Criminal Investigation Module 2.1
Criminal Investigation Module 2.1
Criminal Investigation Module 2.1
Forms of Investigation
1. Formal Investigation
It refers to official inquiry conducted by a government agency in an effort to uncover facts and
determine the truth.
2. Inquest
It is an effort to search the basic cause of an incident such as the commission of a crime.
3. Inquisition
A more historical description than a current usage to describe any penetrating investigation
concerning a religious issue.
4. Probe
Similar to formal investigation, is an extensive, searching inquiry conducted by a
government agency.
5. Research
It is the most employed type of investigation refers to the careful, patient investigation
done by scientist or scholars in their efforts to identify original sources of data or causes of problem.
Proactive Investigation - these are designed to catch a criminal in the act of committing a crime.
a. Decoy operations are of blending and decoy types to catch criminals in flagrante delicto.
Chapter 4
SURVEILLANCE AND UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS
SURVEILLANCE - consist of keeping persons, place or other targets under physical observation.
SURVEILLANT defined- The surveillant is the person who conducts the surveillance or performs
the observations.
Surveillance of places
Tailing or Shadowing
Undercover investigation or “ Roping”
Types of Surveillance
a. According to Intensity and Sensitivity
● Discreet – subject is unaware that he/she is under observation
● Close- subject is aware that he/she is under observation varied on each occasion
● Loose- applied frequently or in frequently, and period of observation varied on each occasion.
b. According to Methods
● Stationary – observation of place usually a bookies stall, gambling joint, or a residence where illegal
activities are committed ( fixed point position)
● Moving – surveillants follow the subject from place to place to maintain continuously watch/observe
of his/her activities.
● Technical – uses communication and electronic hardwares, gadgets, systems and equipment.
Shadowing or tailing
- act of the surveillant of following his subject to detect criminal activities.
Roping
- surveillant assumes different roles and identity in order to obtain information
Shadowing /Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior without the target being made aware that they
are being monitored, and tailing is a specific method of following an individual / person to know and
capture the activities in the form of photographs and videos.
On the basis of supporting videos and/or photos, this process actually makes it possible to accurately
retrace the events and actions of the subject being followed, irrespective of how the subject travels
about.
a. One Man Shadow – commonly used because of at least number of men involved.
b. Two-Man Shadow – this is more advantageous because it permits immediate change and are
less likely to be recognized. One officer will follow the subject and the other will keep abreast or
on the opposite side of the street.
c. Three-Man Shadow or ABC Shadow – otherwise known as ABC method.
A is closest to the subject S. He follows S at a distance depending on the pedestrian traffic. While
B follows A about the same distance between A and S.
USE OF CONVOY- The subject employs other partners to detect if he is being tailed
UNDERCOVER OPERATION
Defined it is a police operation wherein the investigator assumes a fictitious in order to infiltrate
the ranks of the criminals for the purpose of obtaining information. This is only resorted to as a
final option if no other effective means of obtaining information is available. It is a last resort
because of the risk involved which may cause the loss of life or limb of the investigator. This is called
“Roping”
Gathering evidence
Gathering Information
Counter Intelligence
Installation of Surveillance equipment
Loyalty check
Penetrating Subversive organization
Basis for a successful raid
Chapter 5
Informant - any person who gives information to the police authorities relative to a crime.
The Types of Informants
● Anonymous Informant - A person who gives information to the police both about themselves and
what they witnessed is a “citizen informant.
● Rival-Elimination Informant - maintains identity being anonymous. His purpose is to eliminate rival
person or gang due to competition or other motives such as revenge & etc
● False Informant - These are the type of informants who intentionally provides misleading
information mostly but not always, to direct police attention away from an illegal and ongoing
offence by himself or herself, friends, or relatives.
● Frightened Informant - possesses fear or has self interest in giving information to the police. He
might be one of the lesser gang member who runs to the police when his gang mates are about to
be involved in a dangerous situation or when the gang is hot on the police trail.
