protecting crime scenes, assisting victims in preserving physical of it so that justice can be served. Minimal contamination of the crime scene is extremely important in responding to crimes. Other first responders are arriving on the scene; they should scan the area for vehicles or individuals leaving the immediate area. Before finding an assisting victim, first responder should quickly scan the area to look and listen for dangers. Hazards may include dangerous individuals, threatening animals, what beans or hazardous materials. Potential evidence should be noted to avoid contamination or disturbance. If a suspect is apprehended by police officials, they should follow departing from a call to restrain and remove him or her from the scene. |
Week 2 Class Discussion
What legal authority do the investigators have to search for and gather the evidence? Consent? Open fields? etc. The investigators have the right to search a crime scene and gather evidence if there is probable cause, and fallowing the laws. Probable cause is more than reasonable suspicion. Such as CSI’s are called out to a scene where a victim was murdered, as they arrive they notice that nothing seems to be taken. They start to think why was this person killed in the first place, they need to search the whole house and grounds for evidence to find out why he/she was killed.
Should a search warrant have been obtained in this situation? Why or why not? That depends if there is another person involved and they do not allow the investigators to search the property. The investigators would then need to issue a search warrant to search the whole property.
If you were a defense attorney, what challenges would you launch to the admissibility or the relevance to the evidence obtained? Making sure that when the CSI’s gathered evidence they did everything by the book. One mistake could cost then the evidence and the whole case as well.
How should the chain of evidence be maintained for this situation? Limit the amount of people that handle the evidence. While gathering the evidence the people handling it need to label it with the person’s name and the date it was handled, also if it was reopened another day too. Keep all evidence safe until the case goes to court.
What search pattern should have been used in the crime scene depicted? Make sure that all the stories of the people that entered the house are similar, and that evidence was handled correctly.
Week 3 Class Discussion * How credible is the information your department has received? * The information can be credible if your department was already looking in to the situation in the first place but was missing information. Knowing that they got some more information could be worth looking into and investigating as well. * Is the information enough to obtain a search warrant? Why or why not? * No I would say there is not enough information or evidence to get a search warrant. Most of the information would be considered hearsay and that only goes so far, your department would need to see a hand to hand deal going down before they can get a search warrant. * What are some investigative steps you can take to gather more intelligence on this case? * A steak out could be useful information. That while being outside the house you could possibly get that hand to hand deal going down that you would need. Or send in an undercover into the residence as a way to get the hand to hand deal that you would need. Police use undercover officers all the time to get the bad guys in the act.
Week 4 Class Discussion | Do you feel arrests made on TV (movies, news, "COPS," etc.) affect the general public 's perception of what constitutes a legal arrest in an investigation?
I can see how the general public may take what they see on crime shows or different movies seriously. The different shows do an awesome job of making everything look real and that can be confusing to some because not everything you see on TV is real, there may some parts that are right and others are not.I personality love watching CSI (Vegas & NY), Criminal Minds, The Mentalist. They are some of my favorite TV shows I like to watch, I didn 't want to study Criminal Justice because of watching them and wanting to do what they do, I wanted to study Criminal Justice because of a personal matter that had happened to me. I want to help people, maybe watching different crime shows or movies may have helped push me in this direction.People who watch forensic and crime dramas on TV are more likely than non-viewers to have a distorted perception of America 's criminal justice system, according to new research from Purdue University. "These kinds of shows, such as 'CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, ' 'Law & Order, ' 'Cold Case ' and 'The Closer, ' are some of the most popular programs on television today, so it 's important that we understand how they might influence people," says Glenn Sparks, a professor of communication who studies mass media effects. "We know they have inspired people to pursue careers in forensic science and law enforcement, but what are some of their other effects? We found that people, who watch these shows regularly are more likely to overestimate the frequency of serious crimes, misperceive important facts about crime and misjudge the number of workers in the judicial system." (Patterson Neubert, 2009)ReferencesPatterson Neubert, A. (2009). Tv crime shows warp perceptions of criminaljustice system. In A. Patterson Neubert (Ed.), Does arrests made on TV, MOVIES, COPS, affect the general public 's perception on what constitutes a legal arrest in an investigation?. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcommunities.com/articles/TV-Crime-Shows-Warp-Perceptions-of.html |
Week 5 Class Discussion
Did the patrol officer conduct his investigation correctly? Yes I believe that the patrol officer conducted his investigation correctly. * Was the stop legal? Yes the stop was legal, the suspect was speeding. * Was the search legal? Yes the patrol officer’s search was legal because he was given permission to search the vehicle, while searching the drugs were in the open. * Was the interrogation legal? Yes the suspect had his Miranda rights read to him.
Identify the motivation for the informant. How could this affect your investigation? The suspect had to cooperate with the officers due to him not wanting to go back to prison. He stated he has a girlfriend with a new baby. It seems the suspect is willing to cooperate with the investigation and is willing to do anything to stay out of prison, including giving up the names of the others involved.
