Topic 1.1 - Evaluate the effectiveness of the roles of personnel involved in criminal investigations (10 marks,
45 mins)
Police Officers & Detectives
Role
First personnel at the crime scene. First duty is to preserve human life, involving looking after casualties, calling an ambulance, ensuring victims are
safe, keeping the public away from the scene for their safety and ensuring that if the suspect is at the crime scene that they are arrested. Second
duty is to secure the crime scene to preserve evidence and make sure it is uncontaminated until the crime scene investigators arrive to gather it. Need
to secure the crime scene so the public can't walk there and contaminate it. At the crime scene during the ‘golden hour’ which is the period
immediately after the crime has been found. Must be efficient and fast during this time to ensure the evidence is preserved and left undisturbed. Take
witness statements or victim statements as this is when they will remember the most about what happened. PACE Act 1974 which regulates police
powers and protects public rights.
Detectives lead the investigation, involving complex or serious crime. Responsible for overseeing the crime scene initially and working with police
officers to find out important information needed to start investigating the crime. Sometimes belong to specialist departments like firearms, fraud,
child protection, the CID, special branch and drugs. All need to be objective not subjective.
Strengths
Expertise - Important role with preserving life, keeping people safe and needed in preserving evidence at crime scene which is important in bringing
the right people to justice. Police are skilled, trained professionals, some may specialise and become experts in certain fields. Wide range of areas in
which they can specialise which can help with investigating different types of crime such as air support, underwater search, dog handling, firearms
and fraud. Detectives work in specialist departments such as the CID, which make sure they're provided with knowledge and expertise needed to
investigate and deal with crime.
Expertise - Undergo training to a good standard, so they’re able to carry out their role well and are provided with specialist knowledge needed to
know what to do at a crime scene. Ensuring they don’t contaminate the evidence at the crime scene, increasing the likelihood of offender being
caught. Usually have a degree and are provided with lots of on the job training and mentoring. Detectives also have expertise, have to have many
years of experience in order to get the rank of detective. Police officers' skills are broad and general. Are visible arm of law so can help reduce fear
and reduce crime.
Availability - Police officers are available 24 hours, 7 days a week as they work on an on-call basis, so there are always officers available to respond
to crimes and arrive at crime scenes quickly. Good as it means offenders or suspects are more likely to be arrested at the scene which saves time in
trying to identify and locate them later.
Weaknesses
Expertise - Funding cuts mean police are getting less training leading to them not secure crime scene and preserve evidence properly, so higher risk of
contamination, making the evidence less likely to be reliable in court. Don’t investigate some crimes effectively as they don’t take them seriously and
personal biases have influenced this for example, domestic abuse or hate crimes such as racist attacks.
Institutional racism, like discriminatory attitudes within the police. Leading to evidence being overlooked during investigation as police may make
assumptions about the offender or victim. The Macpherson report showed this in the Metropolitan Police in London after being produced due to the
,injustice during the Stephen Lawrence case. Took 18 years to secure any convictions of the white youths that murdered him in the racially motivated
attack. Police were accused of racially stereotyping him by accusing him of being a gang member because of the colour of his skin, leading to the
crime not being investigated properly.
Availability - Number of police officers in England and Wales fell by 20,600 between 2010 and 2019, resulting in a 14% decline. Due to government
policy of 'austerity' after the financial crash of 2008-9 (to save money on public spending). Reducing effectiveness of police as they wouldn’t be able
to respond to crimes quickly as fewer officers. Meaning offender is less likely to be arrested at the crime scene and the victim and witness statements
may not be as accurate as the events will not be as fresh in their mind.
Cost - Salary is £20,880- £40,128 per year for an officer. Expensive to fund these personnel, costs £300 million to fund 10,000 police officers’
salaries, not including training. Due to the huge expense, funding has been continuously cut by the government, reducing the money police have to
spend on resources and training which could be vital in solving crimes.
