter 7 Objectives
Upon completing this chapter, the student will be able to discuss, identify, or interpret
• What the primary characteristic of an effective investigator is.
• What the primary responsibilities of the investigator are.
• What questions investigators seek answers to.
• Why both sketches and photographs of a crime scene are usually needed.
• How investigators must deal with evidence.
• What DNA profiling is.
• What issues related to DNA testing are.
• What the three basic types of identification are.
• What changes in lineup identification protocol research supports.
• In what two areas intelligence units work.
• Why all officers are juvenile officers much of the time.
• In what areas vice officers become involved.
• What characterizes SWAT team officers and what they seek to accomplish.
• How K-9s are used. In what categories they may be specifically trained.
Key Terms
Upon successful completion of this chapter, students will be able to define and discuss the
following terms:
ballistics, chain of custody, complainant, contamination, crime scene investigation,
criminalistics, discovery crimes, DNA profiling, field identification, forensic science, informant,
interrogate, interview, involvement crimes, modus operandi (MO), solvability factors,
suppressible crimes, totality of circumstances, vetted
Discussion Questions
1. What are the goals of an investigating officer?
2. What does a preliminary investigation consist of?
3. What differences exist between a studio photographer and a crime scene photographer?
4. Why is DNA profiling not more commonly used in criminal investigations?
5. Why and how are computers being used in investigations?
6. What are some of the dangers and challenges undercover officers face that uniformed
officers typically do not?
7. What is the difference between an interview and an interrogation?
8. Does your local police department use reserve officers? If so, how many are there and
what are their main duties?
9. Does your police department have a SWAT team? If so, when is it used?
10. Does your police department use K-9s? If so, what are they used for?
Student Activities
• Search for the key words undercover officer, vice officer, or internal affairs. Find an
article about this specialized area of law enforcement and outline it. Again, be prepared to
discuss your outline with the class.
TEST BANK MULTIPLE CHOICE (page references in parentheses)
1. A primary characteristic of an effective investigator is
a. cunning.
b. perception.
* c. objectivity. (p. 201)
d. interviewing skill.
e. the ability to assume fictitious identities.
2. Ballistics deals with
a. identification of the weapon from which a bullet was fired.
* b. the motion of a bullet. (p. 211)
c. identification of the owner of a firearm.
d. identification of the weapon from which a bullet was fired, the motion of a bullet,
and identification of the owner of a firearm.
e. none of the other choices.
3. The branch of forensic science that deals with physical evidence related to crime.
a. ballistics
b. forensic psychology
* c. criminalistics (p. 199)
d. modus operandi
e. all of the other choices
4. Whether a juvenile is actually taken into custody usually depends on a number of factors,
the most important of which is
a. the officer’s current caseload.
b. the youth’s parents’ political affiliations.
* c. the seriousness of the offense. (p. 221)
d. the capacity of the local juvenile detention facility.
e. whether the youth is employed.
5. Which of the following is not an area typically handled by vice officers?
a. narcotics violations
b. prostitution
c. illegal gambling
d. pornography
* e. officer corruption (p. 223)
6. Rapid response to calls is most effective for ______________ crimes.
a. discovery
* b. involvement (p. 201)
c. insuppressible
d. corroborative
e. biometric
7. The crime scene should be
a. photographed.
b. sketched.
c. measured.
d. photographed and measured only.
* e. photographed, sketched and measured. (p. 204)
8. The activities of intelligence officers
a. may include undercover assignments.
b. may include internal affairs investigations of officers within the department.
c. are typically kept secret from the rest of the department.
* d. may include undercover assignments or internal affairs investigations of officers
within the department and are typically kept secret from the rest of the
department. (p. 205)
e. none of the other choices.
9. Of the following, the most positive form of identification is obtained through
* a. fingerprints. (p. 207)
b. footprints.
c. fibers.
d. fingerprints, footprints and fibers, which provide equally positive identification.
e. none of the other choices provide positive identification.
10. All are responsibilities of the investigating officer except
* a. providing services to the victim or victim’s family. (p. 202)
b. photographing the crime scene.
c. protecting and storing evidence.
d. interviewing witnesses.
11. Field identification is based on
a. scientific evidence.
* b. a totality of circumstances. (p. 216)
c. the suspect’s past record.
d. police intuition.
e. all of the other choices.
12. Photographic identification
a. is used only when the suspect is in custody.
* b. is used if a fair lineup cannot be conducted. (p. 216)
c. should use a minimum of 12 photographs.
d. should be used only before lineup identification.
e. should be used only after lineup identification.
13. An advantage of the digital camera for photographing crime scenes is that
a. photos are ready immediately for viewing.
b. more images can be taken.
c. HD video can be shot.
* d. all of the other choices. (p. 204)
14. Spiral grooves cut into the barrel of a gun during its manufacture are called
* a. riflings. (p. 211)
b. ballistics.
c. biometrics.
d. digitizations.
e. forensic flarings.
15. The basic types of identification include which of the following?
a. field identification
b. photographic identification
c. lineup identification
* d. field, photographic and lineup identification (p. 214)
e. none of these
16. According to the text, approximately what percent of police citizen questioning
encounters involve citizens without proper identification?
a. 30 percent
* b. 40 percent (p. 207)
c. 20 percent
d. 15 percent
17. Because many victims and witnesses change their stories, many departments make it
mandatory to
* a. record interviews. (p. 212)
b. make them sign a statement to not change their story.
c. have them speak with the district attorney as soon as possible.
d. ensure cases are brought to court within 90 days.
