Category: Criminal Investigation

The Role Of DNA In Criminal Investigation Process

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is a double stranded molecule made up of two chains that bend around each other forming a double helix. DNA carries the genetic/ hereditary material that makes us all unique, unless you are an identical twin. DNA was first discovered in the 1860s by Swiss chemist Johann Friedrich Miescher. Johann was researching the vital components of white blood cells, which is part of our body’s immune system. To test the cells, he decided to collect bandages from a medical clinic nearby. Eventually as he was looking very closely, he noticed that when he added acid to a solution of those cells, a substance would separate from the solution. When examining the substance, it had different properties to those of other proteins that we was used to. He then called it ‘nuclein’, which is what we refer to it now as DNA. DNA was first used in a trial in the United Kingdom in 1983 to convict a man of the sexual assault and murder of two young women. In Canada DNA analysis was first used in Ottawa court in 1989.

I think that DNA evidence makes a defence lawyer’s case more difficult because the evidence is so overwhelming and they must then try to argue that the sample was contaminated or mixed up, for example. I feel that DNA evidence has made cases much less complex for prosecutors.

The statistics for the National DNA DataBank (NDDB) as of December 31st ,2018 shows that 54,513 investigations including murder, sexual assault, robbery (armed), assault, attempted murder and B&E were assisted with data from the NDDB. Based on this information, it is obvious that more cases have been resolved since its induction into the legal system.

I feel that one disadvantage of using DNA as evidence is that it becomes the only piece of evidence that gets taken in for account. DNA evidence is a science and therefore there is a margin for error, especially if the DNA sample gets contaminated.

Personally, i agree that all criminals convicted should be required to submit their DNA to a database. The process of deciding between major and minor offences and all of the the criteria involved would be extremely complicated and the potential to miss some people would exist. It is also my opinion that, once convicted of a crime, you lose some of your rights to privacy. If you made a mistake for which you were given a criminal conviction but plan to live the rest of your life as a law-abiding citizen, then it shouldn’t be a concern that your DNA is contained in a national database.

Although DNA evidence can present a strong case, I do not believe that any judge or jury would convict a person solely on one piece of evidence without hearing and considering all of the other facts of the case.

The Effectiveness of the Criminal Investigation Process as a Means of Reflecting the Moral

The effectiveness of the Criminal Investigation process as a means of reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society is debatable as it can be seen that although the law incorporates some standards, there is still room for improvement. The Criminal Investigation Process is a stage where investigation and detection are carried out, and evidence is gathered so offenders can be brought before a court. It also includes the elements of police powers, bail and remand, and reporting crime. These elements were introduced to allow for the successful protection of society and for the achievement of justice to victims, offenders and society, which is done by including the moral and ethical standards of society. However as not all moral and ethical standards of society are appropriately accounted for in this process, it is only moderately effective in achieving justice. It can be seen that there are limitations in regards to the notions of justice, being fairness, equality, accessibility, timeliness, enforceability and resource efficiency, which in turn does not reflect moral and ethical standards of society, thus proving it to be moderately effective.

Police powers in the criminal investigation process can be seen as moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society as it mainly allows for the achievement of justice but has its shortcomings in regards to accessibility. The role of police includes the prevention and detection of crime, maintenance of public order and the ensuring of observance of criminal laws. Police powers are detailed in the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002, making them enforceable which enables police to use their discretion and reasonable force when needed to carry out their duties, but they are only effective to a certain extent. In most cases, police are seen to act with appropriate conduct and effectively carry out their duties as it is common that victims receive justice and protection through interference and prevention, offenders are mostly convicted and appropriately sentenced and society is protected from criminals and potential future crimes, showing that these powers are effective when used properly, as shown by the article “Man arrested after Sydney sword stand-off” (SMH, 2014) where police were able to arrest and detain a man posing a threat which prevented further crime and protected those he was endangering.

However, problems arise due to the lack of accessibility in legislation as seen with discretion and reasonable force which are not clearly defined thus leading to different interpretations and then issues and discrepancies in the actions of some police officers. This can be seen in the case of Roberto Curti where the use of discretion and “reasonable” force led to the unnecessary death of a 21-year-old man. As mentioned in the article “Police used ‘excessive, unnecessary, unlawful’ force on Brazilian student Roberto Curti, court hears” (SMH, 2014), “the application of force by the use of Taser and capsicum spray after he was handcuffed and on the ground was unnecessary, excessive and therefore an unlawful use of force” clearly showing that there was an abuse of power in this instance. The investigation carried out by the Coroner’s Court showed that in various statements officers claimed that they thought their actions were justifiable. As society often relies on police to lawfully carry out their duties, it is clear that although there are positive cases, due to the abuse of power and lack of accessibility in regards to legislation, there is a need for improvement to adequately reflect moral and ethical standards in society. Thus showing that the police powers in the criminal investigation process are only moderately effective.

Bail and remand is a part of the Criminal Investigation Process which is only moderately effective in reflecting moral and ethical standards of society as it poses limitations in regards to fairness and resource efficiency. Bail is the temporary release of a person accused and charged with a crime whilst they are awaiting trial and remand is the accused being held in custody whilst awaiting trial. Bail Act 1978 was reformed in 2013 to introduce, but not enforce, the show cause test and unacceptable risk test. The tests were introduced to allow the accused an option of bail but also to ensure that they do not pose a threat to society whilst released. This signifies the protection of society and the victim, reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society to an extent. Limitations occur when the accused is released and the victim’s protection is compromised which can further cause negative psychological impacts on the victim as they fear for their safety.

Further limitations arise from the Bail Act 2014 where the presumption of innocence was removed, severely impacting fairness and thus not reflecting moral and ethical standards of society. In the case of the Lindt cafe siege (2014), the offender, Man Monis, had been released on bail whilst awaiting a trial for a murder charge, and his actions proved to endanger society. This incident brought about significant law reform due to the lack of enforceability and lack reflection of moral and ethical standards. Thus, the Bail Act 2015 brought about the enforceability of the show cause and unacceptable risk tests and making it harder for people facing serious charges to be released. As stated in the article “Man Monis granted bail six days after controversial bail laws brought in” (SMH, 2014), “the government changed the Bail Act to ensure greater safety for our community” which is positive in reflecting the moral and ethical standards in society. There are also issues with resource efficiency when discussing remand as the accused is in custody due to court delays and refused bail and as they have not been determined as guilty, it is argued that this is not resource efficient. Overall, bail and remand in the criminal investigation process is moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society as the law reform strengthened enforceability but there are still limitations in fairness and resource efficiency.

