CRIMINOLOGY UNIT 3 - AC 1.3 Questions and Answers

CRIMINOLOGY: Unit 3 AC1.1 (Evaluate the effectiveness of investigative personnel) Scene of the Crime Officers (SOCOs) STRENGTHS >Benefitted from scientific advances in the field (DNA and AI) >Analysis of the crime scene and the evidence can decrease likelihood of wrongful convictions >Undergo training to ensure they are capable of correctly dealing with materials Scene of the Crime Officers (SOCOs) WEAKNESSES >Risk of evidence contamination though weather conditions or interference (possible misconduct) >Lengthy process which is time consuming and costly without no guarantee of conviction >Problematic testimonies, inaccuracies or misleading >Malpractice, deliberate or accidental, leading to errors Scene of the Crime Officers (SOCOs) CASES >Amanda Knox Exchange student found dead in her flat in Italy, friend Knox suspected of murder. Contamination of evidence, failures to document evidence, planted evidence to falsely incriminate >Stephen Lawrence Young boy murdered in a racially motivated attack in London. Failure to follow up on crucial evidence, loss of evidence and institutional racism