FACT FILE 3 – the police
Description of role: they need to be objective not subjective. They are usually the first personnel to
a crime scene and what they do initially is very important. officers need to safeguard the public
and attend to anyone seriously injured at the scene e.g by calling an ambulance. While their job is
to preserve life, they also secure the crime scene in order to conserve any evidence. they’re
trained professionals who investigate crime and attempt to reduce it and the fear of it. they need
to reduce the chance of contamination of evidence.
● golden hour- is the name sometimes given to the period immediately after the crime is
discovered, when officers must act quickly to preserve the scene. it is also important to
take initial witness statements from witnesses and
victims while the incident is still fresh in their mind.
● police detectives- officers who manage a range of
criminal investigations, particularly complex or serious
crimes. They work with other departments such as CID
( criminal investigations department), fraud, drugs,
firearms squad, child protection department and special
branch.
Strengths of role:
Weakness of role:
● The police have been criticized for failing to secure crime scenes and preserve evidence,
and more generally failing to investigate certain crimes e.g hate crimes, domestic abuse
etc.
● such failures can be due to incompetence in handling evidence or discriminatory in certain
officers.
Real life Case studies: the case of Stephen Lawrence led to volumes of investigation into the
metropolitan police, finding 70 years of institutionalised racism. When police arrived at the scene
Description of role: they need to be objective not subjective. They are usually the first personnel to
a crime scene and what they do initially is very important. officers need to safeguard the public
and attend to anyone seriously injured at the scene e.g by calling an ambulance. While their job is
to preserve life, they also secure the crime scene in order to conserve any evidence. they’re
trained professionals who investigate crime and attempt to reduce it and the fear of it. they need
to reduce the chance of contamination of evidence.
● golden hour- is the name sometimes given to the period immediately after the crime is
discovered, when officers must act quickly to preserve the scene. it is also important to
take initial witness statements from witnesses and
victims while the incident is still fresh in their mind.
● police detectives- officers who manage a range of
criminal investigations, particularly complex or serious
crimes. They work with other departments such as CID
( criminal investigations department), fraud, drugs,
firearms squad, child protection department and special
branch.
Strengths of role:
Weakness of role:
● The police have been criticized for failing to secure crime scenes and preserve evidence,
and more generally failing to investigate certain crimes e.g hate crimes, domestic abuse
etc.
● such failures can be due to incompetence in handling evidence or discriminatory in certain
officers.
Real life Case studies: the case of Stephen Lawrence led to volumes of investigation into the
metropolitan police, finding 70 years of institutionalised racism. When police arrived at the scene