Is the informant a reliable informant? If not, how can we make him into a reliable informant? Nobody is reliable; criminals will do or say anything to stay out of prison. I don’t believe that you can make someone reliable, it just so happens that this suspect was reliable and gave up helpful information about the crime.
What are the goals of the investigation? The goals would be to get all the proper information and check the information that was given. If names were given check the names in the data base to see if these people have any other prior crimes or warrants.
How will you use the informant to further the goals of the investigation? Make sure that the information is double checked. The suspect could give more information on others involved including the dealer and supplier.
How will you conduct the interrogation of the suspect? I would inform him again of his rights. I would then inform him of where we are and where he stands in the investigation, and ask him for his full cooperation. * Will you Mirandize the suspect again? Why or why not? No I wouldn’t need to read him his right a third time he is not being charged for anything new. * List the questions you want to ask. How did you get involved in this drug trafficking lifestyle? Who all is involved and what part do they play? Is there anything else that you want to say? * What written statements do you want to obtain? I would want his full confession and who all is involved and the parts that they play in this crime. * What promises will you make to the suspect? Any? None, But the subject may receive a reduced sentence or be excluded completely if he decides to fully cooperate with the investigation.
Explain why it is important to consult the prosecuting attorney in these cases and explain when you should contact him or her. Quoted by Michelle Moutry “It is important to consult the prosecuting attorney in these cases because the prosecuting attorney will be the one presenting the case to court for a conviction.”
Week 6 Class Discussion * What are the most common motivations for the commission of the crime of robbery? People commit crimes for many different reasons. They may be desperate and need cash like yesterday and are willing to do whatever to get it. Even if that is robbing a person or committing a burglary to get money. * Discuss the distinction between someone who has been robbed and someone who has been burglarized. The 2 get mistaken for the same thing even though they are similar in the means for theft. A robbery is when someone uses force to steal something from someone; burglary is when someone breaks into a building with the means to commit a crime. * I have been robbed, it was about 2 years ago I was in a parking lot walking to my car with my daughter when a older man approached me with a knife in his hand. I was scared and upset at the same time. I was scared because i had my daughter who was 2 at the time with me and I had no clue what this man was going to do. I was upset because I work hard for my money and all he is doing is taking the easy way by robbing me to get quick cash. I normally don’t carry cash in my wallet but thank goodness I had a $20, I got in my wallet and handed him the $20 and he took it and ran off right after. I was so shaken up I started crying and someone who was walking by asked if I was okay I told them what just happen and they said I’m glad you’re okay and hugged me. They told me that someone they knew the same thing happen but they didn’t have cash on them and the theft killed them out of anger for not having any money on hand. It’s awful that we all work so hard for our money and people think they can just rob us and get cash easy instead of working for your money. I have personally not been burglarized or known anyone who has but I would think the same emotions would be in play anger and sadness and scared. * How is an understanding of the robber 's MO valuable in investigating a robbery? MO stands for modi operandi in Latin and in English it means method of operation. The term is used to understand a person’s habits. Younger people steal from the department store to save money or they don’t have money or enough to pay for the item. Young people may do this more if they didn’t get caught the first couple times and think this is easy, I don’t have to pay for these things and I could get away with this forever. They may grow up doing the same thing not thinking its wrong or feel bad because they might not have been taught properly about right from wrong or they just don’t care. Until one day they finally get caught and they go to jail for a stupid crime and forever be labeled as a thief. * Honestly we may never know why people do what they do.
Week 7 Class Discussion * What is the definition of consent? * Verb; to give assent, as to the proposal of another; agree. To be of the same mind or opinion. * Noun; acceptance or approval of what is planned or done by another. Agreement as to opinion or a course of action. * Is the lack of resistance consent? * It can be. A rape victim may fight with their rapist or be in so much shock that they don’t do anything or in some cases they may be unconscious during the awful event. Most rape cases are all different. * Can a party involved in sexual intercourse suddenly withdraw consent? * Yes both may want what is going on to continue but maybe one changes their mind and is not ready, then if the other person gets mad they may continue without permission from the one that didn’t want to continue. In these cases it can be hard to call it rape because it can be hard to tell if one is lying or wants revenge on the other. It can be considered rape if the one not wanting to continue is under age. * What evidence is important to corroborate lack of consent? * Possibly defense marks on the victim. In a woman’s case tearing of the vagina. Most men don’t report their rape if done by another man. Most everything that happens to a woman can happen to a man, they just don’t always report it.
