Forensic Investigation of Stolen-Recovered and Other Crime-Related Vehicles provides unique and detailed insights into the investigations of one of the most common crime scenes in the world. In addition to a thorough treatment of auto theft, the book covers vehicles involved in other forms of crime—dealing extensively with the various procedures and dynamics of evidence as it might be left in any crime scene. An impressive collection of expert contributors covers a wide variety of subjects, including chapters on vehicle identification, examination of burned vehicles, vehicles recovered from under water, vehicles involved in terrorism, vehicle tracking, alarms, anti-theft systems, steering columns, and ignition locks. The book also covers such topics as victim and witness interviews, public and private auto theft investigations, detection of trace evidence and chemical traces, vehicle search techniques, analysis of automotive fluids, vehicle registration, document examination, and vehicle crime mapping. It is the ultimate reference guide for any auto theft investigator, crime scene technician, criminalist, police investigator, criminologist, or insurance adjuster. - Extensively researched and exceptionally well-written by internationally-recognized experts in auto theft investigation and forensic science - All the principles explained in the text are well-illustrated and demonstrated with more than 450 black and white and about 100 full-color illustrations, many directly from real cases - Serves as both a valuable reference guide to the professional and an effective teaching tool for the forensic science student

The technology-thwarting car thief has become as advanced as the cars themselves. As early as 1910 Americans recognized that cars were easy to steal and, once stolen, hard to find, especially since cars looked much alike. Model styles and colors eventually changed, but so did the means of making a stolen car disappear. Though changing license plates and serial numbers remain basic procedure, thieves have created highly sophisticated networks to disassemble stolen vehicles, distribute the parts, and/or ship the altered cars out of the country. Stealing cars has become as technologically advanced as the cars themselves. John A. Heitmann and Rebecca H. Morales’s study of automobile theft and culture examines a wide range of related topics that includes motives and methods, technological deterrents, place and space, institutional responses, international borders, and cultural reflections. Only recently have scholars begun to move their focus away from the creators and manufacturers of the automobile to its users. Stealing Cars illustrates the power of this approach, as it aims at developing a better understanding of the place of the automobile in the broad texture of American life. There are many who are fascinated by aspects of automobile history, but many more readers enjoy the topic of crime—motives, methods, escaping capture, and of course solving the crime and bringing criminals to justice. Stealing Cars brings together expertise from the history of technology and cultural history as well as city planning and transborder studies to produce a compelling and detailed work that raises questions concerning American priorities and values. Drawing on sources that include interviews, government documents, patents, sociological and psychological studies, magazines, monographs, scholarly periodicals, film, fiction, and digital gaming, Heitmann and Morales tell a story that highlights both human creativity and some of the paradoxes of American life.

Contains maps and articles that provide information on the geographical history of crime, the influence space has on a criminal's motivations, and other geographical aspects of crime.

Practical Investigation Techniques is useful for new as well as veteran investigators to establish a practical standard for conducting a wide range of diverse criminal investigations. Written by a veteran investigator, the book teaches the proper investigative techniques for such criminal activities as extortion, blackmail, credit card fraud, check fraud, fencing operations, employee theft, sports gambling, money laundering, and shoplifting rings. Practical Investigation Techniques is presented in an easy-to-read format and provides a wealth of specific investigation techniques, checklists, and case studies.

Hearings were held in Chicago, Ill.

Computerized crime mapping or GIS in law enforcement agencies has experienced rapid growth, particularly since the mid 1990s. There has also been increasing interests in GIS analysis of crime from various academic fields including criminology, geography, urban planning, information science and others. This book features a diverse array of GIS applications in crime analysis, from general issues such as GIS as a communication process and inter-jurisdictional data sharing to specific applications in tracking serial killers and predicting juvenile violence. Geographic Information Systems and Crime Analysis showcases a broad range of methods and techniques from typical GIS tasks such as geocoding and hotspot analysis to advanced technologies such as geographic profiling, agent-based modeling and web GIS. Contributors range from university professors, criminologists in research institutes to police chiefs, GIS analysts in police departments and consultants in criminal justice.

This book is a first-of-its-kind, practice-based guide of 36 key concepts?legal, operational, and practical--that countries can use to develop non-conviction based (NCB) forfeiture legislation that will be effective in combating the development problem of corruption and recovering stolen assets.