Case Example - Stephen Lawrence - Killed by a group of white youths in a racist attack. Had been waiting for a bus with a friend, when the gang
attacked them. Stephen's friend escaped unhurt, but Stephen died from his injuries. Was a racially motivated attack resulting in the death of
Stephen Lawrence. Took 18 years for a conviction, two defendants were convicted of his murder. Failed to be recognised as a hate crime due to
institutional bias and racism of the police service and failures to investigate suspects due to force corruption. The Macpherson Report, issued as a
result of the Lawrence case, said the police had institutional racism and made 70 recommendations to improve the service.
Case example - Alice Ruggles – Police didn’t do enough to protect her when she reported her stalker to the police, failing to even record his behaviour
as stalking. When she first reported that she was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend, police assured her that they could stop him and filed it as
harassment but when she reported it yet again 7 days later, they didn’t take any action and left Alice feeling helpless. No action taken by police led
to her being murdered by her ex-boyfriend after he broke into her flat, just 5 days after they dismissed her plea for help.
Crime Scene Investigators
Role
To collect and preserve evidence at crime scenes. Must ensure evidence is kept uncontaminated or it will not be admissible in court. Employed by police
forces and liaise with police officers to decide what evidence needs collecting and gathering the evidence at the crime scene. Take photographs of
evidence at the crime scene such as shoe prints and tyre marks. Evidence must be handled, stored and documented correctly to avoid contamination
and ensure it can be analysed by the forensic specialists. May be called to give evidence in court and attend to post-mortems.
Strengths
Expertise – Trained professionals and experienced in recovering evidence and wear protective clothing and use specialist equipment. Have extensive
training in handling and preserving evidence correctly. Most will have a degree in science. Undergo thorough training. May be able to prove a
suspect's innocence through DNA or fingerprint testing or prove someone’s guilt by linking their DNA to the crime scene. Role of collecting and
processing evidence means they must retrieve it in accordance with international standards (ISO 17025) so the evidence will be admissible in court.
They also serve as expert witnesses in court as they are seen as reliable due to their in depth knowledge.
Availability – Work on call so are available at any time, 24/7. Can be ready to arrive at a crime scene at any time which is important as the quicker
they are on the crime scene the greater chance they have of preserving the scene and collecting evidence. Most police forces employ only dozens of
CSls. 1,300 are employed by the Government and the largest private provider has 500. Not many jobs in this profession so the role is highly
competitive. Most able will get and carry out the job enabling evidence collection at crime scenes to be carried out thoroughly.
, Weaknesses
Cost - Funding issues due to being employed by police forces. Different police units are given different amounts of funding. Collecting all the evidence is
expensive so some police units may not have the funding needed to get the equipment and resources needed for the CSIs so they can't do their job
properly. Making contamination more likely as evidence may not be handled, stored or documented correctly as they dont have the right equipment.
Resulting in issues when the evidence is presented in court as it may not be judged to be admissible. Some police forces may have shortage of CSIs due
to funding cuts so will take longer for them to collect the evidence and there may not be enough CSIs to process crime scenes as multiple crime scenes
may need to have evidence collected at the same time. The longer a crime scene is left, the higher risk of contamination and external factors such as
the weather is more likely to contaminate the evidence e.g. rain or snow. Salaries start at around 22k, cost implications include the costs of the tests
performed ( £250 per test) so investigations are given a budget.
Expertise – Criminal cases published in the media have shown contamination happening as a result of mishandling of evidence by CSIs, leading to
miscarriages of justice for example, the OJ Simpson case.
Availability – Location of the crime scene may cause availability issues. Easy for CSIs to reach urban areas as that is where they are based but
crime scenes in rural areas will be harder to travel to, take longer to get there so higher risk of contamination. Collecting evidence at the crime scene
is time-consuming and evidence may be missed. One mistake could result in a wrongful conviction which happened in the Amanda Knox case.
CSIs may be exposed to hazardous substances like in the Salisbury poisoning case. Detective sergeant Nick Bailey was contaminated at the scene of
the Skripals home after being exposed to the nerve agent, Novichok, after it was rubbed on the door of the home. Was hospitalised for over two
weeks as a result in critical condition.
