CTU Criminal Investigations IP Revision 2 – 4 new pages (5 – 8 pages total), APA Format Revise the attached paper and add the following sections to the fi
CTU Criminal Investigations IP Revision 2 – 4 new pages (5 – 8 pages total), APA Format
Revise the attached paper and add the following sections to the final product:
Sexual Assault Laws
What are the specific laws of your state regarding rape? Your response must be in your own words.
How do your state’s laws differentiate between adult and juvenile rape victims? Explain.
If the victim were 14 years old, the suspect were 17 years old, and the sex was consensual, how would this affect the ability to charge the suspect with the crime in your state?
What if the victim were 14, the suspect were 17, and the rape were forced—how would this then effect your ability to charge the individual?
In the given incident from the last unit, what would the likely charges be against the suspect?
Work Stress
What types of stress-relieving techniques would you recommend that an investigator use regularly? Explain.
How can stress on the crime scene affect an investigator’s conduct? Explain.
What are the department’s options when dealing with a detective who is under a lot of stress?
What would you recommend be done with an investigator who is under a significant amount of stress? Why?
Can the department force the detective to get psychological help to combat the stress? Running head: CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
Criminal Investigations
Student Name
Colorado Technical University
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CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
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Criminal Investigations
Investigating a crime like juvenile sex crimes requires not only experience but also a
comprehensive understanding of methods and approaches in evidence and scene processing,
taking statements from victims and witness as well as interrogating the suspect. Further, officers
need requisite training to enhance their skills in juvenile sex crimes investigation. Using a case
study, this paper addresses the above issues in a comprehensive manner.
Evidence and Scene Processing
The examination of a crime scene and subsequent search needs to be conducted in a
careful and methodical way. In collecting and processing evidence from a crime scene, the CSI
main goals include preservation of the evidence for analysis and collecting it so that it can be
used in a court of law (National Institute of Justice, 2017). Subsequently, the list of evidence in
this juvenile sex crime scene includes the underpants that the 14-year-old wore, the beddings
used for forensic analysis on fingerprints. Further, the victim’s body fluids like her vaginal fluid
may be taken as well as the suspect’s innerwear. The entire motel room is an evidence scene that
should be condoned off (Laytone, 2018). Therefore, given that the suspect has confessed to
having sex with the minor, biological evidence will be the most critical.
Secondly, the crime scene should be protected using police marking tapes and should
only have authorized personnel accessing it. Evidence recovery in this case entails taking clothes
from the victim and the beddings that they used. Further, evidence should be collected and
packaged appropriately to preserve its integrity. In addition, the evidence log should be
maintained (National Institute of Justice, 2017). Labeled paper bags would be used to transport
the underwear of the girl while the body fluid samples will be transported in a specialized sexual
crime kit. A DNA analysis would be performed in the lab to ascertain the perpetrator of the
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crime is the 35-year-old man even though he has already confessed National Institute of Justice,
2018).
However, after reading the scenario, it is evident that the crime scene contamination
problem will arise because the scene was never protected as the motel management and several
police officers stopped by. Further, my partner is interviewing the victim at the scene which
exacerbates the contamination. Scene of crime should be protected so that the integrity of the
collected evidence is maintained for presentation in a court (Schiro, 2018). The evidence
collected at the contaminated scene may not play a huge incriminating role because it is
tampered with (Shein, 2017). However, it will give vital clues on what happened during the
incident. Thirdly, a search warrant won’t be required at the crime scene because the suspect is in
custody and the scene has also been accessed already by different police officers including the
lead investigator.