The act of reporting crime in the criminal investigation process is moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards of society due to issues with enforceability and resource efficiency. Witnesses and victims are able to use their own discretion to decide whether or not they should report a crime. Factors that may contribute to their decision include lack of belief in the achievement of justice and/or conviction, psychological and emotional impacts of reporting (fear, paranoia) or because it can be very time-consuming. However, under the Crimes Act 1900 – S316: concealing serious indictable offences anyone who conceals information can go to jail for not reporting the crime but there are issues with a lack of enforceability as the police may never find out that there is concealed information, thus limiting its effectiveness. This may prove to cause more stress on the victim or may be what influences them to report it. Reporting crime proves to be moderately effective where resource efficiency is concerned as initiatives including the CrimeStoppers Program, which allows the anonymous reporting of crime within one’s community, have shown to be effective with reports of 319861 contacts, 145442 information reports, 5406 apprehensions made and 15580 charges laid (CrimeStoppers.com.au). Whilst this program proves to be effective in reflecting moral and ethical standards to an extent, issues arise again where enforceability is concerned because although they allow for anonymous contact, they still cannot force people to report.

To enhance resource efficiency, the Australian Federal Police have been looking to develop an app that makes reporting crime easier for people but according to the article “ACT human rights commission ‘concerned’ about new app for ACT police” (The Canberra Times, 2018), although it could be highly accessible, it could severely invade privacy rights which interferes with Australian legislation and thus is not effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards in society. As a whole, reporting crime can be deemed as moderately effective in reflecting the moral and ethical standards in society because it can be resource-efficient but lacks enforceability.

Evidently, the criminal investigation process is moderately effective as a means of reflecting the moral and ethical standards in society and achieving justice due to limitations regarding the notions of justice. This can be seen through the effectiveness of police powers, bail and remand, and reporting crime and how they reflect these standards to an extent but there is clear room for improvement.

Cyber Forensic Investigation Of The Cloud Computing And Novel Approach In New Age Technologies

Cloud computing involves potentially greater exposure to security threats and privacy breaches, since the cloud is based on the Internet and all the user’s resources are handed over to the cloud without any security during travel and rest. Because it is a vulnerable medium lots of investigation is needed when the crime is happened. Computer forensics has emerged in recent years as an important tool in the fight against crime. It is defined as the application of computer investigation and analysis techniques to determine potential evidence. The forensic investigation techniques face different types of issues while inspecting the cloud environment. The novel approach uses multi factor authentication and a supervisor in order to identify the criminals. The cloud service will be compliant with the current digital forensic investigation techniques by using the proposed solutions; it also offers the great advantage of being investigable and, ultimately, the customer’s confidence.

Nowadays, organizations are learning the advantages of cloud computing and moving toward transferring their information to the cloud; that gains cyber thefts’ interest to the cloud resources with a better level of endangerment [2]. A recent FBI analysis indicates that the dimensions of the common digital forensic case is growing at the speed of 35th per annum indicates the wild increase in digital crimes [1]. Thus, this can be completely important to pay a lot of attention to cloud laptop security and consequently cloud computing forensic investigation. Obviously, so as to debate concerning the digital forensic investigation and cloud systems, having a basic knowledge of each space is crucial [3].

Cloud Computing as outlined by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is “a model for enabling ubiquitous, convenient, on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable The provision and discharge of rapid borderline management or service-supplier interface computing tools (e.g. networks, servers, storage systems, applications and services) [ 5 ]. The cloud computing with current technologies, concerned three common models of services as — Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) that provides a virtualized machine (an environment like a physical machine however with some limitations) to the clients, — Platform as a Service (PaaS) that sometimes give an Application Programming Interface (API) to the consumer so it’ll be potential to utilize the API and develop custom-made applications; and — software as a Service (SaaS) with providing an interface (usually web based) to the consumer for using the intended service [2,7].

By knowing the standard digital forensic investigation practices, now, it’s vivid that the character of cloud computing is in direct conflicts with digital forensics investigation. Except within the IaaS cloud model that gives an environment logically like a machine, none of the programs and approaches for digital information collection is possible for the cloud computing models. as an example, collecting the system processes and observant system standing is not possible as a result of SaaS and PaaS don’t give any access to the operation system commands [8]. Supported the kind of drawback occurred in forensic investigation stage; the subsequent are issues investigators face [9].

Although cloud computing would possibly seem attractive to a business, it’s not without its own distinctive issues and considerations. Accessing a distant server to initiate an application via the net presents many obvious security risks [10]. Storage of sensitive company information on a distant server raises issues concerning the privacy and accessibility of that information by an unauthorized second party. The business or client is not usually responsive to the physical location of the information [11,12]. Likewise, they will not be ready to pick out what policies/procedures are in place to recover information ought to a server crash or become compromised. Legal and restrictive necessities and compliance may be lacking within the location(s) wherever the information is really stored [13]. The long-run viability of the information itself and its convenience may become a significant issue should the supplier not provide the services because of bankruptcy, going out of business, or merging with another company.

As one would expect, cloud computing raises some distinctive law enforcement issues relating to the situation of potential digital evidence, its preservation, and its consequent forensic analysis [13,14,15]. For example, if a client or business becomes the target of a criminal investigation, they may migrate their operating environment to a cloud environment. This is able to offer a way for the business to continue its routine operations whereas the migrated environment is forensically analyzed. However, this is often not without risk. The migrated information solely represents a “snapshot” of once it had been sent to the cloud [16]. Since the information will be stored anyplace within the world, its dispersion may be to a location or country wherever privacy laws are not readily implemented or non-existent. Establishing a sequence of custody for the information would become tough or not possible if its integrity and authenticity cannot be absolutely determined (where was it stored, who had access to look at it, was there information leak, commingling of information, etc.). There are potential forensic problems once the client or user exits a cloud application [17,18].

All the problems mentioned before, are the results of the massive distinction in cloud computing characteristic by the originally designed model, Single personal computer or Server. A brand new framework for computer forensic investigation, alone, cannot address of these issues; instead it demands for a framework for cloud computing. A number of the advised keys for cloud computing framework and analysis are as follow.

Many types of proof found in clouds, can probably be like that found in standard investigations, as well as workplace application documents, emails and pictures. many new types of evidence also will be obtainable, especially records of activities of users with clouds. Major cloud providers like Amazon and Google have enforced variety of work mechanisms trailing use among their services:

Message Log Search – is a service from Google that permits directors to create queries on email messages. Forensic investigators can even use this search provided they will gain access to the administrator account. Using this tool an investigator will realize logs containing data such as: emails sent on a selected date, account ID identification for a selected email, identification of specific email recipients, and therefore the IP address of the causing or receiving Mail agency.

Amazon simple Storage Service (S3) logging – amongst different work, Amazon provides work for ‘buckets’ created exploitation Amazon S3. Work is organized to record requests created against the bucket like the request kind, the resource that the request worked and therefore the time and information of the request.

