This textbook provides students and law enforcement officers with the fundamentals of the criminal investigation process, from arrival on the scene to trial procedures. Written in a clear and simple style, Criminal Investigation: Law and Practice surpasses traditional texts by presenting a unique combination of legal, technical, and procedural aspects of the criminal investigation. The hands-on approach taken by the author helps to increase the learning experience. Criminal Investigation: Law and Practice, Second Edition, has been written to provide future law enforcement officers with a basic understanding of the investigative process. It merges two areas that are crucial to the successful completion of an investigation: the law, both criminal and procedural, and criminal investigative techniques. It is writen to provide the student investigator with the information needed to complete and investigation that can result in a successful prosecution.- comprehensive coverage of the criminal investigation, from arrival on the scene to trial procedures -unique combination of legal, technical, and procedural aspects of criminal investigation -many updated cases, many personally experienced by the author.

Throughout the history of law enforcement, the internal investigation process has held the most negative connotation of any investigation conducted by law enforcement personnel. As we progress through the new millennium, the need for efficient and effective law enforcement services and practices grows ever more critical. The goal of this book is to demonstrate this need for proper and complete internal investigations, and to teach the entry level and tenured police supervisor the form and function of the internal investigations process. The text selectively focuses on the purposes and practical implications of internal investigations and the pitfalls. The goal is to guide students and professionals through definitions, terminology, legal and labor issues, case law, techniques and procedures, critical and special investigations, including issues in administrative and civil claims. The reader will find a model for conducting internal investigations of police personnel that will allow a police supervisor or commander to perform investigations in a thorough, ethical, legal, and equitable manner. This book will meet the needs of attorneys who litigate cases involving allegations of police misconduct as well as representatives of collective bargaining groups who represent police personnel in similar actions. The text ends with the offering of evidence identification, evaluation and collection, case review processes, risk management, training and managing internal investigators, and the future trends in internal investigations.

Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.

The US Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice (NIJ) asked the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of The National Academies to conduct a workshop that would examine the interface of the medicolegal death investigation system and the criminal justice system. NIJ was particularly interested in a workshop in which speakers would highlight not only the status and needs of the medicolegal death investigation system as currently administered by medical examiners and coroners but also its potential to meet emerging issues facing contemporary society in America. Additionally, the workshop was to highlight priority areas for a potential IOM study on this topic. To achieve those goals, IOM constituted the Committee for the Workshop on the Medicolegal Death Investigation System, which developed a workshop that focused on the role of the medical examiner and coroner death investigation system and its promise for improving both the criminal justice system and the public health and health care systems, and their ability to respond to terrorist threats and events. Six panels were formed to highlight different aspects of the medicolegal death investigation system, including ways to improve it and expand it beyond its traditional response and meet growing demands and challenges. This report summarizes the Workshop presentations and discussions that followed them.

The text covers the legal authority, procedures, and latest techniques for public and private investigations of criminal, civil, and regulatory cases. Its scope includes legal and operational information on police investigative units; case management procedures; and techniques for uncovering law violations ranging from street crimes to organized and corporate crimes, including insurance fraud, terrorist acts, corruption, drug smuggling, and many more. The book introduces basic investigative principles and defines the legal authority of police, security officers, and regulatory and insurance investigators. More than 60 experts (FBI agents, detectives, law professors, security managers, and others) contributed to the text. Chapters outline stop-and-frisk and search-and-seizure laws (as well as others that must be understood to bring a case to conviction) and explain the roles of the grand jury and the investigator in court and process serving. Police procedures at the scene of the crime and afterwards, and the detective division's organization and operations are explained (including forensic and intelligence operations). Contributors suggest techniques for obtaining information from individuals (including informants) through interviews and interrogations, polygraph and media investigations, hypnosis, and genealogy. Chapters discuss investigations of specific business crimes involving computers, unions, nursing homes and other Medicaid providers, credit cards, prescription drugs, and insurance frauds. The text also describes investigations of sexual assaults, homicide, extortion, art thefts, drug operations, and hostage taking. A model case management plan, a checklist for investigative notetaking, information sources and sample contact letters, and eyewitness identification methods are included, as well as discussions of 'sting' operations, time of death determinations, investigations of environmental problems (such as chemical fires), and other specific working aids.

This is a guide to recommended practices for crime scene investigation. The guide is presented in five major sections, with sub-sections as noted: (1) Arriving at the Scene: Initial Response/Prioritization of Efforts (receipt of information, safety procedures, emergency care, secure and control persons at the scene, boundaries, turn over control of the scene and brief investigator/s in charge, document actions and observations); (2) Preliminary Documentation and Evaluation of the Scene (scene assessment, "walk-through" and initial documentation); (3) Processing the Scene (team composition, contamination control, documentation and prioritize, collect, preserve, inventory, package, transport, and submit evidence); (4) Completing and Recording the Crime Scene Investigation (establish debriefing team, perform final survey, document the scene); and (5) Crime Scene Equipment (initial responding officers, investigator/evidence technician, evidence collection kits).