Criminal Investigation

Question 1

Evidence introduced at a trial in the form of physical objects or persons themselves to prove or disprove a fact in issue is legally defined as

A: material evidence.
B: real evidence.
C: cumulative evidence.
D: personal evidence.

Answer 1

B: real evidence.

Question 2

Blood stains found at the scene of a crime of violence can serve as a valuable adjunct to the investigation of crimes. One of the most important functions that can generally be served by analyzing such stains is to clearly

A: indicate that the suspect was involved in the crime.
B: ascertain the sex of the perpetrators.
C: establishing the blood grouping of the persons arrested on suspicion of complicity in the crime.
D: exclude the suspect as the source of the stain.

Answer 2

D: DNA not mentioned here.

Question 3

The one of the following chemical tests which is not used in the identification of bloodstains found at crime scenes is the

 A: Benzidine Test.
 B: Phenolphthalein Test.
 C: Walker Test.
 D: Teichmann Test.
 E: Microspectroscopic Test.

Answer 3

C: Gun powder residue.

Question 4

Following are four statements re: preliminary chemical tests that may be employed at the scene of a crime to determine whether various stains contain blood.

1. If the result is negative, the stain cannot be blood.
2. If the result is positive, the stain may be blood.
3. If the result is negative, the stain cannot be human blood.
4. If the result is positive, the stain is definitely blood

Which of the above statements are correct?

 A: #1 and #4 but not #2 and #3
 B: #2 and #3 but not #1 and #4
 C: #1 and #2 but not #3 and #4
 D: #2, #3 and #4 but not #1
 E: #1, #2 and #3 but not #4

Answer 4

E: #1, #2 and #3 but not #4

Question 5

A specific test for human blood is the

A: Benzidine Test.
B: Reduced Phenolphthalein Test.
C: Precipitin Reaction Test.
D: Luminol Test.

Answer 5

C: Precipitin Reaction Test.

Question 6

Post-mortem lividity, or liver mortis, is the dark discoloration (usually dark blue) forming under the skin after death. It is most important to the crime investigator in determining

A: whether the body may have been moved after death.
B: the exact time of death.
C: the amount of heat lost from the body after death.
D: whether death was caused by trauma.

Answer 6

A: whether the body may have been moved after death.

Question 7

In a homicide case, when a human body is found with knife wounds which indicate that much blood has been lost, but the amount of blood near the body appears to be less than what one would normally expect to find, the most logical assumption by a police investigator is that

A: the victim lived a considerable time after receiving the fatal wounds.
B: the crime was committed in a place other than where the body was found.
C: the victim died from some cause other than knife wounds.
D: the homicidal attack had been carefully planned by the perpetrator.

Answer 7

B: the crime was committed in a place other than where the body was found.

Question 8

As part of a post-mortem examination of a body found in a burned-out building, a discovery of the presence of carbon monoxide in the blood is made. The would most likely indicate that the person

A: had died of acute alcoholism irrespective of other indications.
B: had been murdered prior to the fire.
C: suffered a fatal heart attack just before the fire.
D: was alive at some time during the fire.

Answer 8

D: was alive at some time during the fire.

Question 9

The body of a man is found in the river. The body is fully clothed but badly mutilated, waterlogged, and swollen. The clothing contains no identifying papers. The one of the following means of identification of the body that is least reliable is

 A: fingerprints.
 B: measurements of the body.
 C: examination of the teeth.
 D: scars on the body.
 E: tattoo marks on the body.

Answer 9

B: measurements of the body.

Question 10

The basic fact which has made fingerprints the principal and one of the most absolutely certain methods of criminal identification is that

A: even the vaguest of fingerprint impression left at the scene of a crime invariable leads the police to a positive identification of the perpetrator.
B: no two persons possess fingerprints which fall into the same general patterns.
C: each person has a set of uniquely distinctive and never changing fingerprints.
D: every fingertip makes a print that can fit into only one of the four general patterns.

Answer 10

C: DNA is just as reliable.

Question 11

Fingerprint experts have classified the prints made by human fingertips into groups based on the general patterns or characteristics of which each individual print is composed. According to these experts, it would generally be correct to state that an individual fingerprint which has

A: the lines going from one side to the other in a more or less straight line, without curving back, is called an ARCH.
B: the lines carrying back in a horseshoe turn is called a WHORL.
C: a number of lines making a complete circle is called a LOOP.
D: a mixture of ARCHES, LOOPS and WHORLS is called a COMPLEX.

Answer 11

A: the lines going from one side to the other in a more or less straight line, without curving back, is called an ARCH.

Question 12

In fingerprint identification, a DELTA is rarely found in which of the following groups?

A: Arches
B: Whorls
C: Accidentals
D: Loops

Answer 12

A: Arches

Question 13

A police investigator must not overlook the possibility of various types of fingerprint traces or impressions which may be found on objects at the scene of a crime. Such impressions formed by the pressure of the finger upon comparatively soft or pliable surfaces such as wax, putty, soap, etc., are called

A: visible impressions.
B: fixed imprints.
C: latent traces.
D: plastic impressions.