Software hashing tools are normally utilized in standard investigations to validate the on-going integrity of information used as proof. A hash function is an algorithm for changing arbitrary length information strings into fastened length hash values, generally a number of hundred bytes long. Hash functions are designed in order that any modification within the input file should (with high probability) manufacture a unique output hash value. Hash values will thus be periodically computed for disk pictures, files or alternative information representing forensic evidence to achieve assurance that the evidence has not been modified by an analysis.

Assuming that the investigator has gained management of the cloud service it’s necessary to get an accurate copy of the information command by the service for later analysis. Each the DIP Model and ACPO tips assume the utilization of ‘forensic imaging’ to get copies of a storage device’s contents without alteration of the source. The collection of proof from a cloud environment is probably going to create a challenge to investigators. Sorting tools, volatile and persistent memory acquisition software, as utilized in standard investigations, on a consumer computer could offer minimal data.

The virtualization of information storage during a cloud makes it advanced to spot and isolate the parts of the one or a lot of physical storage devices in hand by a cloud provider that represents the user’s data that should be gathered for analysis. Virtualized information hold on a cloud could also be unfolded between many alternative physical devices and an interface between the virtual memory and therefore the investigator may exist.

In continue some of the planned approaches to avoid challenges in identifying the proof are mentioned. as the first prompt resolution for addressing the challenge of “Access to evidences in logs“, in PaaS cloud model, it is potential to arrange an API to extract relevant standing information of the system, restricted by the information associated with the consumer solely. In SaaS, depends on the interface, it would be attainable to implement the feature to envision the essential logs and standing of the client’s usage. All higher than options should offer read-only access solely and demands for specific log and system standing manager running as a cloud service. it is notable that the domain of provided information should be explicit within the client-CSP contract. additionally, to deal with the forensic investigation challenge represented before as “Data loss in volatile storage”, despite of the value, it should be globalized between cloud service suppliers to supply persistent memory device for shoppers data; which is able to brings the advantage of data-safety and data-recovery chance for shoppers, and also the simple evidence collection from a forced powered-off cloud machine. On the opposite hand, to insure the clients’ privacy of information, it should be indicated within the client-CSP’s contract that for example the clients information are triple wiped once per week the contract finished.

Additionally, to insure the confidentiality of information it’s doable to cipher all users’ data, thus it’ll not be decipherable by unauthorized person. Designing, implementing or configuring the consumer side application to log all potential proofs on the client’s machine is an answer for the difficulty represented as “Client side evidence identification”. The consumer side application that communicates with cloud services is wont to collect evidences because it may be a district of the crime. Built-in work feature of sensitive information in consumer side application will help preserve potential evidences like user communication logs and different sensitive information.

The solutions suggested here, are associated with the challenges of the gathering step in common computer forensic investigation methodology. Concerning challenge of “Making forensic image”, with current limitations of cloud computing and digital rhetorical investigation, it’s not applicable to form a forensic copy of the storage media containing the proof. Nevertheless it would be potential to get a track record of all clients’ activities like all file accesses, information transmission, live processes and the other helpful forensic record with full physical address of the accessed space. Later on, to get a forensic image of specific clients all it needs is to see the track record of the consumer and so copy bit-by-bit stream of all the area the consumer has accessed to. Obviously, the applicability of this approach largely depends on the generation of the track record of the consumer, which may be enforced by the cloud.

Following is the planned answer for the matter clarifies as “Usefulness of evidences”. Using multi-factor authentication strategies and crypto logic tunneling protocols like Virtual personal Network (VPN) to authorize the consumer and guarantee the confidentiality and integrity of information will merely solve the challenge. Having a multifactor authentication will stop the user to assert regarding stolen authentication credentials. In the court of law, proving that the user account wasn’t compromised and malicious activities are done by the owner isn’t easy if the IP or different identical data has been faked.

In continue, a simple answer is planned to resolve the problem mentioned before as “Data Reconstruction” challenge. Using a specific time system (e.g. GMT) on all entities of the cloud will merely address the challenge of various geographical zones because it brings the benefit of having a logical time pattern. This could be used later to demonstrate a time-line (temporal) analysis of against the law or maybe tracking multiple log records in several physical locations. In IaaS cloud models, the VM time is below the user’s control; thus all the date and times used in logs and different records should be converted to the particular time system.

Even though cloud computing has plenty of advantages it is vulnerable to greater security threats since it is using network as communication medium and off premise data processing. User’s privacy also has to be taken into consideration. Since it is a vulnerable medium and having higher chance of risk it needs lots of investigations when it is getting attacked or after crime is happened. Computer forensics has emerged in recent years as an important tool in the fight against crime. In this paper we have introduced a new scheme for investigation for cloud crime and attacks. It also discusses some of the challenges faced by cloud investigation methods and solutions for those challenges.

References

1. Al-Aqrabi, H., Liu, L., Xu, J., Hill, R., Antonopoulos, N. and Zhan, Y., 2012, April. Investigation of IT security and compliance challenges in Security-as-a-Service for Cloud Computing. In Object/Component/Service-Oriented Real-Time Distributed Computing Workshops (ISORCW), 2012 15th IEEE International Symposium on (pp. 124-129). IEEE.

2. Birk, D. and Wegener, C., 2011, May. Technical issues of forensic investigations in cloud computing environments. In Systematic Approaches to Digital Forensic Engineering (SADFE), 2011 IEEE Sixth International Workshop on (pp. 1-10). IEEE.

3. Brodkin, J., 2008. Gartner: Seven cloud-computing security risks. Infoworld, 2008, pp.1-3.

4. Damshenas, M., Dehghantanha, A., Mahmoud, R. and bin Shamsuddin, S., 2012, June. Forensics investigation challenges in cloud computing environments. In Cyber Security, Cyber Warfare and Digital Forensic (CyberSec), 2012 International Conference on (pp. 190-194). IEEE.

5. Dinh, H.T., Lee, C., Niyato, D. and Wang, P., 2013. A survey of mobile cloud computing: architecture, applications, and approaches. Wireless communications and mobile computing, 13(18), pp.1587-1611.

6. Dykstra, J. and Sherman, A.T., 2012. Acquiring forensic evidence from infrastructure-as-a-service cloud computing: Exploring and evaluating tools, trust, and techniques. Digital Investigation, 9, pp.S90-S98.

7. Heiser, J. and Nicolett, M., 2008. Assessing the security risks of cloud computing. Gartner report, 2(8), pp.2-6.

8. Jaeger, P.T., Lin, J. and Grimes, J.M., 2008. Cloud computing and information policy: Computing in a policy cloud?. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 5(3), pp.269-283.