● Self-Aggrandizing Informant - moves around the centers of criminals, group or syndicate &
delights in surprising the police about bits of information.To counter this kind of informant, the
police apply deception method by giving him false information that will lead to his capture.
● Confidential Informant - A SECRET SOURCE WHO, THROUGH A CONTACT OFFICER, SUPPLIES
INFORMATION ON CRIMINAL ACTIVITY TO THE POLICE OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT.
● Mercenary Informant - They provide information to the police for financial reward.
● Double-Crosser Informant - he/she gives information, but the objective is also to get more
information from the police and their activities.
Motives of Informants
● Vanity - the quality of being vain, or having a ridiculous amount of pride
● Civic Mindedness - having, showing, or actively carrying out one's concern for the condition and
affairs of one's community; public-spirited.
● Fear - an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger.
● Repentance - the action of repenting; sincere regret or remorse.
Dismissal of Informants
● The handler should avoid antagonizing the informant.
● Explain properly and humanely the reasons of dismissal.
● If file of the informant exists, dismissal must be in writing for future references.
The Informer
is a person who provides information to the police on a regular basis. They are either paid regularly
or in a case-to-case basis, or none at all.
Chapter 6
GATHERING OF EVIDENCE
Evidence
--Evidence, in law, any of the material items or assertions of fact that may be submitted to a
competent tribunal as a means of ascertaining the truth of any alleged matter of fact under
investigation before it.
-Evidence in criminal law, is the means, sanctioned by these rules, of ascertaining in a judicial
proceeding the truth respecting a matter of fact.
-Evidence in legal sense, it is relevant if it logically goes to proving or disproving some fact at issue in
the prosecution. It is admissible if it relates to the facts in issue, or to circumstances that make those
facts probable or improbable, and has been properly obtained.
Classification of Evidence
Direct evidence is those evidence who are evidence of precise point in issue.
Indirect evidence, also sometimes referred to as circumstantial evidence, is a fact or set of facts that,
if true, allow a person can infer the fact at issue.
Circumstantial Evidence. It may be defined as any fact from the existence of which the judge may
infer the existence of a fact in issue. It is not the evidence direct to the point in issue, but evidence
of various facts other than facts in issue which are so connected with the facts in issue that taken
together they form a chain of circumstances leading to an inference or presumption of the principal
fact.
Real Evidence - It is an evidence in material form produced before the court so as to enable the
court to draw its own conclusion or inference by using its own senses.
Primary Evidence- It is one, which under every possible circumstance affords the greater certainty of
the facts in question. It is also referred to as the best evidence, or that kind of proof, which under
any possible circumstances, affords the greatest certainty to the facts in question.
Secondary Evidence - It is an evidence which is admitted in the absence of primary evidence. For
example, if a letter is lost, it is as good to recite it from memory or to produce a copy. However, it is
within the powers of the court subject to the Act to decide whether a document produced is the
original or not and until the judge decides no secondary evidence can be put in.
Documentary Evidence - It means all documents produced for the inspection of the court. The
contents of a document may be proved by primary evidence or secondary evidence as the case may
be. Documents will include any matter expressed or described upon any substance by means of
letters, figures or marks, or by more than one of those means intended to be used, which may be
used, for the purpose of recording that matter.
Conclusive Evidence - Where no party is permitted to contradict that piece of evidence. It usually
originates from a rule of law. For example, an infant is incapable of committing a criminal offence.
Thus, conclusive evidence is absolute evidence of a fact for all purposes for which it is introduced in
evidence.
Oral Evidence - It is the evidence of fact brought to the knowledge of the court by verbal statements
of a witness. It is also referred to as parole evidence and it is confined to words spoken only. Oral
evidence will only be admissible if the witness has perceived it by one of his senses.
Chapter 7
(Failure to observe anyone of these steps may ruin your investigation or render any Laboratory
findings useless.)