Answer 13

D: plastic impressions.

Question 14

The one of the fingerprints methods not used for developing fingerprints is

 A: powder.
 B: iodine fuming.
 C: silver nitrate.
 D: ninhydrin.
 E: paraamino-phenyldiamide.

Answer 14

E: paraamino-phenyldiamide.

Question 15

A method to develop very old fingerprints is to use

A: iodine fumes.
B: silver nitrate.
C: ninhydrin.
D: fixed focus camera.

Answer 15

C: ninhydrin.

Question 16

An experienced police investigator will be aware that an automobile which has been used in connection with a crime may contain valuable fingerprint impressions. That part of an automobile which is least likely to furnish identifiable fingerprint impressions is the

A: front door windows.
B: areas near the door handles.
C: steering wheel.
D: rear view mirror.

Answer 16

C: steering wheel.

Question 17

Most modern small arms have rifled bores. The chief reason for these grooves is to

A: cause the bullets to rotate around their logitudinal axis in order to prevent their turning end-over-end in flight.
B: cut longitudinal markings into the bullets for purposes of permanent identification.
C: increase the velocity of the bullet at the point of ejection from the barrel by giving it a spinning motion.
D: protect the barrel of the gun by enabling the expanding gases caused by the explosion to leave rapidly.

Answer 17

A: cause the bullets to rotate around their logitudinal axis in order to prevent their turning end-over-end in flight.

Question 18

An expended bullet which is needed as important physical evidence is found at the crime scene by a police officer. For the purpose of being able to identify the bullet positively, at some later date, the police officer scratches his initials on the nose of the bullet. This method of marking such a bullet is

A: poor; the nose of the bullet will probably be flattened and will therefore be difficult to mark legibly.
B: good; the important impressions on the side of the bullet made by the gun barrel will then not be destroyed.
C: good; the actual marking of the nose of the bullet may reveal the presence of minute amounts of important physical evidence.
D: poor; important bits of physical evidence which may have adhered to the nose of the expended bullet could be destroyed

Answer 18

D: But some older schools of thought say it’s OK to mark the OGIVE. The “ogive” refers to the entire curve of the bullet from the tip to the full-diameter straight section — the shank.

Question 19

When a bullet is fired at fairly close range through a glass window, the direction from which it has been fired can be determined. Of the following, the statement that is correct re: such determination is that

A: radial fractures will form first on the side opposite the one from which the bullet was fired.
B: the hole is wider on the side facing the source of the bullet.
C: numerous small flakes are found blown away from the side from which the bullet was fired.
D: the more acute the angle, the fewer flakes will be blown away.

Answer 19

A: radial fractures will form first on the side opposite the one from which the bullet was fired.

Question 20

Items required by the laboratory technician in his effort to determine the distance between the muzzle of the fatal gun and the victim, at the instant the fatal shot was fired, include all but one of the following. The one which would not be useful in determining this wanted information is:

A: Test ammunition of the type used in the weapon firing the fatal shot.
B: The fatal weapon.
C: The clothing of the suspect particularly if it contains powder residue.
D: The clothing of the victim.

Answer 20

C: See question #3.

Question 21

The maximum distance at which a firearm will leave powder deposits or residue on the object at which it is fired

A: is invariably eighteen inches.
B: depends entirely upon the kind of gunpowder used.
C: is directly related to the degree of twist of the rifling in the gun barrel.
D: depends mainly on the type of gunpowder used, the caliber, and length of the gun barrel.

Answer 21

D: depends mainly on the type of gunpowder used, the caliber, and length of the gun barrel.

Question 22

The interview is a method much used in crime investigation because of the close person-to-person relationship inherent in it. The one of the following, however, which is not an advantage of using the interview as a means of collecting facts about a particular crime is that it

A: assists the interviewing officer to gain some insight into the suspect’s social attitude.
B: elicits more reliable information concerning the crime that can be obtained by other less direct methods.
C: helps the interviewing officer to establish better rapport with suspect, thus enabling further steps to be taken more expeditiously.
D: permits a great degree of flexibility in approach that readily be adapted to changing situations.

Answer 22

B: elicits more reliable information concerning the crime that can be obtained by other less direct methods.

Question 23

Interrogations are one of the methods by which investigators gather evidence. It has been stated that a “successful” interrogation, from the investigator’s point of view, is primarily one in which the rights of the suspect have been protected, regardless of whether a statement leading to additional evidence is forthcoming. Of the following, the most logical implication of this statement is that:

A: An investigator’s primary duty is to gather information which will determine the offender’s guilt.
B: An investigator may reveal his personal abhorrence of a heinous crime in order to obtain more information.
C: Investigators must be professionally dedicated to the restraint of anti-social behavior.
D: Investigators should be disinterested in the personal guilt of individual offenders.

Answer 23

D: Remember, an interrogation is different from an interview.

