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Closing the Case 3
Closing the case:
A glimpse at the Rubik's Cube that is Criminal Investigation
In order to understand what crime is and how it has evolved we must define/analyze crimes in depth. Understanding law enforcements role is key to gaining insight about criminal investigation, Two crimes stand out above the rest and impact every community nation wide. Drugs and prostitution are akin to cancer in that they spread swiftly and leave devastation in their wakes. It takes a person with a keen eye, sound judgment, and moral fortitude to combat these problems.
Let’s begin with the basics of crime and how law enforcements officials try to keep it off of our streets here in the homeland. Crime is defined as a wrongful act according to the laws set by societies standards (Osterburg & Ward, 2014) There are two distinctive traits that validate the judicial systems view of crime. The first element is Actus Reus which, is defined as wrongful action. (Osterburg & Ward, 2014) This means that there has to be some type of illegal action for the crime to be committed, and considered a crime. Some one cannot be arrested for just mentally thinking unlawful thoughts. If this was the case, half of the world would be in prison. A crime must also be a voluntary act. If the act is involuntary then the act may not be considered a crime. Mens Rea is defined as “having a wrongful mind.” Mens Rea details the motive when the crime was in the process of being committed. Not all actions are crimes necessarily, the only way that an action enters the realm of crime is if it is prohibited by law and assigned a punishme...
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Computer Forensics (2010). "How Forensic Evidence Makes a Difference in a Rape Case." Computer Forensics Training: Top Computer Forensics Training Schools Review. Retrieved on 01 Dec. 2013. .
Drug Enforcement Agency. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2013 from http://www.dea.gov
Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01,2013 from http://www.fda.gov/
Osterburg, J. W., & Ward, R. H. (2014). Criminal investigation: A method for reconstructing the past. Boston, Mass: Anderson Publishing/Elsevier
Saferstein, R. 2007. Criminalistics: An Introduction into Forensic Science. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education Inc.
Smith, Athanaselis (2005). Handbook of forensic drug analysis. Amsterdam: Elsevier Academic Press.
There are many views on crime and deviance and many theories to why they occur.
On February 27th, 2014 I had the pleasure to interview Detective Vincent Velazquez who was referred to me by Professor Paul Guerrucci. Vincent currently works at the Atlanta Police Department located in 226 Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA 30303. On the day of the interview, I was a little anxious since this was actually the first time I interview a crime investigator, however Vincent was very professional and he allowed me to record the entire conversation. I was able to ask questions about his personal life, full details of his profession, current case assignments, criminal investigation procedures and existing problems in the investigation process.
Winfree, T., & Abadinsky, H. (2nd Ed.). (2003). Understanding Crime: Theory and Practice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth publishers.
I wanted to look at the investigative and criminal procedures following the arrest of an alleged criminal and the powerful effects via testimonies and evidence (or lack thereof) it can have on a case.There is an importance of the courts in regards to crime that can’t be over looked. The primary function of the criminal justice system is to uphold the established laws, which define what we understand as deviant in this society.
Morrison, W. (2009) 'What is crime? Contrasting definitions and perspectives', in C. Hale, K. Hayward, A. Wahadin and E. Wincup, (eds), Criminology. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Winslow, R. W., & Zhang, S. (2008). Contemporary Theories of Crime. Criminology: a global perspective (). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall.
Crime exists everywhere. It is exists in our country, in the big cities, the small towns, schools, and even in homes. Crime is defined as “any action that is a violation of law”. These violations may be pending, but in order to at least lower the crime rate, an understanding of why the crimes are committed must first be sought. There are many theories that are able to explain crimes, but three very important ones are rational choice theory, social disorganization theory and strain theory.
Quinsey, V. (2009). Are we there yet? stasis and progress in forensic psychology. Canadian Psychology, 50(1), 15-15-21.
Criminology is the study of crime and criminals; a branch of sociology. More accurately, it is the study of crime as a social trend, and its overall origins, its many manifestations and its impact upon society as a whole. That makes it more a form of sociology than a law enforcement tool. But the trends it studies have a huge impact on the way the police do their jobs, the way society treats its criminals, and the way a given community goes about maintaining law and order. The writer will describe and give examples of the three perspectives of viewing crimes. The perspectives that will be highlighted are the consensus view, the conflict view or the interactionist view. Each perspective maintain its own interpretation of what constitutes criminal activities and what causes people to engage in criminal behaviors (Siegel, p.12).
Criminal justice is composed of many lateral departments that help us as a society to better understand the process that is started when criminal activity is suspected. We will examine how individuals learn how to commit crime and what motivates them to do so. This paper will discuss the steps that are taken once a crime is determine and how the Criminal Justice System is put into place to help solve and come to some type of resolution for the crime. This paper will further discuss the types of deterrence that are placed into society minds to help curve criminal behavior and activity. After reading this paper the reader should have a better understanding on how the Criminal Justice System works and why it is needed help promote a safe environment for our society.
There are many steps that have to be taken when leading a criminal investigation and investigating a crime scene. Firstly, detectives have to try and figure out why and how a crime was committed. They examine a crime scene looking for information or clues such as fingerprints, weapons, and DNA. They investigate the victims’ history to define why someone would want to harm them. After they have formed a hypothesis, they try to find proof that somebody committed a crime so that they can arrest the suspects. They look at both the cause and the actual evidence of the crime and try to see if their hypothesis makes sense. The suspects then enter the criminal justice system where they are tried using the evidence collected at the crime scene.
The criminal investigation process is able to achieve justice to a great to a great extent. They are effective in achieving justice, as they are able to balance the rights of the victim, offenders and society and also provide fair and just outcomes. For these reasons, the criminal investigation process is largely able to achieve justice.
The complexness of the criminal justice system is without doubt caused by the complexness of crime. Crime is outlined as “Conduct in violation of the criminal laws of a state, the federal, or an area jurisdiction, that there's no wrongfully acceptable justification or excuse.”. although several classifications of kinds of crime exist, four classes total up the kinds of crimes committed by most offenders; violent crime, social group, white collar crime and victimless crimes.
Crime scene investigation is the use of physical evidence at the scene of the crime committed, also reasonable and unreasonable reasoning to gain knowledge of the events surrounding the crime. Criminal investigators pursues to establish the methods. Motives, and identities of criminal. This paper will go into great depths of how to conduct an investigation and the proper way to obtain the information. After reading this paper you should be able to know step by step how to keep notes, take accurate photos and a variety of other things that will allow you to conduct a successful investigation.
Only those breaking the law willingly are held criminally responsible for their actions (Mens Rea, n.d.). Mens rea helps prove guilt in a criminal trial. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant committed the crime with a culpable state of mind (Mens Rea, n.d.). Mens rea requirement is based on the idea that the offender must possess a guilty state of mind and be aware of their misconduct; however, they do not have to know that their conduct is illegal to be guilty of a crime only that the offender is conscious of the fact (Mens Rea, n.d.). Courts will usually apply the mental state to each element of the crime. Even if there is no statute mentioning a mental state, the court will usually require the government to prove the defendant possessed a guilty state of mind while committing the crime (Mens Rea,