Photographs - Any necessary photographs should be taken prior to removal of possible evidence.
Photographs must accurately reflect the scene or specific evidence.
Marking Evidence - If an object can be marked, by all means mark it; and when its size permits, mark
it in such a way that it becomes unique to the particular case. As an example, your initials, serial
number that can easily be written on a hand-rolled cigarette with a fiber or ball point pen.
Marking containers - Appropriate containers ranging from large plastic bags to small pill vials and
coin envelopes should be chosen for the packaging of any physical evidence collected. The
containers must not allow loss or contamination of the evidence. Once the evidence is in a suitable
container, it should be sealed and the seal initialed and dated. The information written on the
envelope or container should include:
Date and time collected
Location found
Suspect's name
Officer's name and Signature
Disposition of the evidence
Date and time of transfer
(Multiple items should be itemized and the item numbers placed on the envelope or container.)
Photography/Preservation of Evidence:
i. Overall photos should be taken from several different locations;
ii. If an interior scene, a wide angle lens should be used;
iii. Photograph the surrounding area thoroughly.
iv. Evidence, whenever possible, will be photographed as it is found in its location.
v. Images should include some form of scale in the photograph.
vi. Photographs may also be used to show the relationship of the evidence within the entire scene.
vii. Note the lighting available and weather conditions.
viii. Provide a log indicating the chronological order in which the photographs were taken and note
such things as: date and time, name of photographer, case number, location of where photo was
taken, and general description of the photographs’ contents.
- In many instances, marking and labeling of evidence may represent a single process. In
those instances where the evidence is of such a large size or nature, complete identifying
date may be recorded, directly on the evidence. This will include the officer’s name, date,
time, and location of recovery, item number and case number.
- In other instances, the small size or nature of the item collected will not permit that
complete information to be noted directly on the item. In these instances, the container
or attached tag/bag should be marked.
- All officers/crime scene technician should establish the habit of marking similar items in
the same location, for example, on the trouser band, or under the right front pocket of the
trousers, or on the right-hand side of the handgun. This will save time and embarrassment
in looking for the identifying marks when asked to identify the evidence on the witness
stand.
- Instruments which may be used for marking physical evidence include permanent markers
(felt tip pens), scribes or, where labels are used, ball point pens.
- The officer collecting the evidence will be the person responsible for marking or labeling
the item at the time it first comes into custody.
- Items that can be marked should be packaged or placed in an appropriate container and
sealed. Items than cannot be marked should also be placed in an appropriate container,
sealed and additionally described for identification. All items should be marked when
possible.
- Officers shall wear latex gloves when collecting evidence by hand. The officer should avoid
touching the item of evidence with his bare hands or anything that might contaminate the
evidence. The use of tongs or tweezers may assist the officer in some situations.
All items of evidence that are collected by the officer processing the crime scene will be listed.
For each item listed, the following information will be noted:
i. The source (from whom or location in which the item was obtained).
ii. The name of the person collecting the item.
iii. The date and time the item was collected.
All items packaged for submission to the forensic laboratory will have a red evidence label
placed on the seal of the specific container (envelope, box flap, etc.) Officer/investigator will
place his initials over the red evidence label which ensures laboratory personnel that the item
has not been tampered with in any way.
Chain of Custody/Evidence:
-The chain of custody is a system of accountability. Officers must be able to account for evidence
from the time it is located it until it is presented in court so the officer can testify that it has not
been tampered with or changed in any way.
-The chain of custody is best maintained by limiting control to as few persons as necessary and
by documenting each link in the chain.
Chapter 8
The definition of evidence is “anything that tends to prove or disprove a fact in contention.”
There are two types of evidence: testimonial and physical.
-Testimonial evidence is information obtained through oral statements of suspects, victims, and
witnesses.
