Mid-Term Exam Flashcards
What is criminalistics
Refers specifically to the science of physical evidence
What is forensic pathology
The science of dead bodies and autopsies. Through the analysis of these bodies information may be obtained about identity, nature and cause of death e.g weapon or time of death
What is forensic anthropology
Branch of physical anthropology which relays to the identification of skeletal remains of humans. Analysis of human remains may provide information about gender, age, race and height of the individual as well as sometimes the cause of death. Facial reconstruction also involved
What is forensic odontology
Application of dentistry to legal matters. Scientific analysis of teeth and bite marks for the purpose of identification. May overlap with forensic anthropology eg dental records of deceased
What is forensic entomology
Science of insects in answering legal questions. Particular focus is on the estimate time of death based on insect activity on the body of the deceased.
Do identical twins share the same dna
Yes
What is the definition of criminal investigation
The process of collecting crime related information to reach certain goals
What are the two types of criminal investigations
Reactive: crime occurs and police respond
Proactive: usually involves the police initiating investigations or activities prior to the occurrence of a crime
What is inductive and deductive
Inductive: one begins w specific facts and draws general conclusion
Deductive: one begins with general principles and forms specific conclusions
What are the three potential problems with evidence
One: when evidence is collected- investigators may not know if it is useful or not yet
Two: police may be overwhelmed s massive amounts of information but not know it’s relevance
Three: evidence may not be accurate.
What are the four stages of reactive investigations
One: discovery of the crime and police response.
Two: primary of initial investigation. Immediate activities all info collected and reports done
Three: follow up investigation. Case screening and if perp isn’t caught may reopen case. Two factors: seriousness and evidence available
Four: closure
What is a sting
Investigator posing as someone who wishes to buy or sell some illicit goods eg drugs or sex. Once seller or buyer identified and transaction determined officers make arrest.
What are buy bust operations
Undercover drug stings and arrest occurs after drugs are brought or sold.
What is a decoy
Undercover officer attempts to attract crime by presenting an opportunity to an offender to commit a crime. Crime committed then officer make an arrest.
What is an undercover fencing operation
Fence is business that buys and sells property that is known to be stolen. When the police open operation, word of buyer gets out. Police make purchases, track the original of the Merch and then make arrests.
What is the difference between surveillance and stake out
Surveillance is watching a person
Stakeout is watching a place
What is entrapment
The act of government agents in inducing a person to commit a crime that is not contemplated by the person, for the purpose of instituting a criminal prosecution against him or her. Predisposition is important - person wanted to do the crime police didn’t have to force them
What are the three components of the criminal justice system
Police, courts and corrections
What are the statistics for solving crimes and reporting
50% of serious crimes are not reported
Only 20% of those reported are solved (murder 62% - burgularies 13%)
Murders have the highest clearance rate of all crimes because police are mainly reactive
What is the reco act
ability for rental cars to be seized as they are used most commonly in drug trafficking
What are the levels of investigation.
Local: approx 16K local police agencies nationwide. 54% have less than ten sworn officers. Functions: service eg non crime related assistance, order maintenance: maintaining the public peace and crime control: enforcing laws and identifying perpetrators
County: service, order maintenance, crime control and is in charge of jails and provide security for court houses.
State: single unified agency and multiple agencies
Federal: authority is derived from the U.S. Constitution and congress. Can only enforce federal laws not state or local law. Service: most fed agents are specialised and focus on a narrow range of fed law.
What is single unified agency and multiple agencies
Seen at state level
Single: provides broad spectrum of services e.g. IL state police and patrols, investigations, special ops, crime labs, regular calls, training and all under one agency
Multiple: services are divided among different and distinct state agencies. Highway patrols and traffic but then also have an agency that does investigations, lab and training eg Tennessee and Missouri agencies
What does the FBI do
FBI: major investigative agency of the DOJ. Lead counterintelligence agency. Conducts background checks for fed agencies, investigates violations of the civil rights act of 1964 and the equal credit opportunity act. Tracks organised crime, enforces special fed laws, white collar crime, maintains and operates the national crime information centre, database for stolen cars, guns and missing persons, most wanted etc. operates the FBI national academy for police chiefs and high ranking officials provides other specialised teams
What are the types of federal agents
FBI U.S. Immigration and customs U.S. Customs and border protection Drug enforcement agency U.S. Marshall service U.S. Secret service Bureau of alcohol, tobacco and firearms International police (Interpol)
What are the four different standards of proof
Probable cause: exists when more likely than not that a particular circumstance exists - certainty greater than 50%, standard of proof for arrest and search
Beyond a reasonable doubt: for finding defendant guilty and conviction used in court
Reasonable suspicion: in order for police to legally stop and frisk someone
Preponderance of evidence: the degree of certainty needed to prove and win a civil case.