9. Jansen, W. and Grance, T., 2011. Sp 800-144. guidelines on security and privacy in public cloud computing.

10. Ko, R.K., Jagadpramana, P., Mowbray, M., Pearson, S., Kirchberg, M., Liang, Q. and Lee, B.S., 2011, July. TrustCloud: A framework for accountability and trust in cloud computing. In Services (SERVICES), 2011 IEEE World Congress on (pp. 584-588). IEEE.

11. Martini, B. and Choo, K.K.R., 2012. An integrated conceptual digital forensic framework for cloud computing. Digital Investigation, 9(2), pp.71-80.

12. Park, S.C. and Ryoo, S.Y., 2013. An empirical investigation of end-users’ switching toward cloud computing: A two factor theory perspective. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(1), pp.160-170.

13. Ruan, K., Carthy, J., Kechadi, T. and Crosbie, M., 2011, January. Cloud forensics. In IFIP International Conference on Digital Forensics (pp. 35-46). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.

14. Sudhan, S.K. and Kumar, S.S., 2014. A Panoptic Survey on Cloud Computing. International Journal of Research in Engineering Technology, 2(3).

15. Sudhan, S.K.H.H. and Kumar, S.S., 2015. An innovative proposal for secure cloud authentication using encrypted biometric authentication scheme. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 8(35).

16. Sudhan, S.K.H.H. and Kumar, S.S., 2016. Gallant Use of Cloud by a Novel Framework of Encrypted Biometric Authentication and Multi Level Data Protection. Indian Journal of Science and Technology, 9(44).

17. Taylor, M., Haggerty, J., Gresty, D. and Hegarty, R., 2010. Digital evidence in cloud computing systems. Computer Law & Security Review, 26(3), pp.304-308.

18. Taylor, M., Haggerty, J., Gresty, D. and Lamb, D., 2011. Forensic investigation of cloud computing systems. Network Security, 2011(3), pp.4-10.

Why are There Fewer Serial Killers in This Decade Than Others? Essay Example

Most people assume they were born this way, with the instinct to kill; but that’s not true, genetics, environment and trauma can all be factors in making a murderer. For example, most serial killers experience some sort of trauma as a child which can cause a huge impact in their adulthood. Different types of trauma can be linked to the 4 types of serial killers visionary, mission-oriented, hedonistic and power. Researcher Abbie Maroon worked with ex-FBI profiler Joe Navarro to study and find out how different types of childhood abuse can cause the different types of killers. Their results suggested that sexual abuse could be linked to killers who chose to sexually assault and rape their victims before and after death as well as anger killings which would have been performed in a rage, psychological abuse could also be linked to killers who were sexual towards their victims but can also be associated with financial gain killings. Physical abuse was also linked towards rape and lust killings, but with behaviours such as leaving the body at the scene and carrying out the act quickly.

However, genetics can influence a person’s ability to become a killer. The gene Monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) has been associated with a variety of psychiatric disorders which can be linked to killing. People with elevated MAO-A levels in the brain are more likely to become depressed, the same gene can also cause antisocial personality disorder. If you combine the effects of this gene with the environment a person grew up in and any traumaabuse experienced there is a high chance they will become a serial killer or murderer. An example of this would be Bradley Waldrum, who shot and killed his wife’s friend and then attacked his wife with a machete. He admitted to the crimes and was charged with murder and attempted first-degree murder and was likely to get the death penalty, but his defence team asked for a scientific assessment, and it was found that he had a variant of the MAO-A gene which a forensic scientist then testified for that his combination of genes and trauma he had experienced as a child left him at higher aggression risk. This caused him to get a lesser sentence, meaning it played a significant part in a trial.

An example of a notorious serial killer from the 19th century is Jack the Ripper. Jack was situated in London during 1888 and murdered then mutilated a minimum of 5 women; the way the bodies were mutated suggested that whoever had committed the murders had a good amount of knowledge about the human body. He was an active murderer between August 7th and September 10th in and around Whitechapel district in East London, during this time several other murders took place which were believed to also be him but investigated under the nickname leather apron.

Jack the Ripper focused and murdered women of the night prostitutes which wasn’t uncommon and usually went unnoticed due to them usually being alone with no families or homes but due to the brutality of these murders an investigation formed. Jack didn’t just rape and murder these women, he mutilated them to a point where it was sadistic, and left the feeling that he had a hatred for women. The murderer, offering to pay for sex, would lure his victims onto a secluded street or square and then slice their throats. As a trophy, Jack often took the organs of the women, which adds to the theory that he knew the human anatomy as he was able to locate organs like the uterus and the kidney.

To add to the mystery, several letters turned up at the London Metropolitan Police Station (the Scotland Yard) describing pervious murders that had occurred and speculations about murders to come, taunting police officers and detectives who were on the case. Even after countless investigations into the murders his identity was never found, along with his motives. This happened in a time before forensic technology had been developed and advanced; meaning there was little way for evidence to be tested. There was no fingerprint scanning to see if it matched and left on the victim or their clothes, they were unable to test the blood to see if it was just the victims but also blood of other people. This mint the only plausible way of catching a killer was a confession ort catching them in the act. There have been several theories speculating the true identity of the killers including the Grandson of Queen Victoria, a Polish migrant and Victorian painter Walter Sickert; over 100 suspects have been named and tried but none guilty of the crime.

Jeffrey Dahmer was an American serial killer who was active between 1978 and 1991 and murdered around 17 males he predominately went for gay African American males at gay bars, shopping centres and lured them to his home with the promise of money and sex. He then gave them alcohol laced with drugs to sedate them and then he strangled then to death. He would engage in necrophilia wi6th the dead corpses before dismembering and disposing of them whilst keeping skulls or genitals as a trophy. He was also known for taking photos during all of his killing and aftercataract so he could relieve the experience. After his capture in 1991 he was sentenced to 16 life sentences before being murdered by inmate Christopher Scarver in 1994.