Victim and Witness Statements, Suspect Interrogation
The process of obtaining a statement from both suspect and the victim entails conducting
interviews and interrogations with each in different locations or times and recording what they
say. For the victim, the interviewing will be appropriate because she is a minor and the suspect
has already confessed of having committed the offense. On the other hand, the suspect will be
questioned as well as interrogated because of the prevailing circumstances that include
reasonable grounds because he was running away and has confessed to the crime. It is not
possible to use the information offered to the patrol officers by the suspect after his arrest
because the information was obtained in violation to due process and Miranda rights or the Fifth
Amendment (McKay-McCoy, 2019). Interviewing the suspect at the scene of crime and
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threatening them is a violation of their constitutional rights as depicted in Fourteenth
Amendment as well as the Fifth Amendment (Grabel, 2018).
Lying to the suspect to obtain information is a direct violation of the exclusionary rule
implying that any evidence obtained in illegal manner cannot be admissible in a court (Shein,
2017). Lying goes against the rights of the defendant and this rule is grounded in the Fourth
Amendment and protects violations of the Sixth Amendment. In case, the partner reads the
suspect their Miranda rights before interrogation, the evidence can be used.
Deception, especially strategic deception, is an invaluable instrument to obtain
information when suspects waive their rights to an attorney and opt to remain silent. Therefore,
after the ruling in Frazier v. Cupp (1969), the Supreme Court ruled that police officers could use
deception in certain cases (Cain, 2015).
I would prefer to interview the female victim in the police station or headquarters in the
specialized juvenile sexual crimes unit’s room. The interview should be conducted by me, my
partner, and personnel in charge of child protection in the police division. It should be conducted
using witness statements, existing evidence and interrogating the victim while recording her
testimonies. The interviewer should both the suspect and the victim leading, interrogative, and
deceptive questions to obtain information from them. These types of questions will reveal several
issues that led to the sexual relationship, any disorders and family problems, as well as
personality challenges.
Training Needs
Sex crimes investigators require specialized training on dealing with potential and
suspected sexual offenders; especially in juvenile sex crimes. Imperatively, training needs
include programs on criminal profiling techniques in investigation, prosecution and monitoring
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sex crime offenders. Training is also essential in initial response area, interviewing and
interrogation of suspect, and stress management for sexual offender investigators. A rookie
detective requires training on managing stress related to suspect interrogation, legal and ethical
aspects in sexual assault investigations and collecting physical evidence.
I would recommend that veteran detectives joining the sex crimes unit take requisite
training in pattern identification, investigation and initial response. The veterans should also train
on challenges that are present in sex crimes unit.
Experience plays a significant role on the type of training for either the rookie or the
veteran detective because a veteran understands some critical aspects of criminal investigation
and may only require specialized training in this regard. However, a rookie detective has
relatively less experience in crime investigation, including sex crimes. Therefore, he or she
requires more training because of little hands-on experience as compared to the veteran.
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References
Cain, N. (2015). The Use of Deception During Police Interrogations. Retrieved from
https://inpublicsafety.com/2015/12/the-use-of-deception-during-police-interrogations-2/
Grabel, S. (2018). Criminal Amendments in the Bill of Rights. Retrieved from
https://www.grabellaw.com/criminal-amendments-in-the-bill-of-rights.html
Laytone, J. (2018). How Crime Scene Investigation Works. Retrieved from
https://science.howstuffworks.com/csi4.htm
McKay-McCoy, M. (2019). The Miranda Warning and the Sixth Amendment. Retrieved from
http://www.tdcorg.com/article/?a=50
National Institute of Justice (2017). Sexual Assault Cases: Exploring the Importance of NonDNA Forensic Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.nij.gov/journals/279/Pages/nondna-evidence-in-sexual-assault-cases.aspx
National Institute of Justice (2018). DNA Evidence: Basics of Identifying, Gathering and
Transporting. Retrieved from
https://www.nij.gov/topics/forensics/evidence/dna/basics/pages/identifying-totransporting.aspx
Schiro, G. (2018). Collection and Preservation of Evidence. Retrieved from https://www.crimescene-investigator.net/evidenc3.html
Shein, M (2017). The Exclusionary Rule Exceptions. Retrieved from
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