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Chapter 9: Assault, Domestic Violence, Stalking and Elder Abuse

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Chapter 9: Assault, Domestic Violence, Stalking and Elder Abuse

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Oftentimes, victims and witnesses do not wish to testify in court, creating challenges for law enforcement.

However, most departments prioritize domestic violence and have even prosecuted cases where the victim did not wish to pursue criminal charges.

Assault is different than battery in that an assault can take place by an overt act towards an assault that does not occur or by placing someone in immediate fear of a battery.

Evidence in an assault case can include: photos of injuries, clothing, weapons, bloodstains, hairs and fibers.

Domestic violence occurs in three stages: tension building, acute battering episode, honeymoon phase.

in 50% of domestic violence related homicides, police have previously responded to the address for domestic assaults.

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Although anyone can be the victim of a sexual assault, many offenders are mentally ill and know their victim.

Sex offenses are categorized as bigomy, child molestation, incest, indecent exposure, prostitution and rape.

There are many challenges that investigators face when handling these kinds of crimes.
They include the sensitive nature of these offenses, social attitudes, and the victim's horror or embarrassment.

Rape kits performed at a hospital are important evidence, as they can provide DNA and hair and fibers.

Date rape is a common form of rape in which drugs are used to incapacitate the victim.

Investigators must use empathy when interviewing victims of these crimes, as they may be reluctant to provide details.

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The Justice Department's top priority is to assist law enforcement in the fight against terrorism. The events of September 11, 2001 represented a paradigm shift for law enforcement in their response to terrorism.  For street officers, crime fighting and terrorism go hand in hand.

The definition of terrorism is systematic violence that is actual or threatened against noncombatant targets to create a climate of fear in order to bring religious, social or political change.

Terrorism can be either domestic or international, depending on who commits it and where.

International Islamic Terrorist Groups include Herballah, HAMAS, al-Qaeda, ISIS and others.

Domestic terror groups in the United States include White and Black Supremacists, militia groups, left or right wing extremists, animal rights or environmental extremists, or homegrown violent extremists.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations has jurisdiction over most acts of terrorism in the United States, although they depend on the assistance of state and local law enforcement to combat and investigate terrorism.

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Arson is the malicious, willful burning of a building or property. It is one of the oldest crimes and is amongst the most difficult to prove. Police officers oftentimes partner with fire departments or fire marshals in order to conduct these investigations.

Investigators typically categorize fires into four types: Natural, Accidental, Intentional or Unknown

When responding to an arson scene, investigators must observe victims and witnesses, vehicles leaving the scene, flame and smoke conditions, conditions surrounding the scene, and the status of alarms and sprinklers

Typically arson calls are usually received by the fire department.  Once arson is established, arson investigators are called to prove the crime.

Arson investigators refer to the "fire triangle" when determining conditions necessary for a fire to start.  This consists of Air, Fuel and Heat.

Potential indicators of arson include the presence of Accelerants, Igniters, the point of origin and trailers

Arsons are typically difficult cases to prove. Almost 90 percent of them go unpunished. They are oftentimes not witnessed and based on circumstantial evidence.

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Many times, people confuse burglary and robbery.  A robbery is a crime where a suspect uses violence to take property from a victim.  A burglary involves breaking into a residence to steal from the victim. Burglars oftentimes seek to avoid the victim all together, while a robber will specifically target their victim.

Burglaries are explained by Routine Activities Theory, which states that three elements must be present for the crime to be committed: a motivated offender, suitable target and lack of guardianship.  Removing any of these three from the equation can prevent the robbery from occurring.

While the elements of burglary as a crime vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, they typically include: entering a structure, without consent, with the intent to commit a crime.

There is no set profile for the average burglar.  They come in all shapes, sizes ages, races and occupations.  They can be either amateurs or professionals. Most burglaries are committed with money or drugs as the motivation.

Physical evidence common in burglary scenes includes fingerprints, footprints, tool marks, tire prints, safe insulation, and personal possessions accidentally left behind.

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Interviews and Interrogations: Chapter 6

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Interviews and Interrogations: Chapter 6

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Interviews and Interrogations are two separate but related tasks.  An interview is when an investigator questions a cooperative witness, while an interrogation is when an investigator questions a suspect.

For both interviews and interrogations, an investigator must be able to both listen to and observe the witness or suspect.

For both types of questioning, it is important that an investigator plan ahead. This is especially true considering that a witness can sometimes later become a suspect as the case advances.

During interrogations, it is essential that law enforcement follow and respect constitutional protections, especially the requirement for Miranda warnings.

If a suspect invokes his or her rights, the invocation must be respected. This can lead to dismissal of evidence or entire cases being thrown out of court

Unethical interrogation tactics can lead to false confessions. They are often the result of unnecessarily suggestive or heavy handed approaches to the interrogation.

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In order to conduct ethically and legally sound investigations, officers must use the scientific principles when processing a scene and conducting an investigation.

The main categories of evidence are Testimonial, Documentary, Demonstrative and Physical

The CSI effect is a term used to describe the unrealistic burden society and juries place on law enforcement to conduct swift and complete investigations. It stems from the popularity of investigation related television shows and movies that show law enforcement unrealistically completing investigations with types of evidence that do not exist, cannot normally be found, or are not scientifically valid in an unreasonable amount of time.

Investigators must ensure that crime scenes and evidence aren't contaminated. They must also ensure its integrity and chain of custody.

Frequently analyzed evidence includes fingerprints, voice samples, DNA, blood, hair and fibers, shoe and tire impressions, bite marks, tool marks, firearms and ammunition, glass, soil, safe insulation, ropes and strings, drugs, documents, and many others

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Report writing is oftentimes one of the most overlooked aspects of an investigation. It is one of the most essential skills an investigator must develop and captures the essence of the entire investigation. Poor reports can jeopardize an entire investigation.

Reports will be read by many different people for a variety of reasons, including prosecuting attorneys for preparing a case, responding officers when testifying, by a judge in determining facts, and by a jury when the case goes to trial.

The cornerstone of good report writing is organization. The investigator should plan out the report in advance, possibly in the form of an outline, and must list the facts of the case in chronological order.

The characteristics of an effective report are content, form, factualness, accuracy, and objectiveness.

They should be grammatically correct,  complete, concise and clear.

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In order for a case to succeed, it is essential that investigators properly and thoroughly document the crime scene.

This comes in several formats, including notes, photographs ,videos and sketches.

An investigator will prepare his or her notes on the scene and later use them to complete an incident report documenting their observations and actions at the scene of the crime. Effective notes must be legible, clear, in chronological order and well-organized.

Crime scene photographs depict and record the evidence a s it appears.  They are used to show the jury what happened and the significance of evidence in relation to the scene. Photographs should be taken at close, medium and long range to show the details of evidence itself as well as its relation to the crime scene.

Crime Scene sketches act as investigative aids by portraying the physical facts of a case, indicating the precise location of objects in relation to each other, creating a permanent record of the scene, and by helping to create a mental picture of the scene.