Dahmer claims that his compulsions towards this behaviour began when he was 14 but his parents s marriage caused it to go over the edge. However when Dahmer was in the womb his mother was suffering from mental illness and took 27 pills a day which may have led to these thoughts; due to her mental illness after birth Dahmer began getting neglected as his mother never wanted anyone besides her to touch him because of germs, this neglection at such a young age was potentially one of the most leading factors for him to act this was as it impacted the way he felt, thought and made all future relationships. By the age of 8, he had his first mental illness which just got worse overtime, so bad that he turned to drinking, however this caused his thoughts to turn into obsessions also leading him to his killings. In December 1978 Dahmer has joined the army and was deployed to Germany but he had become an alcoholic over past years which ultimately resulted in him being discharged in august 1981. His first murder occurred when he was 18 in June 1978; when he picked up a hitch hiker, took him to his parents house, got him drunk and when hicks tried to leave Dahmer hit his with a bat and then strangled him. He then proceeded to kill and dispose of two more people and it wasn’t until September 1989 that he realised the error of his killings. This happened due to the fact he got put on trial for child molestation after a run in with a 13-year-old eventually leaving him on the sex offenders register. While waiting for the sentence from the molestation case he lured Anthony Sears to his grandmother’s basement where he murdered and then sexually assaulted Anthony’s body. Over the next two years his body count jumped from 4 to 17, in which he developed tactics of killing his victims and often ate the flesh of his victims. He liked to experiment with his victims while they were alive doing things such as lobotomies Abd injecting them with unknown substances. In May 1991, police were called to Dahmer’s current resident as a naked Asian boy had been seen running from his house, the boy who Dahmer claimed to be 19 was actually the brother of the 13-year-old he had previously molested. The police however believed Dahmer and took a quick look around the property not wanting to get involved with homosexual acts. If only the police took a proper look they would have found the body of Dahmer’s 12th victim, [putting an end to his killings, but they didn’t and he got away with 5 more murders.

His spree was put to an end in 1991 when two polices officers spotted an African American man with handcuffs on wrists and followed up on his claims about Dahmer. Upon arriving at his place, he offered to get the keys for the handcuffs and the police entered his apartment where they saw multiple photos of dismembered bodies and other sexual acts occurring.

He was sentenced to 16 life sentences and only served 3 years as he was murdered by fellow inmate Christopher Scarver.

In the case of Jeffery Dahmer, the police got lucky by finding a victim of Dahmer as there was little evidence for the police to believe he was a suspect in the case and they didn’t have the advanced technology we have today, however they had the ability to do a background check when they decided not to get involved with homosexual acts and with doing the background check they could of seen his sex offender status which may of helped his killings be put to an end quicker. This therefore means that is the police had better training and were not so reluctant to investigate a potentially homosexual man; they could have saved the lives of 5 more women. It makes you wonder if it was a fault in the police that Dahmer got away with what he did for so long or whether it was the lack of forensic evidence which could have stopped him and tell the police who the serial killer was. Or was it the fact his parents didn’t care for him or the fact he had an untreated mental illness? All factors which can lead to a psychotic break and cause him to kill, sexually assault and do scientific experiments on his poor victims.

Over the years policing and criminal investigation became more and more advanced as new forensic technologies and tactics were bought in to play. They brought in rapid DNA testing. Developed in 2010, this meant instead of having to wait 8 months whilst paying a lot of money for a DNA test which may not even be helpful, they receive the results within 75-95 minutes which is particularly helpful. DNA profiling is one of the most used and heavily relied on sources to find a criminal, when DNA is found at a crime scene it is matched against previously convicted criminals and against the DNA of the new suspects for the case

One of the main techniques when finding a serial killer is to start off with criminal profiling, this allows the police officers on the case to tell if all the crimes are connected and that they need to be looking for one person or if they are looking for more than one person. It is most likely to be used when the criminal’s identity is still unknown and can be connected to serious crimes. There are five main aspects into criminal profiling which help build up a criminal profile. It works like a machine with the different inputs causing different responses, which can lead to a suspect being found; to start off they need to gather all information linked to the crime such as where, why and how, they should also be collecting information on the background of the victim as it could lead to a potential suspect when matched with the rest of the profile. The second step in creating a profile is decision processing this is where the would replicate the crime scene layout including all items that were at the scene of the crime, things they may have looked suspicious or out of place and evidence (such as blood stains) which relate to the victim of the crime, why the criminal chose this method why they chose the victim, how the crime was committed and any links between other crimes that have happened in similar ways with similar traits meaning they may be connected. After decision processing they would use crime assessment in which they replicate and act out the crime. They then offender profile, this involves deliberating about the offender, they create a profile that describes them, including intelligence, age, geographical location, certain characteristics and gender. They then put it to use during the investigation which can help the investigators narrow down who they are looking for and where to look.

The police now also have access to automated fingerprint and facial recognition which allows fingerprint and face analysis to become more reliable than human analyzation. It is especially helpful as the fingerprint is stored on a system so if the criminal gets caught doing something in another country they could still identify them without knowing them. They also use fingerprint analysis when out in the field looking at a crime scene, using special techniques they collect fingerprints off objects that have been linked or were at the crime scene which get sent to a forensics lab so they can do the analysis. The use of CCTV allows potential suspects to be linked through facial recognition, as if the potential suspect has been caught on CCTV the police can use images from that and analyse it against other criminals they already have on record so they can determine if it is a new criminal or someone they have caughtinterviewed before. The police can also use these CCTV images to broadcast to the public who they should be aware of and what they can do if spotted.

When evidence at crime scenes has been collected, forensic analysis can be completed. Any hair or clothes fibres left behind can indicate general features of the individualsuspect who was at the scene. If they fibres or hair have any blood stains on it can then be used in a DNA analysis to determine whether or not they are related to the victim or if it is from the suspect. Analysis of the clothing can also help with the detection of if a knife or other sharp object was involved. The way the clothing fibres are damaged torn, ripped, cut can show the investigators that a sharp weapon was involved in the attack, it can also show the force used on the victim, if the clothes have been cut jaggedly it was rushed or if it’s a clean slice it could have been quick and fast ect. Blood stain analysis can also determine these things. Many investigators are now trained in blood stain analysis; meaning that they are able to tell whether the victim was still, walking or running at time of death, which can help indicate if they actually died in relation to blood or if it could have been something else i.e. strangulationsuffocation, they can also use bloodstain analysis to determine how much force was used to cause the victim to bleed. Certain blood patterns mean it is detectable to find a potential weapon that may have caused death for example, impact patterns suggest that the victim was struck by an object on a blood source. The different types of blood stains all suggest a different thing so when a specialist arrives at the scene it is best to allow them to work as pictures and videos aren’t as effective or easy to get the blood stain analysis from.

The study and improvement of Serology allows CSI’s to determine the particular group the suspect may be in because of the Rh blood group system, it also allows them to find out if the victims have been sexually assaulted or raped as they can detect other bodily fluids e.g. sperm.

Crime Reporting and Predicting Tool

The researchers studied the existing crime predictive and reporting tool used in Uganda police force to identify its strengths and weaknesses. A number of techniques and tools such as observation and interview guides as well as document reviews were employed by the researcher to acquire information that was used to give the basis for the design of the system. The researcher carried out face-to-face interviews with 4 managers in the directorate of criminal investigation (CID) whose age ranged from 18 years to 45 years. Also an interview guide was prepared and questionnaires were administered to 46 CID police officers so as to enable them give their views freely.

