One article stated that: Almost every day photography provides new evidence of its value as a powerful weapon in the war against crime. More and more departments are coming to realize that—even in routine incidents—simple pictures taken with simple cameras can make an impressive difference in Court. Furthermore, police departments are continually finding new ways to use photography, both as a tool for investigation and as a means to record data quickly and accurately (RCMP Website, 2002, paragraph 1,2 ). Before a detailed examination of the crime scene is made or before any items are moved or even touched, the crime scene should be photographed. The photographs should be taken to clearly and accurately depict the actual scene, the path taken by the criminal
Along with those programs came the NCVS or National Crime Victimization Survey, this survey is a self-reporting survey which victims report their own incidents. Although each are used to record crime for the nation, they each have their own uses and are used differently. The UCR crime reports are used in many ways, they provide law enforcement with date for use in police operations and planning for the future. The news and media also utilize the reports as well to inform the public about crime. Data is recorded by cities, counties, colleges, and states and submitted to the UCR.
Careful, thorough investigation is key to ensuring+ the potential physical evidence is not tainted or destroyed or potential witnesses overlooked. I am sure many agencies have programs in crime scene processing, the level of training and resources available varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.” (Reno, 2000) Assembling a set of guidelines and conducting preliminary investigation for criminal cases are best described by the FBI. The initial responding officer(s) shall promptly, yet cautiously, approach and enter crime scenes, remaining observant of any persons, vehicles, events, potential evidence, and environmental conditions. A FBI report issued in 2005 details that general crimes are outlined into three graduated levels of investigative activity. These activities are the checking of initial leads, preliminary inquiries, and full investigations.
The British Crime Survey also includes crimes which are not reported to the police, therefore is an important alternative to police records and provides criminologists, the police, the courts, the media and anyone else who has an interest with the statistics, two different types of data: Firstly trends on crime over time chartered, Details are compiled from offenders who are eventually found guilty or cautioned; details gathered include sex and the age of the offender. Information is gathered on the “Known offender”, in this case the “Typical offender”, (Maguire 1997). Official crime
Emma Yates UNIT 39: From Crime Scene to Court It is the job of the FSI to find and collect evidence left behind by offenders on the crime scene. Using the latest forensic techniques they look for all sorts of evidence. The FSIs follow several procedures. To stop potential evidence being destroyed, lost or contaminated they preserve and protect the crime scene. FSIs then start to work with the investigating officers.
Decide if the crime was committed within the investigation jurisdiction. 3. Discover all facts pertaining to the complaint. * Gather and preserve physical evidence. * Develop and follow up all clues.
Throughout history society’s perception of crime and deviance has adapted to fit within the societal model of control. The continual advancement of both medical understanding and technology has also played a major role in how the legal system identifies individuals considered to be criminals. Just as society’s perception and understanding of criminal activities has changed, so too has the criminological theories that attempt to explain it. Today all theories (old and new) are studied in order to assist in the creation of new theories and help determine possibly why criminal behavior is taking place. This paper will compare criminological sub theories such as Anomie, Subculture, Biological, Social Disorganization/Chicago school, Learning, Labeling,
In the crime control model, all parties involved are afforded, in any stage of crime control, a lengthy list of rights. The police officers must read any suspect the Miranda warning so the suspect in informed of their rights. While in the due process the judges, before a plea, makes certain that the defendant understands exactly what he/she is pleading to and what those consequences could be to their plea. The outcome to the criminal justice system is trying to accomplish, with the crime control
Official statistics is the name given to the numbers of crimes reported to or unveiled by the police themselves, which lead to a conviction, caution or are dealt with in some formal way by the law. Only offences which are dealt with by one of the above are actually recorded in official statistics. These offences can vary from minor incidents such as a window being broken to, an offence of a more serious nature such as rape or murder. These are social problems that are constructed by society, something that goes against the 'normal' runnings of society. The statistics can give us an understanding as to the levels of these crimes and as to why or where they are most likely to occur.
An integral component to the infrastructure of government is law enforcement. In recent years, police actions, particularly police abuse has come into view of a wide, public and critical eye. While citizens worry about protecting themselves from criminals, it has now been shown that they must also keep a watchful eye on those who are supposed to protect and serve. This paper will discuss the types of police abuse prevalent today, including the use of firearms and recovery of private information. I will also discuss what and how citizens’ rights are taken advantage of by the police.