Question 24

If there are many witnesses to a hit and run accident, it would be a waste of time for the officer to question all of them. The witness needed is the one who can best describe the missing automobile or its driver. Usually the person most qualified to do this is a

A: youth of 15 or 16 years of age, if a good description of the vehicle is wanted.
B: man of adult age, if a good description of the driver is wanted.
C: woman of adult age, if a good description of the vehicle is wanted.
D: teenage girl, if a good description of the vehicle and its make and year are wanted.

Answer 24

A: youth of 15 or 16 years of age, if a good description of the vehicle is wanted.

Question 25

Which of the following is a correct technique in criminal interrogation?

A: There should always be more than one interrogator in the room.
B: Complete notes should be taken at the start of the interview.
C: The interrogator, if possible, should acquaint himself with all the known facts of the case before attempting to question anyone.
D: Questions should be framed so as to be answered in a few words.

Answer 25

C: The interrogator, if possible, should acquaint himself with all the known facts of the case before attempting to question anyone.

Question 26

“It is generally advisable for a police investigator to form a theory that tentatively explains the manner of commission of a crime even though no supporting facts may be available in the beginning of the investigation.”
This statement is generally

A: true; as facts become available, they will lend support to the theory.
B: false; the investigator is likely to restrict his investigation to a search for facts which lend support to the theory.
C: true; the formulation of a theory helps to direct the investigation toward case solution.
D: false; the investigator who holds such a theory will arrest a suspect without enough real evidence to support a specific charge.

Answer 26

C: See Manual For Police, Part 2-5-6.

Question 27

“As a practical matter the criminal investigator should consider his investigation completed when a confession has been properly obtained.”
This statement is generally

A: true; for the investigator to continue the investigation beyond this point would be an inefficient use of his investigative time.
B: false; added weight and credibility will probably be given to the confession itself by the jury if the investigator continues withhis investigation.
C: true; the prosecution of the case may be handicapped if it appears that the investigator is personally interested in obtaining a conviction by continuing his investigation.
D: false; attempts should be made to obtain additional evidence which is almost always required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Answer 27

D: false; attempts should be made to obtain additional evidence which is almost always required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Question 28

“The impressions produced by any two objects - by two fingers or by two jimmies - will differ under an examination sufficiently critical. The unique correspondence which exists between an object and its impression is almost a law of nature and not an anomalous phenomenon, and any failure to perceive it is due to limitations in our methods of examination.” According to the above quotation, the establishment of differences between any two like objects

A: depends on the nature of the criminal act with which the object is associated.
B: is difficult due to the innate limitations of present day investigative techniques.
C: is made unlikely by what is virtually a law of nature.
D: is successful in direct relation to the quality of examination techniques.
E: partakes of the character of a rarely occurring event.

Answer 28

D: Reading interpretation.

Question 29

Which of the following guidelines for the collection and care of physical evidence is incorrect?

A: Each bit of evidence should be collected and preserved as a separate sample whenever necessary to prevent intermingling of known evidencewith unknown evidence.
B: When evidence is found in the presence of a foreign substance, a sample of this substance should also be obtained.
C: Documents should be folded and enclosed in a glassine or other transparent envelope for transportation.
D: Identifying marks should be on large articles of evidence for later identification.
E: When hairs or fibers are collected, they should not be placed in an envelope or pillbox without further protection

Answer 29

C: Documents should be folded and enclosed in a glassine or other transparent envelope for transportation.

Question 30

A comparison of the caliber of a bullet with that of the bore of the gun from which it is to be fired indicates that, generally, the bullet has a caliber

A: absolutely equal to the bore of the gun.
B: slightly larger than the bore of the gun.
C: slightly smaller than the distance between the lands of the bore of the gun.
D: equal to the distance between two opposite grooves in the bore of the gun.

Answer 30

D: equal to the distance between two opposite grooves in the bore of the gun.

Question 31

Experts generally agree that the best of the following methods of determining whether bullet A was fired from a certain gun is to

A: chemically analyze bullet A and compare it with the residue taken from the barrel of the gun.
B: make a direct visual comparison of bullet A and the parts of the gun barrel.
C: compare the markings made by the ridges and grooves of the gun barrel on another bullet with those found on bullet A.
D: analyze the gunpowder residue in the barrel of the gun to determine the time elapses since the firing of the gun in question.

Answer 31

A: chemically analyze bullet A and compare it with the residue taken from the barrel of the gun.

Question 32

“Comparisons of bullets, in order to establish if they were fired from the same gun, may at times lead to hopeful expectations which are not based on fact.” This statement is borne out principally by the fact that

A: most bullets recovered by autopsies have proved to be unidentifiable, regardless of their metal content.
B: full hard metal-jacketed bullets generally can be identified positively in only a very small percentage of cases.
C: only about half of the lead bullets recovered by post-mortem examinations can be identified.
D: most bullets being used today are lead and only a small fraction of these can be identified after recovery.

Answer 32

B: full hard metal-jacketed bullets generally can be identified positively in only a very small percentage of cases.