From the study, the researcher realized that Uganda police force currently has a lot of information that is recorded and stored in paper files for all crimes committed and reported. It noticed that when a victim reports a crime at the police station, they were asked to explain the ordeal as the officer is listening and it is this officer that makes a report out of the statement that the victim has made. The statement is hand written while the victim is narrating. The files are then kept in a room that is assumed to be safely guarded, but the files are exposed to many other threats like; theft, fires, and rain which can lead to loss of vital information including evidence for some cases.

From the study, the researcher also realized that there have been recurrent crimes of raping and murdering women, for instance in the areas of Entebbe, Nansana and Masaka towns in Uganda. Female bodies have been found dumped in areas around different towns mentioned above. These crimes occur rapidly and keep reoccurring after some period, which is still challenging the police to predict and combat them. Much as there have been numerous efforts in the fight to combat crime in Uganda, for instance which range from police recruiting more officers, public awareness efforts, installing CCTV cameras, there is no known predictive models that can be used to predict crime rates, detect the crimes and identify suspects, after the crime has taken place. Good enough the crime predictive and reporting tool can apply an algorithm that makes a descriptive, predictive, and prescriptive analysis on large volume of crime data.

Thus, through these three methodologies, law-enforcement authorities can be able to take suitable actions to prevent the crimes. Moreover, by predicting the highly likely targets to be attacked, during a specific period of time and specific geographical location, police can be able to identify better ways to deploy the limited resources and also to find and fix the problems leading to crimes.

Descriptive Essay on Criminal Investigation Process

The criminal investigation process, to a significant extent, balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society. The balance of rights within any criminal matter is paramount to ensuring the vital aspects of fairness, equity, and access are upheld within the contemporary Australian legal system. The procedures with regard to search and seizure, police powers, detention, and interrogation consolidate the notion that the criminal investigation process, to a significant extent, balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society.

Protocols and procedures with regard to search and seizure, to a significant extent, balance the rights of victims, suspects, and society. The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) empowers police to “search people and seize and detain things” in certain circumstances, including the power to stop and search those where they “believe on reasonable grounds” that the person is carrying something stolen or used in the commission of an indictable offense. Not only does this power exemplify the role of discretion utilized by police officers, inherently increases resource efficiency. This notion is substantiated by the August 2019 article from the Daily Telegraph NSW ski fields: Positive drug tests at Thredbo, Jindabyne nightspots, wherein reports found that an “estimated 29 out of 30 searches led to the seizure of drugs.” This proves the fact that the search and seizure protocols did in fact balance the rights of victims, suspects, and society, as a mere 1 in 30 searches revealed no drugs. In doing so, this highlights the enforceability of ‘LEPRA’, as well as the criminal investigation process, as the exercise of said process, in an overwhelming majority of cases, ended in the upholding of justice. Thus, it is evident, that through the provisions with reference to search and seizure, the criminal investigation system balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society, to a significant extent.

The powers awarded to police, including those under special circumstances, demonstrate the notion that the criminal investigation system, to a significant extent, balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society. ‘LEPRA’ works in tandem with the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Act 2016 (NSW), in order to ensure impartiality within the criminal investigation process. The purpose of the Act is to serve independently of the NSW Police Force and the NSW Crime Commission, to inspect police conduct. Not only does this inherently increase accountability and responsiveness within the criminal investigation process, but it also maximizes resource efficiency, in that it took over the roles formerly held by the Police Integrity Commission and the Police Office of the Ombudsman. This effect is evident through the instance of the Roberto Curti incident of 2012, where Curti was killed by excessive use of force; he was tasered 14 times for feeling a low-level offense. 2014 ABC News Article Roberto Laudisio Curti death: Policeman involved in arrest found guilty of assault, three other officers cleared speaks to the investigation and accountability given to police officers, as “one police officer… was given… a guilty finding,” reconsolidating the resource-efficient nature of the powers awarded to police within the criminal investigation process. Ergo, it is clear that through the exercise of police powers, the criminal investigation process, to a significant extent, balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society.

The measures and provisions with regard to detention and interrogation consolidate the fact that the criminal investigation process, to a significant extent, balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society. The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) denotes that “police may only detain a suspect for four hours, by which time the person must either be charged or unconditionally released.” In itself, this balances the rights of all involved parties, as police may still question potential perpetrators, whilst still limiting the ability for malicious prosecution, or the continual interrogation and detention of innocent parties. This meets society’s moral and ethical standard of innocence until proven guilty, and maintains the enforceability of laws within the criminal investigation process. Moreover, in a ruling from Driscoll (1977) HCA, an unsigned, oral confession is inadmissible as evidence. While it may seem as though this hampers resource efficiency, it places a greater significance on balancing the rights of suspects; it upholds the moral and ethical standard of innocence until proven guilty. Therefore, through the provisions and protocols surrounding detention and interrogation, it is clear that the criminal investigation process, to a significant extent, balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society.

Therefore, it can be seen through the provisions with regard to search and seizure, police powers, detention, and interrogation, that the criminal investigation process, to a significant extent, balances the rights of victims, suspects, and society. As Australia’s contemporary legal system fosters an environment for reform and change, it is clear that given the current trajectory of the status of rights of the aforementioned processes, this situation will continue to improve.

Evolution of Criminal Investigation and Forensic Science

“Law and Order are primarily maintained by the police. The other parts of the legal and criminal justice system are less essential.” Discuss the extent to which this statement is true.

The gradual modification of the Common Law system over the years has led to the creation of professional police as holders of criminal investigations in most criminal offenses, inaugurating the existence of a procedural phase prior to criminal activity. Recently, new reforms in the English criminal system have transferred the powers that were in the hands of the police, to give rise to the criminal proceedings, to the prosecuting body, clearly creating a division functions in criminal prosecution between the police at the investigation stage criminal and the prosecuting body in the criminal activity. On the other hand, Civil Law also underwent transformations that altered its initial configuration, linked mainly to the need to limit the powers of the magistrate during criminal proceedings. The modifications removed much of the judge’s role in the production of evidence in the criminal action, as well as implying their distance from the criminal investigation, handing that role of the judge to an accuser, who is also a magistrate.