What is the difference between judicial and extrajudicial evidence and exculpatory evidence and inculpatory evidence
Judicial: admissible evidence
Extra: inadmissible so can be used in investigations but not in court
Exculpatory: evidence that tends to exclude or eliminate someone from consideration as a suspect
Inculpatory: incriminate someone as a suspect
What are thief takers and thief makers
Thief takers: private citizen who was hired by a victim to recover stolen property or to apprehend a thief.
Thief maker: individual who tricked another person into committing a crime and then would turn that person in for parliamentary reward
What are the three eras of policing
The reform era
The political era
The community problem solving era
What is Interpol
Not a law enforcement agency, no power to make arrests, not a U.S. Agency, based out of Lyons France, its primary functions are the collection and analysis of criminal intelligence on a worldwide basis. It’s primary concerns are terrorism, organised crime, financial crimes, international drug trafficking. It’s basically a international data sharing warehouse.
What were the early forms of investigation evidence
Photographs: known as rogues gallery used as early mugshots now known as photo line ups.
Bertillonage system: utilised measurements for ID. Eye colour, hair colour, height, nose shape, length of left foot, length of right ear. Measurements together like a social security number.
Third degree: beating the suspect into confession or psychological coercion. Outlawed in 1936.
What was the timeline focus of the FBI
1920-30s: gangsters and kidnappings
1940s: internal enemies conspiring against the U.S. During World War Two. Created smith act which outlawed conspiracy against US.
1950-70s: organised crime, 26 crime families down to four.
1924: started to use fingerprints to identify criminals +Hoover created national clearing house
1935: started the national police academy for police officers not FBI as they have their own academy
1960s: civil right movements
What is direct v indirect evidence
Direct evidence: refers to crime related information that immediately demonstrates the existence of a fact in question. No inference needed to draw the associated conclusion.
Indirect evidence or circumstantial evidence: crime related information in which inferences and probabilities are needed to draw an associated conclusion. Eg ones physical ability to commit a crime
What is testimonial evidence
Evidence provided by a witness speaking under oath when those witnesses would be committing perjury if they did not state what they believe is true.
Lay witnesses: witnesses who’s testimony is limited to the facts personally observed.
Expert witnesses: persons who possess special knowledge about a particular issue. Admissibility based off frye v Daubert standard. Frye standard is evidence is admissible if it gained acceptance in field. Daubert is trial judge screens evidence and testimony to ensure relevance and reliability
What is real evidence
Physical evidence or scientific evidence or forensic evidence. Tangible objects that can be held or seen and produced as a direct result of the commission of a crime. Must be w testimony to show it is within the rules.
What is demonstrative evidence
Refers to tangible objects produced indirectly from the crime that relate to the crime or the perp. E.g videos or photos of crime scene
What is documentary evidence
Any evidence in the form of a document or to evidence that documents some issue related to the crime e.g printed emails or bank statements
What are the six functions of evidence
Corpus delicti evidence: evidence that establishes that a crime actually occurred eg dead body w a knife in its back
Corroborative evidence: evidence that is supplementary to the evi already available and strengths existing evi eg fingerprints
Cumulative evidence: evi that duplicated but does not necessarily strengthen evidence eg five witnesses instead of one
Associative evi: evi that can be used to make links between crimes, crime scenes, victims etc or dissociative most evidence is associative
Identification evidence: evi that leads to the id of the perp eg fingerprints
Behavioural evidence: evidence provided a basis on which to identify the type of person who may be responsible for a particular crime and how it was committed.