Week 8 Class Discussion
Locate an actual case of an abduction that has been in the media and discuss the case within the framework of an investigation. Consider:
Time is an abducted child’s worst enemy. Seventy-four percent of abducted children who are murdered are killed within three hours of their abduction. It takes, on the average, two hours for a parent to report a child missing. This gives responders only one hour to get an investigation up and running in an attempt to locate and recover the child alive. Jaycee Lee Dugard was kidnapped on June 10, 1991 at age 11 in South Lake Tahoe, Ca. She was on her way to the school bus to take her to school in morning. She remained missing for 18 years. Her kidnapping became known on August 26, 2009 by being seen on UC Berkley’s campus with her kidnappers. Phillip Garrido and his wife Nancy Garrido were arrested for kidnapping and other charges on April 28, 2011 they pleaded guilty to her kidnapping and sexual assault. While Jaycee was being held captive for 18 years she had 2 daughters by Phillip they were 11 and 15 when they were found. On June 2, 2011 Phillip Garrido was sentenced with 431 years in prison and his wife received 36 years to life. * If you were the first officer on the scene, what would you do? What would you ask? * I would make sure that the scene was secure and both suspects were taken care of before going over and making sure that Jaycee and her daughters where okay. I would be very respectful to all the girls and talk to them tell them that they are going to be okay and will never have to come back here again. I would then take them over to the hospital to get checked out and then start my report by asking Jaycee some questions if she was up to it and if not then another day but insuring her that we will have to talk to her sometime about this to get the investigation started. * What follow-up investigative strategies could the assigned investigator use to try to solve this case? Gathering all Jaycee information about what she remembered about the day she was taken ad the days that followed up to her being found. Look at where she and her daughters were being held and taking lots of pictures and getting statements from everyone that is involved, even if they had no idea what was going on such as a neighbor.
Week 9 Class Discussion
Identify the sentences the defendants received for their crimes.
Since 1993, Larry Smith has spent time in jail and prison. He 's obtained welfare and Medicare benefits, and got married. But the ex-con is not really Larry Smith -- he is Joseph Kidd, posing as Smith. The real Larry Smith is 67, lives in Florida and has experienced 17 years of trouble because of Kidd 's adventures. The real Smith has no criminal record, but was jailed for eight days and had liens against his taxes because Kidd tarnished his record. Smith was also denied medical care and had his driver 's license suspended, the station reports. Placer County Sheriffs Deputies discovered that Kidd had filed for welfare benefits under the false name and was arrested soon after. Kidd now sits in Placer County Jail facing identity theft charges along with welfare fraud and grand theft as well. It is unsure if Kidd knew the real Smith. (FoxNews, …show more content…
2011)
Should the penalties for these property crimes be so severe? Yes they should and I think they should even be more severe, once your identity has been stolen it is very hard to prove that this has happen to you and now you have to prove that your who you say you are. This has happen to my father and luckily it didn’t last for very long to completely mess up his credit but not everyone is so lucky. It can take year and years to finally catch the person that has stolen your identity and it takes even longer to get your life back to the way that it was before all this identity problems happen to you.
In some cases the penalties are higher than those for sexual assault or battery.
What do you think? . I also know someone that has stolen someone’s identity. My daughter’s father stole someone’s elses social number, he had a fake social card made for him with his name but someone’s elses number on it and he used it to do everything. My daughter’s father was an illegal alien and was deported for not having the proper paper work to be in the United States and for stolen identity and domestic and child abuse. I believe that he got what was coming to him. I’m not being hateful and keeping him away from my daughter but if you look at all the evidence it adds up and got punished for his crimes. I never did find out whose identity he stole. All I can say is that I wish I could have done something to notify him/her what was going
on.
References
FoxNews. (2011). 17-year-long identity theft case ends with arrest of california man. In Identity Theft. FoxNees. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/02/02/year-long-identity-theft-case-ends-arrest-california-man/
Week 10 Class Discussion
Should lawmakers pass legislation that would: * Require manufacturers to install technology that can track vehicle locations at all times (using GPS) in case cars are stolen or are used in the commission of a crime? * I don’t see anything wrong with installing GPS in company vehicles. That will help the company track all their vehicles and help to possibly track the vehicle if it has been stolen as well. * Require all vehicle owners and operators to lock their vehicle when it is not occupied? * I personally think that is common sense to lock your vehicle once you leave it. Honestly you can’t trust anybody in today’s world. * Make it a misdemeanor if anyone leaves keys in the car and a juvenile steals the car and is injured? * No the person that owns the vehicle should not be charged with anything because they didn’t commit the crime or ask for their vehicle to be stolen. Example if a parent’s parks their vehicle in their garage at their house and leaves the keys in it and their teenager takes the vehicle out without letting the parents know, should the parent be charged for their teenager stealing their vehicle, No they shouldn’t! Leaving the keys in the vehicle is convenient but there are ways to steal a vehicle without having the keys by hot wiring the vehicle too. * Make it a felony if anyone leaves keys in the car and a juvenile steals the car and is killed? * Same as above. The person’s who’s vehicle was stolen was not their fault and they shouldn’t be charged with anything. It would be awful if something did happen like them getting killed or killing someone else but it wasn’t their fault and shouldn’t be charged with anything. But again I think it is again common sense to take your keys with you and lock your vehicle when you’re not going to be using it anymore that day when you’re in public, I personally don’t lock my car when I’m at home when my vehicle is parked in my garage.
What liability should owners have if their car is stolen? Should an owner have any? * No the owner shouldn’t be liable for their car getting stolen, they didn’t ask for it to get stolen. Why should someone get charged for their vehicle getting stolen and the person that stole the vehicle committing a crime or even killing someone? I don’t think that is fair on the person whose vehicle got stolen.