Until the second half of the 19th century, there was no preparatory stage in criminal proceedings which would enable the magistrate to comment on a case after a prior investigation. At that time, England and Wales did not have an official police force, so there was no government agency responsible for investigating and filing the case with the judge. The government was kept away from criminal proceedings and the application of criminal law was considered a private matter. The criminal prosecution was carried out by the citizens themselves and promoted by the victims of the crimes, so it was not possible to affirm the existence of a state system of criminal prosecution itself. Today, the police in England and Wales have control of criminal investigation, in a way that the investigation of crimes occurs under their direction while exercising their own powers. The police are responsible for conducting the investigation, collecting information, and forming investigation records. In this way, the development of the first phase of criminal proceedings depends entirely and exclusively on the police. As stated in the Code of Crown Prosecution, responsibility for the direction of investigations implies making decisions to initiate and pursue them, as well as the form to use their resources: The Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 Code of Practice (2.1) states that: “All investigators have a responsibility for carrying out the duties imposed on them under this code, including in particular recording information and retaining records of information and other material.”

Thus, in England and Wales, the police have control of the criminal investigation and do not act under the command of the judge or the prosecuting body, who are not authorized to direct the activities of the police. The ownership of the criminal investigation conferred to the police was accompanied by the obligation to pursue all reasonable lines of investigation, regardless of whether they benefited or harmed the investigated when clarifying the fact. The Criminal Procedure Investigations Act 1996 in section 23 (1) Code Practice (3.5) provides for this characteristic of the justice system in England and Wales. It is in this way that criminal investigation does not only limit to a search of elements for the condemnation, but it also develops evidence regarding the innocence of the suspects. Therein lies the duty to conduct criminal investigations in an impartial manner. This characteristic of the English system shows that it is mandatory for the purpose of the criminal investigation to clarify the facts and not to assist a magistrate or the prosecuting body in forming its opinion. The police secure criminal investigations for most crimes, so the investigation of crimes depends entirely and exclusively on them. In this way, the main role of the police in criminal proceedings in England and Wales is to carry out a criminal investigation, through the production of evidence, and to present, in relation to some crimes, the criminal charge. The police control criminal investigations from beginning to end, and they are responsible for this phase of the criminal process. The role of the police, in short, is to open investigations (inquiries), to take steps to clarify the case, according to the available resources and appropriate investigative measures, and, finally, to delimit the conduct of those involved and formalize the criminal infraction. When the police finish the investigation, they formally send the case to the judge, presenting, in some specific cases, the imputation.

The police officer has functional autonomy to conduct investigations and decide on the imputation of crimes to the investigated when applicable, not being subject to the orders of the government or their superiors, but only to compliance with the law. The magistrate remains inactive, acting only reactively in relation to requests made by the police in the course of the criminal investigation, or by the parties, the prosecutor and the defense, during the criminal action. The judge does not take the lead in the criminal investigation, nor does direct police actions when implementing authorized measures since the operation depends on the police. Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) magistrates and members belong to different careers and cannot exchange roles between themselves. The police are also not subordinate, bound, or submitted to the prosecuting body during the investigation of crimes. However, it is up to the prosecuting body, when consulted, to present its opinion on matters involving the investigated crimes to the police officer, in order to assist the police in carrying out their function, as stated in Code of Crown Prosecution 2013 (3.2). The English criminal system underwent a new reform in 2003, carried out by the Criminal Justice Act, which changed this characteristic. From then on, the powers of the English prosecuting body in criminal proceedings were increased to the detriment of the powers of the police. The Crown Prosecution Service is responsible for filing criminal action in most cases, as well as for the final decision regarding the archiving of investigations. The reforms carried out in the English criminal system maintained the ownership of the criminal investigation in the hands of the police and gave the prosecuting body exclusive decisions on the initiation of criminal proceedings, in most cases, on the continuity of the charges brought by the police, and also on the archiving of investigations. Thus, in the English system, the police are mainly responsible to maintain Law and Order.

Bibliography

1. Delmas-Marty, M. and Spencer, J. (2002) European Criminal Procedures. Cambridge, U.K.; New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
2. http:www.fwr.orgWQregAppendicescode2013english_v2.pdf
3. https:assets.publishing.service.gov.ukgovernmentuploadssystemuploadsattachment_datafile447967code-of-practice-approved.pdf
4. https:www.app.college.police.ukapp-contentinvestigationsmanaging-investigations
5. https:www.fairtrials.orgwp-contentuploadsCriminal-Proceedings-and-Defence-Rights-in-England-and-Wales-Aug-2013.pdf
6. https:www.instituteforgovernment.org.ukpublicationperformance-tracker-2019police
7. https:www.instituteforgovernment.org.ukpublicationpublic-services-spending-round law-order
8. https:www.legislation.gov.ukuksi2020759contentsmade
9. https:www.polfed.orgmedia14239the-office-of-constable-with-links-2018.pdf
10. https:www.ncjrs.govpdffiles1nij111460.pdf

Evolution of Criminal Investigation in Wales

The purpose of criminal investigations in Wales has changed, where at one point its initiative was to bring criminal offenders to justice with the investigative section simply being about gathering evidence to assist in the prosecutions of these offenders, where now crime risks such as intelligence gathering, victim care, and community reassurance are seen just as vital (Stelfox, 2009).

Forensic advancements over time have played a massive part in aiding criminal investigations in Wales. Examples of forensic advancements since the 1980s in and Wales consists of DNA, fingerprinting, DNA profiling, DNA databases, forensic toxicology, and forensic ballistics.

DNA technology has been an incredible tool that has brought about a massive change in criminal justice and criminal investigation (Panneerchelvam and Norazmi, 2003). The use of DNA fingerprinting for identification has helped revolutionize crime detection all over (Panneerchelvam and Norazmi, 2003). In 1986, Dr. Alec Jeffery`s first used DNA fingerprinting to aid in verifying a suspect`s confession that he had committed two rape murders. Due to Dr. Jefferie’s use of DNA fingerprinting it was found that the individual hadn`t committed the crime. Since then, investigators today can recover DNA profiles from skin cells that have been left behind by an offender who has simply touched a surface. This modernized change as well as new data analysis approaches have granted investigators the ability to distinguish mixed DNA samples (Arnaud, 2017). These are trace samples that consist of multiple individuals’ DNA (Hu, Cong, Li, Ma, Lihong, Fu, and Zhang, 2014). Large samples of DNA such as bloodstains used to be required to acquire enough DNA and form a profile. However, 1985 the creation of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in 1985 by Kary Mullis sat as a solution to this (Arnaud, 2017). The process amplifies DNA samples by copying them multiple times and effectively making detection easier (Britannica, 2019). Prior to DNA profiling, forensics focused mainly on fingerprint examination and blood type comparison as forms of identification. The creation of DNA profiling has advanced identification for criminal investigators having given them a wider amount of forms (Oosthuizen and Howes, 2021). Touch DNA is another forensic advancement within DNA profiling that has changed criminal investigations since the 1980s as police are now able to gather DNA from objects that a suspect has touched. If a suspect touches items whilst being interviewed, officers can obtain their fingerprint DNA from what they touched. Large amounts were required before the 80s to be able to obtain DNA matches (KOVA corp, 2021).