Can take a toll on CSI’s mental wellbeing due to the nature of the scenes that they may attend to.
Can be emotionally difficult when attending accidents or violent crime scenes.
Case Example - Amanda Knox - Exchange student, Meredith Kercher, was found dead in her flat in Italy, her friend Amanda Knox was suspected of
murder. There was contamination of evidence including the use of a dirty glove to collect the bra clasp. Detectives wore shoe covers outside the house,
while others failed to have any protective clothing on inside the house and used plastic bags to store the evidence which increases the chance of
contamination. This was used in court to show that the evidence collected was unreliable. Italian forensic experts told the appeal court they could
not be certain DNA traces found on a knife were those of Miss Kercher. Saying this was because proper DNA procedures had not been followed, so
the samples could have been contaminated. Carla Vecchiotti, said there were no traces of blood on the blade. The forensic case also focused on the
clasp of Miss Kercher's bra said to have been cut away during a struggle. Defence argued that it was found so long after the murder, 46 days, that
any evidence it might have contained was unreliable. Knox's defence team and her family repeatedly stressed no trace of Knox’s DNA was ever found
at the murder scene. She spent 4 years in Italian prison, the ultimate appeal by Knox was heard by the Supreme Court of Cassation; it ruled that
the case was without foundation, acquitting them of the murder.
Case example - OJ Simpson - A bloody fingerprint left by the victim, Nicole Brown Simpson, wasn’t properly collected and entered into the chain of
custody when it was first located. First recorded by first detective on scene, knowledge of its existence wasn’t passed to other detectives, it
disappeared. Evidence was mishandled, for example, photographs were taken of evidence without being labelled and logged, cross-contamination due to
evidence being packaged together rather than separately and wet items were also packaged before allowing them to dry, causing changes in evidence.
Also, a blood sample taken from O.J. Simpson’s couldn’t be located, leading to accusations of it being planted as it wasn’t handed over as evidence for
45 mins)
Police Officers & Detectives
Role
First personnel at the crime scene. First duty is to preserve human life, involving looking after casualties, calling an ambulance, ensuring victims are
safe, keeping the public away from the scene for their safety and ensuring that if the suspect is at the crime scene that they are arrested. Second
duty is to secure the crime scene to preserve evidence and make sure it is uncontaminated until the crime scene investigators arrive to gather it. Need
to secure the crime scene so the public can't walk there and contaminate it. At the crime scene during the ‘golden hour’ which is the period
immediately after the crime has been found. Must be efficient and fast during this time to ensure the evidence is preserved and left undisturbed. Take
witness statements or victim statements as this is when they will remember the most about what happened. PACE Act 1974 which regulates police
powers and protects public rights.
Detectives lead the investigation, involving complex or serious crime. Responsible for overseeing the crime scene initially and working with police
officers to find out important information needed to start investigating the crime. Sometimes belong to specialist departments like firearms, fraud,
child protection, the CID, special branch and drugs. All need to be objective not subjective.
Strengths
Expertise - Important role with preserving life, keeping people safe and needed in preserving evidence at crime scene which is important in bringing
the right people to justice. Police are skilled, trained professionals, some may specialise and become experts in certain fields. Wide range of areas in
which they can specialise which can help with investigating different types of crime such as air support, underwater search, dog handling, firearms
and fraud. Detectives work in specialist departments such as the CID, which make sure they're provided with knowledge and expertise needed to
investigate and deal with crime.
Expertise - Undergo training to a good standard, so they’re able to carry out their role well and are provided with specialist knowledge needed to
know what to do at a crime scene. Ensuring they don’t contaminate the evidence at the crime scene, increasing the likelihood of offender being
caught. Usually have a degree and are provided with lots of on the job training and mentoring. Detectives also have expertise, have to have many
years of experience in order to get the rank of detective. Police officers' skills are broad and general. Are visible arm of law so can help reduce fear
and reduce crime.