What is overt and covert and deceptive and non deceptive
Overt and non deceptive: basic reactive investigations eg a shooting
Overt and deceptive: psychological interrogations, manipulation and modelling thus making individuals more comfortable w you to get them to confess
Covert and non deceptive: not trying to create a story that is not true by non deceptive means eg surveillance
Covert and deceptive: underground investigation saying you’re something that you’re not
What is displacement
Crime may be displaced or moved across time or locations. The idea that you may crackdown in one area + push crime to another area
What is problems with undercover investigations
Displacement
Small fish: only caught small time offenders try to move up the chain
Officer safety
Organisational problems: agencies interfere with each other
Drawn in: officer may experience role conflict
What are the three proactive strategies
Crackdown: a strategy in which the police abruptly enforce laws at a higher rate than normal. Focus on geographical area and type of crime. Anti drink driving for example
Hot spot patrol: also know as directed patrol or saturated patrol. Involve an increase in police presence in a particular area do not necessarily involve media sanctions or under cover officers
Selective apprehension: allocation of police resources to identify, monitor and arrest repeat or high rate offenders. Theory is that a relatively small proportion of people are responsible for a relatively large percentage of crime. 5% of population responsible for 95% of crime.
What is geographic profiling?
Use of location of a connected series of crime to determine the most probable area of offender residence. Useful in serial crimes and fundamental premise is that human beings do not move randomly through their environment.
What can physical evidence do
Also know as real or forensic evidence
Can help establish elements of a crime
Can be used to make associations between crime scenes, offenders, victims and tools
Can function as corrobative evi and thereby support other evidence.
Has more of an impact on convicting a suspect than solving a crime
Higher conviction rate of cases that utilise pe
When does an arrest occur and what is an arrest warrant
Occurs when police take a person into custody for the purpose of criminal prosecution and interrogation. Police deprive person of freedom to leave
Arrest warrant is a writ by magistrate or justice requiring a officer to bring a person in have to find them and bring them in
What is a search, a seizure and a search warrant
A government infringement into a persons reasonable expectation of privacy for finding evidence
An act of police in taking cour over a person or things because of a breach of law
Specifies the person, place or vehicle to be searched. Specifies the type of items to be seized by the law enforcement. There is 3 parts
What are the three parts of a search warrant
The warrant itself
An affidavit (testimony on why there is enough probable cause and establishes pc for a warrant)
The warrant return ( lists the items seized).
What are the five rules of evidence admissibility
Must be relevant to the case
Must be competent this valid or truthful
Evidence must be necessary to establish a point
Must be material
Chain of custody records must be maintained
What are the eight exceptions to a search warrant
Exigent circumstances: without immediate police action the suspect may escape, destory evidence, or pose a threat to the police or public
Vehicles: automobile exception
Unprotected places: garbage on the curb or arson investigation
Hot pursuit: following someone from car into house
Consent: must be voluntary
Stop and frisk
Search incident to arrest
What are the four exceptions to the exclusionary rule
The good faith exception: police make an unintentional error and error is beyond their control
Inevitable discovery exception: police were reasonably expected to discover the evidence
Purge tainted exception: illegal actions of the police maybe overcome by the voluntary actions of the suspect
Independent source exception: evidence obtained from an independent source
What are the fifth and sixth amendments
The fifth amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects citizens against self incrimination.
The sixth amendment has several eighths. Most importantly right to legal counsel.
What rights are covered in the Miranda rights
Right to remain silent
Anything you say can be used in a court of law against you
You have the right to an attorney and if you cannot afford one one will be provided for you
When must a suspect be informed of their Miranda warning
When the person is in custody and prior to an investigation
When can police not use Miranda warning
To prevent possible immediate danger to the public the police can question in a limited manner before warning
Undercover police don’t need too
During roadside questioning of motorists
What is the analysis of fingerprints known as
Friction ridge analysis
What are the three types of fingerprints that can be recovered from a crime scene
Visible transfer prints
Visible impression prints: pressed into something
Latent: most common made from oil and perspiration naturally present transfer to another surface but are invisible
Three types of fingerprints
Whorls
Loops
Arch
Most common is loops
What AFIS
Automated fingerprint identification system
Fingerprints are stored in data system
Print collected from scene scanned through AFIS
Cons: very expensive, very time consuming, have to collect elimination prints, could compare glove prints but can’t get fingerprints when someone wears gloves. Can only be used if the fingerprints of the perp are already in the machine.
FBI created IAFIS (integrated automated fingerprint identification system). 70 mil subjects and 73K known terrorists federal state and local agencies can access and add to database
Fingerprints mainly come from arrest and collected on ten print fingerprint cards. Must have probable cause or consent to collect fingerprints
Fingerprints are most likely to be available for recovery from burglary, stolen autos and certain robberies.
What is the most common type of physical evidence at serious crimes
Blood