18. The study of evidence is called
a. biometrics.
b. ballistics.
* c. forensic science. (p. 199)
d. kinesics.
e. rifling.
19. CODIS is an electronic national database of
a. handgun licenses.
b. tire treads.
* c. DNA profiles. (p. 208)
d. bullet manufacturers.
e. forensic scientists.
20. The first organized K-9 unit in the United States began in 1907 in
* a. New York City. (p. 226)
b. Boston.
c. San Francisco.
d. Chicago.
e. Philadelphia.
21. For Miranda to apply, both custody and __________ must happen together.
* a. interrogation (p. 213)
b. arrest
c. questioning
d. detention
22. The first contact with the criminal justice system for youths in legal trouble is usually
a. a probation officer.
* b. the police. (p. 221)
c. a social worker.
d. a juvenile court judge.
e. an attorney with the local prosecutor’s office.
23. The primary mission of any tactical team is
a. search and destroy.
b. divide and conquer.
c. enlighten and motivate.
* d. contain and neutralize. (p. 225)
e. shoot first and ask questions later.
TRUE/FALSE (page references in parentheses)
T 1. The preliminary investigation is usually conducted by patrol officers. (p. 201)
T 2. Because juveniles commit a disproportionate number of local crimes, all officers
are juvenile officers much of the time. (p. 221)
F 3. Arrests are usually attributed to fast police response to reported serious crimes
because about 75 percent of all serious crimes are involvement crimes. (p. 201)
T 4. No two individuals, except identical twins, have the same DNA structure. (p. 208)
F 5. The digital camera has made photography much less efficient and more
expensive. (p. 204)
T 6. Successful investigation relies on cooperative, coordinated efforts of both the
patrol and the investigative functions. (p. 203)
T 7. In many smaller departments, an investigator or patrol officer is also trained and
certified as an evidence technician. (p. 205)
F 8. A witness is anyone, including a suspect, who has helpful information about a
specific incident. (p. 212)
T 9. A criminal profile can be made in the absence of any physical descriptors.
(p. 218)
T 10. Field identification is used when a suspect matches the description given by a
witness and is apprehended close to the crime scene. (p. 214)
T 11. Recently many cities and states have changed their lineup procedures because of
wrongful convictions, three-quarters resulting from bad eyewitness identification.
(p. 216)
F 12. Police dogs are generally cross-trained extensively so they may perform
effectively in all capacities, including search, attack and capture, drug detection,
bomb detection and crime deterrence. (pp. 226–227)
F 13. Investigators interrogate witnesses with information regarding a crime. (p. 213)
T 14. A suspect does not have the right to have counsel present during field
identification. (p. 216)
T 15. In some areas of the country, prostitution is not illegal. (p. 223)
T 16. In the United States, almost 50 percent of police agencies use K-9 units today.
(p. 227)
T 17. It is usually preferred that physical evidence be obtained to corroborate
eyewitness testimony. (p. 212)
T 18. The first officer on the scene must protect it from any change, regardless of
whether the officer is an investigator. (p. 203)
T 19. A suspect’s refusal to participate in a lineup may be used against him or her in
court. (p. 216)
FILL-IN/SHORT ANSWER (page references in parentheses)
1. ________________ work involves long-term, ongoing investigations into such criminal
activity as illegal sale of guns, payoffs to police officers or politicians, major drug cases
and activities of organized crime. [Undercover] (p. 219)
2. Any area that contains evidence of criminal activity is considered a crime scene and must
be secured to eliminate __________________ of the scene. [contamination] (p. 204)
3. Investigators ________________ suspects, those who they believe to be connected with a
crime. [interrogate] (p. 213)
4. ____________ deals with examining physical evidence to answer legal questions.
[Forensic science] (p.199)
5. _____________ uses the material from which chromosomes are made to positively
identify individuals. [DNA or DNA profiling] (p. 208)
6. The results of the ______________________________ are written in an incident report
containing the basic facts related to the crime, the crime scene and any suspects.
[preliminary investigation] (p. 201)
7. The most important item when dealing with evidence is to ensure a proper
___________________________. [chain of custody] (p. 206)
8. The make of a firearm is usually determined by the ______________ in the barrel.
[riflings] (p. 211)
9. Profiling has been popularized through the television series ______________. [Criminal
Minds] (p. 218)
10. One way to identify a suspect may be the MO, or _______________________________.
[modus operandi] (p. 216)
11. The individual who reports an offense is called a(n) ________________. [complainant]
(p. 212)
12. The first SWAT team was developed in _____________. [Los Angeles, California]
(p. 224)
ESSAYS
1. Describe the steps and prioritization of efforts for first responders arriving at a crime
scene. (pp. 201–203)
2. Discuss in detail the various ways in which computers are being used in investigation.
(pp. 205, 207, 212, 216)
3. Discuss the advances in DNA and how it relates to the identification of suspects.
(pp. 208–210)
4. List the primary characteristic of an effective investigator and explain the primary
responsibilities of the investigator. (p. 201)
5. Describe the special issues officers must deal with when working with juveniles.
(pp. 221–223)