Availability - Police officers are available 24 hours, 7 days a week as they work on an on-call basis, so there are always officers available to respond
to crimes and arrive at crime scenes quickly. Good as it means offenders or suspects are more likely to be arrested at the scene which saves time in
trying to identify and locate them later.
Weaknesses
Expertise - Funding cuts mean police are getting less training leading to them not secure crime scene and preserve evidence properly, so higher risk of
contamination, making the evidence less likely to be reliable in court. Don’t investigate some crimes effectively as they don’t take them seriously and
personal biases have influenced this for example, domestic abuse or hate crimes such as racist attacks.
Institutional racism, like discriminatory attitudes within the police. Leading to evidence being overlooked during investigation as police may make
assumptions about the offender or victim. The Macpherson report showed this in the Metropolitan Police in London after being produced due to the
,injustice during the Stephen Lawrence case. Took 18 years to secure any convictions of the white youths that murdered him in the racially motivated
attack. Police were accused of racially stereotyping him by accusing him of being a gang member because of the colour of his skin, leading to the
crime not being investigated properly.
Availability - Number of police officers in England and Wales fell by 20,600 between 2010 and 2019, resulting in a 14% decline. Due to government
policy of 'austerity' after the financial crash of 2008-9 (to save money on public spending). Reducing effectiveness of police as they wouldn’t be able
to respond to crimes quickly as fewer officers. Meaning offender is less likely to be arrested at the crime scene and the victim and witness statements
may not be as accurate as the events will not be as fresh in their mind.
Cost - Salary is £20,880- £40,128 per year for an officer. Expensive to fund these personnel, costs £300 million to fund 10,000 police officers’
salaries, not including training. Due to the huge expense, funding has been continuously cut by the government, reducing the money police have to
spend on resources and training which could be vital in solving crimes.
Case Example - Stephen Lawrence - Killed by a group of white youths in a racist attack. Had been waiting for a bus with a friend, when the gang
attacked them. Stephen's friend escaped unhurt, but Stephen died from his injuries. Was a racially motivated attack resulting in the death of
Stephen Lawrence. Took 18 years for a conviction, two defendants were convicted of his murder. Failed to be recognised as a hate crime due to
institutional bias and racism of the police service and failures to investigate suspects due to force corruption. The Macpherson Report, issued as a
result of the Lawrence case, said the police had institutional racism and made 70 recommendations to improve the service.
Case example - Alice Ruggles – Police didn’t do enough to protect her when she reported her stalker to the police, failing to even record his behaviour
as stalking. When she first reported that she was being harassed by her ex-boyfriend, police assured her that they could stop him and filed it as
harassment but when she reported it yet again 7 days later, they didn’t take any action and left Alice feeling helpless. No action taken by police led
to her being murdered by her ex-boyfriend after he broke into her flat, just 5 days after they dismissed her plea for help.
Crime Scene Investigators
Role
To collect and preserve evidence at crime scenes. Must ensure evidence is kept uncontaminated or it will not be admissible in court. Employed by police
forces and liaise with police officers to decide what evidence needs collecting and gathering the evidence at the crime scene. Take photographs of
evidence at the crime scene such as shoe prints and tyre marks. Evidence must be handled, stored and documented correctly to avoid contamination
and ensure it can be analysed by the forensic specialists. May be called to give evidence in court and attend to post-mortems.
Strengths
Expertise – Trained professionals and experienced in recovering evidence and wear protective clothing and use specialist equipment. Have extensive
training in handling and preserving evidence correctly. Most will have a degree in science. Undergo thorough training. May be able to prove a
suspect's innocence through DNA or fingerprint testing or prove someone’s guilt by linking their DNA to the crime scene. Role of collecting and
processing evidence means they must retrieve it in accordance with international standards (ISO 17025) so the evidence will be admissible in court.
They also serve as expert witnesses in court as they are seen as reliable due to their in depth knowledge.
