1.1 Examine the effectiveness of the roles of personnel involved in criminal
investigations
Police officers
- First personnel to arrive on the scene
- Use golden hour to collect vital evidence, they have the role of securing crime
scenes during this golden hour and safeguarding the public and calling other
services if needed. They preserve life and try to conserve evidence.
- They are trained professionals who investigate crime and attempt to reduce it and
the fear of it.
- There are specialist units within the police service such as the Criminal
Investigation Department, CID. These officers are trained to investigate a wide
range of crimes and can call upon the assistance of various specialist sections like
firearms and underwater teams
Advantages
- All officers receive specialist training, and so they are efficient at dealing with any
crimes they may cross
- 24h availability, they can respond to crimes quickly and increase the possibility of
keeping the crime scene secure during the golden hour
Disadvantages
- Police brutality and mishandling evidence: they have also been accused of
institutional racism e.g., Stephen Lawrence and the McPherson report 1999, which
found that the investigation into his killing was ‘marred by a combination of
professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership’. The
report had 70 recommendations to show ‘zero tolerance’ for racism in society. 67
recommendations lead to changes in practices within 2yrs of the publication.
- Unethical Methods and Practices: e.g. honey trap. This was used in the case of
Colin Stagg to try and get him to confess to the murder of Rachel Nickell. An officer
named Lizzie used to show a romantic interest in him to elicit a confession. He
never confessed, however the judge still ruled that ‘excessive zeal’ has been used
to incriminate him and called police efforts ‘deceptive conduct of the grossest
kind’.
Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO)
- They may be employed by police forces or may work for private investigators, but
their role includes collecting and processing evidence from crime scenes to ensure
investigations
Police officers
- First personnel to arrive on the scene
- Use golden hour to collect vital evidence, they have the role of securing crime
scenes during this golden hour and safeguarding the public and calling other
services if needed. They preserve life and try to conserve evidence.
- They are trained professionals who investigate crime and attempt to reduce it and
the fear of it.
- There are specialist units within the police service such as the Criminal
Investigation Department, CID. These officers are trained to investigate a wide
range of crimes and can call upon the assistance of various specialist sections like
firearms and underwater teams
Advantages
- All officers receive specialist training, and so they are efficient at dealing with any
crimes they may cross
- 24h availability, they can respond to crimes quickly and increase the possibility of
keeping the crime scene secure during the golden hour
Disadvantages
- Police brutality and mishandling evidence: they have also been accused of
institutional racism e.g., Stephen Lawrence and the McPherson report 1999, which
found that the investigation into his killing was ‘marred by a combination of
professional incompetence, institutional racism and a failure of leadership’. The
report had 70 recommendations to show ‘zero tolerance’ for racism in society. 67
recommendations lead to changes in practices within 2yrs of the publication.
- Unethical Methods and Practices: e.g. honey trap. This was used in the case of
Colin Stagg to try and get him to confess to the murder of Rachel Nickell. An officer
named Lizzie used to show a romantic interest in him to elicit a confession. He
never confessed, however the judge still ruled that ‘excessive zeal’ has been used
to incriminate him and called police efforts ‘deceptive conduct of the grossest
kind’.
Scenes of Crime Officers (SOCO)
- They may be employed by police forces or may work for private investigators, but
their role includes collecting and processing evidence from crime scenes to ensure