-Physical evidence pertains to the broad category of material objects through which the crime
was committed. Physical evidence may manifest itself in what are known as different effects. We
can classify the effects as the following:
Predictable effects: These are changes to the scene or to the evidence that
happen in a regular way; for example, the succession of different insects into a dead body
(entomology), the changes in rigidness of a corpse (rigor or livor mortis), and the change of
temperature of a body after death (to determine the time of death).
Unpredictable effects: These are changes that occur in the crime scene in an
unexpected way; for example, the disturbance produced to the crime scene by the actions of
the emergency team, firemen, or just by the entry of the police.
Transitory effects: These include changes that are fragile and will be destroyed
by time or the environment. These effects must be recorded immediately after entering into the
crime scene. Examples of transitory effects would be a cigarette burning, chemical or cologne
odors, etc.
Relational details: This is evidence that enables an investigator to physically connect different
items to the scene. For example, bloodstain void patterns can indicate the location or position of
a body, gunshot wounds and/or a cluster of shells can indicate a gun was used, etc.
Functional details: This refers to the operating condition of items relevant to the scene (i.e.,
what was possible or impossible for that item to accomplish). An example of a functional detail
would be a gun operating in a normal fashion or a clock alarm set for a specific time.
When we are searching for physical evidence there are three questions that we need to
formulate:
1. What is it and what function did it have in the scene?
2. What is the relationship between it and any other items of evidence and to the whole scene
itself?
3. What information does it give us about timing and sequencing aspects?
Processing a crime scene is not a trivial task for a technician. Crime scene processors are not
merely “trash collectors.”
There are critical features that a technician should possess to accomplish the objectives of the
crime scene processing.
To understand the interpretive value of evidence, we need to consider the evidence linkage
triangle. Three entities are involved: the scene, the suspect(s), and the victim(s). Functionally, it
is the interpretation of the physical evidence that may connect these three entities.
There are critical features that a technician should possess to accomplish the objectives of crime
scene processing.
1) Knowledge:
It is critical that the technician understand what he or she is looking for; he or she must
seek the interpretive value of the evidence.
The technician must be very competent with all the equipment required to process and
document the scene. He or she must be very familiar with the use of the camera equipment.
During the processing is not a good time to start reading the manual about how to use the
camera.
3) A methodological approach:
The technician must use a method that is all encompassing and purposely regular.
4) Flexibility:
Every crime scene is unique. This is why a technician needs to maintain the flexibility to
use a different approach for each crime scene depending on the conditions and the type of
crime. This is critical, for example, in the case of finding fragile evidence.
5) A coordinated effort:
The technician must have knowledge of the responsibility of each member of the team.
There are certain issues related to the integrity of the crime scene that need to be considered
when a scene is going to be processed:
Crime scene investigation is the process by which investigators seek to answer basic
questions, including the following:
What happened?
Did all events of the crime occur within the scene?
Who was at the scene?
When was the crime scene created?
How was the crime scene created?
Crime scene investigators establish the facts by being objective and pursuing the truth. The goal
of processing the scene is to collect the maximum amount of information while minimizing
disturbance. Investigators use six steps to achieve this:
1) Assessment is conducted before any other actions are performed and is an ongoing process
throughout the crime scene investigation. The scene is initially assessed to determine its
size, complexity, personnel requirements, and security risks.
2) Observation is also an ongoing process throughout the investigation.
3) Documentation of the scene is the recording of the investigator’s observations. It includes
photography, video recording, notes, case reports, sketches, and mapping.
4) Systematic searches are conducted to locate and collect physical evidence. The search
begins with a minimally intrusive visual search and uses progressively intrusive search
techniques as the investigation continues.
5) Once the search is conducted and physical evidence is located, the collection of the
physical evidence is performed by a variety of methods.
Chapter 9
CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
is to help establish what happened (crime scene reconstruction) and to identify the
responsible person. This is done by carefully documenting the conditions at a crime scene
and recognizing all relevant physical evidence. The ability to recognize and properly collect
physical evidence is oftentimes critical to both solving and prosecuting violent crimes.