Availability – Work on call so are available at any time, 24/7. Can be ready to arrive at a crime scene at any time which is important as the quicker
they are on the crime scene the greater chance they have of preserving the scene and collecting evidence. Most police forces employ only dozens of
CSls. 1,300 are employed by the Government and the largest private provider has 500. Not many jobs in this profession so the role is highly
competitive. Most able will get and carry out the job enabling evidence collection at crime scenes to be carried out thoroughly.
, Weaknesses
Cost - Funding issues due to being employed by police forces. Different police units are given different amounts of funding. Collecting all the evidence is
expensive so some police units may not have the funding needed to get the equipment and resources needed for the CSIs so they can't do their job
properly. Making contamination more likely as evidence may not be handled, stored or documented correctly as they dont have the right equipment.
Resulting in issues when the evidence is presented in court as it may not be judged to be admissible. Some police forces may have shortage of CSIs due
to funding cuts so will take longer for them to collect the evidence and there may not be enough CSIs to process crime scenes as multiple crime scenes
may need to have evidence collected at the same time. The longer a crime scene is left, the higher risk of contamination and external factors such as
the weather is more likely to contaminate the evidence e.g. rain or snow. Salaries start at around 22k, cost implications include the costs of the tests
performed ( £250 per test) so investigations are given a budget.
Expertise – Criminal cases published in the media have shown contamination happening as a result of mishandling of evidence by CSIs, leading to
miscarriages of justice for example, the OJ Simpson case.
Availability – Location of the crime scene may cause availability issues. Easy for CSIs to reach urban areas as that is where they are based but
crime scenes in rural areas will be harder to travel to, take longer to get there so higher risk of contamination. Collecting evidence at the crime scene
is time-consuming and evidence may be missed. One mistake could result in a wrongful conviction which happened in the Amanda Knox case.
CSIs may be exposed to hazardous substances like in the Salisbury poisoning case. Detective sergeant Nick Bailey was contaminated at the scene of
the Skripals home after being exposed to the nerve agent, Novichok, after it was rubbed on the door of the home. Was hospitalised for over two
weeks as a result in critical condition.
Can take a toll on CSI’s mental wellbeing due to the nature of the scenes that they may attend to.
Can be emotionally difficult when attending accidents or violent crime scenes.
Case Example - Amanda Knox - Exchange student, Meredith Kercher, was found dead in her flat in Italy, her friend Amanda Knox was suspected of
murder. There was contamination of evidence including the use of a dirty glove to collect the bra clasp. Detectives wore shoe covers outside the house,
while others failed to have any protective clothing on inside the house and used plastic bags to store the evidence which increases the chance of
contamination. This was used in court to show that the evidence collected was unreliable. Italian forensic experts told the appeal court they could
not be certain DNA traces found on a knife were those of Miss Kercher. Saying this was because proper DNA procedures had not been followed, so
the samples could have been contaminated. Carla Vecchiotti, said there were no traces of blood on the blade. The forensic case also focused on the
clasp of Miss Kercher's bra said to have been cut away during a struggle. Defence argued that it was found so long after the murder, 46 days, that
any evidence it might have contained was unreliable. Knox's defence team and her family repeatedly stressed no trace of Knox’s DNA was ever found
at the murder scene. She spent 4 years in Italian prison, the ultimate appeal by Knox was heard by the Supreme Court of Cassation; it ruled that
the case was without foundation, acquitting them of the murder.
Case example - OJ Simpson - A bloody fingerprint left by the victim, Nicole Brown Simpson, wasn’t properly collected and entered into the chain of
custody when it was first located. First recorded by first detective on scene, knowledge of its existence wasn’t passed to other detectives, it
disappeared. Evidence was mishandled, for example, photographs were taken of evidence without being labelled and logged, cross-contamination due to
evidence being packaged together rather than separately and wet items were also packaged before allowing them to dry, causing changes in evidence.
Also, a blood sample taken from O.J. Simpson’s couldn’t be located, leading to accusations of it being planted as it wasn’t handed over as evidence for
