Test Flashcards
Roles and Responsibilities of criminal investigations
Criminal investigations typically conducted by many individuals from different related areas having specialized knowledge
Many investigations start with a uniformed patrol officer arriving at a scene
“My friend has been shot” vs “get the police here now”
Weaknesses of Witnesses
Often inaccurate in their perceptions
Typically unaware of what they see
Treat them like physical evidence - protect, avoid conformity, solidify their story in your investigation, back up with physical evidence
Private Sector Investigations
Money recovery
Human resources issues - firing or buying out employees
General deterrence
Burden of proof differences - what is the desired outcome, agreed upon settlements
Ammunition for other court processes - private investigators for family court, civil court
More relaxed rules, greater freedom for investigators
Privacy rights must more limited
What are Witnesses
The starting point for most crimes
Always a factor, always involved
In most cases, witnesses provide details that lead to RG for arrest but it is the real evidence? That judges and juries look for the convict someone
More crimes are solved as a result of information gathered from witnesses and suspects than a result of physical evidence
Physical evidence greatly assists in convictions
The Four New Best Friends of the Police
DNA testing
Video surveillance
Cell phone evidence
Internet evidence (social media)
Importance of Clean Evidence
Chain of continuity
Potential Charter violations (past or future)
Timely disclosure to the defence (full, fair, frank) - honest and transparent
What is Best Evidence Rule
The best evidence is to be presented in court - if not possible, second best.
OLD common law
Courts should only consider original evidence
Should not consider second hand evidence (hearsay) due to the fact that criminal offences are considered serious in nature unless it meets an exception.
What is Disclosure to the Defence
Disclose evidence as soon as possible
Date and time stamped
When is someone compelled to provide a statement
THE ONLY TIME A WITNESS IS EVER REQUIRED BY LAW TO PROVIDE A STATEMENT IN A CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS A WITNESS OFFICER (SIU INVOKED MANDATE)
Rank in order of reliabiliyt for witness statements
Ways to Take Statements in order of reliability
Video statement - KGB oath
Video statement - police station
Audio statement - anywhere
Witness statement - verbatim and reviewed and signed by witness
Witness statement - not reviewed and signed by witness
Witness statement - in officer’s notes
Officer’s notes of what a witness said
Officer’s independent recollection of what a witness said
Reliability of Statements - how are they evaluated
Closeness to the event (contemporaneous)
Voluntariness of the statement
Demeanor of the witness
Conduct of the police (oppression, threats, promises, inducements, quid pro quo)
Locating Witnesses
Witnesses are identified and located in several manners:
They are victims of crime and report incidents to the police
They are witnesses to a crime and call police
They are witnesses to a crime and are located by the police through other witnesses, requests for assistance by the police or canvassing
What is Judges rule 8
Rule 8
“When two or more charged with the same offence and statements are taken separately from the persons charged, the police should not read these statements to the other persons charged, but each of such persons should be furnished by the police with a copy of such statements and nothing should be said or done by the police to invite a reply. If the person in charge desires to make a statement in reply, the usual caution should be administered.”
What is Judges rule 6
“A statement made by a person before there is time to caution him is not rendered inadmissible in evidence merely by reason of no caution having been given, but in such a case, he should be cautioned as soon as it is possible.”
Memory is divided into three phases:
Encoding phase - this is when the event is first presented to the person
Storage phase - information is turned into a mental record and placed in storage
Retrieval phase - mental record is stimulated causing recall of the perceived information