Chapter 10
Introduction
Crime scene searches and evidence collection are the backbone of criminal investigation. If the
crime scene boundaries are not adequately identified, with an appropriate search and systematic
identification and collection of evidence to follow, then cases may not be prosecutable.
Crime scenes are sources of evidence, and therefore must be painstakingly examined for both visible
and latent evidence. Searches may vary by type of crime, geography, human resources, and
availability of equipment.
Purpose of a Crime Scene Search
is to develop associative evidence that could link a suspect to the scene or a victim, and to answer
questions crucial to the investigation, such as who perpetrated the crime, how the crime was
committed, the circumstances surrounding the commission of the crime, and why the crime was
committed.
This provide a true and accurate pictorial record of the crime scene and physical evidence is present.
It provides investigators and others with a record that can be analyzed or examined subsequent to
the scene and serves as a permanent record for legal concerns.
The final task in documentation is sketching. It is the measurement or correct perspective to the
overall scene and the relevant physical evidence identified within the scene. Sketching is not
difficult, but it requires some organization and planning by the investigator in order to assure
accurate sketch results.
The process of determining and eliminating the events that occurred at the crime scene by analysis of
the crime scene appearance, the locations and the positions of the physical evidence and forensic
laboratory examination of the physical evidence.
Nature of Reconstruction
It is based on the scientific experimentation and experience of the investigator. Its steps and stages
follows basic scientific principles , theory formulation , and logical methodology.
Physical Evidence -any object or item that establishes that a crime has been committed or establishes a
link between a crime and its perpetrator or crime and its victim. Examples of physical evidence include a
document, a hair, fibers, fingerprints, soil, and blood.
Chapter 11
Search warrant
A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize law enforcement officers
to conduct a search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to confiscate any
evidence they find. In most countries, a search warrant cannot be issued in aid of civil process.
(1) Affidavit; or
(2) Oral testimony under oath or affirmation before the issuing official; or
(3) Oral testimony under oath or affirmation presented by a sworn law enforcement officer to the
issuing official by means of an audio and video transmission in which both parties can see and hear each
other
(b) If the issuing official finds that the application meets the requirements of this Article.
The name and signature of the issuing official with the time and date of issuance above his
signature; and
The name of a specific officer or the classification of officers to whom the warrant is addressed;
and
The names of the applicant and of all persons whose affidavits or testimony were given in
support of the application; and
A designation sufficient to establish with reasonable certainty the premises, vehicles, or persons
to be searched; and
A description or a designation of the items constituting the object of the search and authorized
to be seized.
Warrant of Arrest
Arrest - is the taking of a person into custody in order that he may be bound to answer for the
commission of an offense.
Arrest; how made.
An arrest is made by an actual restraint of a person to be arrested, or by his submission to the custody
of the person making the arrest.
(No violence or unnecessary force shall be used in making an arrest. The person arrested shall not be
subject to a greater restraint than is necessary for his detention.)
Execution of warrant
The head of the office to whom the warrant of arrest was delivered for execution shall cause the
warrant to be executed within ten (10) days from its receipt. Within ten (10) days after the expiration of
the period, the officer to whom it was assigned for execution shall make a report to the judge who
issued the warrant. In case of his failure to execute the warrant, he shall state the reasons therefore.
(a) When, in his presence, the person to be arrested has committed, is actually committing, or is
attempting to commit an offense;
(b) When an offense has just been committed, and he has probable cause to believe based on
personal knowledge of facts or circumstances that the person to be arrested has committed it;
and
(c) When the person to be arrested is a prisoner who has escaped from a penal establishment or
place where he is serving final judgment or is temporarily confined while his case is pending, or
has escaped while being transferred from one confinement to another.
An arrest may be made on any day and at any time of the day or night.