The recognition of fingerprint patterns began in the early 1800s, however, it would be decades until they were applied to a criminal investigation. Fingerprints are unique to the individual and this was learned before fingerprints were found to be a solid form of identification (Science Edition, 2021). Before the 1980s, police detectives were left to manually compare fingerprints that were on file already to find a specific match. This process could take from hours to days whilst also not coming out with any results. This issue was resolved with the first electronic fingerprint matching system, AFIS. This system produced speedy cross-checking of fingerprints, this being a massive advancement over previous procedures (Science Edition, 2021). Also, this same system now can hold up to 50 million fingerprints, mug shots, and criminal backgrounds, a stark difference from the manual comparisons before the 1980s (Science Edition, 2021).

Before the 1980s, cases that involved DNA didn`t work effectively as they required a suspect as well as a blood sample from that suspect. Without a sample from a suspect, a comparison couldn`t be made. DNA databases can now, within Wales, house many different DNA profiles and allow profiles to be compared and analyzed faster than the manual way before the 80s (Oosthuizen and Howes, 2021). The databases can analyze unknown samples and compare them to already listed samples. This is vital in terms of violent crimes like sexual assault and homicide as those crimes are found to have repeat offenders, meaning running a case with no suspects through the database increased the chances of identifying one. Additionally, DNA databases have helped solve unsolved cases (Arnaud, 2017). DNA testing before was restricted to identifiable body fluids such as semen, blood, and saliva, whereas now substances like clothing fibers, hair follicles, and skin cells can be identified and used to help identify suspects within criminal investigations (Donahue and Perlin, 2018).

Similarly, with forensic toxicology, analysts used to have to run chemicals manually unlike now where new and advanced technology allows quick and improved testing abilities. GC MS is an advanced system dating back to the 1980s that can identify and assess components of any size quickly and effectively unlike the manual running before the 80s (Otorocha, 2016). The importance of trace evidence when it comes to crime scene analysis is not acknowledged as much as DNA evidence. It can show what happened at a crime scene such as whether a body was moved or what position an individual was assaulted in (NFSTC, 2013).

Technological advancements have drastically changed the way that DNA forensics works within criminal investigations. Laboratories can now test many amounts of DNA samples in comparison to when forensic testing was first implemented (Donahue and Perlin, 2018). Advanced ballistics photography is another change in criminal investigations since the 1980s that has been and can be used to identify how suspected murder weapons can be linked to murder cases. Noticeable how shell casings can be found at crime scenes and can be directly linked back to specific guns that could potentially have the same firing pattern, barrel markings, and gun discharge (Baird, 2017). Forensic ballistics has advanced considerably since the specific field became notable in the 1920s. Experts within this field used comparison microscopes to compare the similarities between specific bullets and cartridge cases. Since the 1980s, ballistic experts have focused on computer software that helps them manipulate and compare images (Johnson, 2010). Essentially, analysts can now use advanced ballistic technology due to 3D imaging. This improvement can help analysts determine where a specific weapon was fired based on shells and cartridges (Kaelin, 2015).

Overall, forensics has played an instrumental role in evolving criminal investigations in Wales. Its constant advancements since the 1980s from DNA forensics to the technological advancements of digital forensics. Forensics has opened the door to a wide range of investigative strategies mentioned that will continue to advance as well as create new and improved forms. There has been a large noticeable change in how criminal investigations work in Wales since the 1980s due to the constant improvements within the field of forensic science.

Methods of Inquiry in Criminal Investigation

There are many investigative techniques used in a criminal investigation. Each technique is different in providing evidence that can be used in the courtroom to prove someone guilty or innocent. Some of these investigative techniques are intelligence databases, forensic techniques, profiling techniques, surveillance techniques, and interview techniques.

The use of intelligence databases has been used in criminal investigations. This refers to information that has been obtained and recorded. This can be stored in a variety of different databases. One is the Police National Database which includes intelligence about suspected criminal activity. It holds over 3.5 billion searchable records. Another database is the Police National Computer which stores extensive information on people`s arrests and convictions, vehicles and driving licenses, and finally missing and wanted people. In the brief, the police checked the police databases for known offenders living in the area. By doing so, they can identify any offenders who live within where the murder was committed and be able to match any patterns or occurrences to find a suspect. Furthermore, another database is the Criminal and the Gangs Matrix. This includes information on criminals, suspects, protesters, and suspected gang members. Finally, the last of the databases would be the international databases. The information used in databases can also be accessed and shared by different countries. Examples of the data would be INTERPOL databases on child sexual exploitation, biometric records, stolen property, firearms, and organized crime networks. In a criminal investigation, the Police National Database would be the most useful. This is because if the databases were in the Police Station, they would have quick access. This can allow police to receive details for a suspect or already have a profile for another criminal which gave help them to convict an offender. Also, due to it having over 3.5 billion searchable records, there is a huge likelihood of retrieving details of suspects. However, the Criminal and the Gang Matrix may be the least useful because it has been criticized for being racially discriminatory, and in 2017, the names and addresses of 203 alleged gang members were accidentally leaked and those named suffered serious violence from rival gangs.

One investigative technique useful in criminal investigations would be forensic techniques. This includes scientific tests to examine evidence like biological materials; blood, semen, and hair; as well as fingerprints, shoe prints, weapons, fibers, paint, etc. In the brief, investigators found footprints and a red scarf which allowed the police to look for DNA evidence to match Gareth Hughes. DNA analysis has led to important developments in solving serious crimes since fingerprinting was invented. Furthermore, it has led to samples of family members’ DNA being used to aid the identification of offenders, due to the similarity of DNA profiles. For example, this was apparent in the case of Collette Aram. Colette Aram was raped and murdered in 1983 before DNA analysis existed. However, the offender (Paul Hutchinson) was found and convicted due to a similarity in DNA samples, after his son was arrested for motoring offenses later on.

Forensic techniques can be very useful in criminal investigations. Due to DNA being found in almost every cell and each person`s being unique, this allows for easy identification of those in the databases and provides a profile of the offender. Also, even if the DNA cannot be matched, DNA from close relatives, such as siblings, have many similarities in common and matches may be made from this. Through this, it can prove a suspect to be innocent or guilty and avoid any miscarriages of justice. This allows for forensic techniques to be extremely useful in criminal investigations because it provides high chances of profiling and convicting the perpetrator.

However, forensic techniques may not be useful in criminal investigations. This is due to the possibility of contamination. When collecting DNA material, investigators must secure the scene and wear protective clothing. However, if this does not occur contamination can occur and result in a miscarriage of justice. This was the case with Adam Scott, who was wrongly convicted of rape after the contamination of a DNA sample. Also, forensic techniques may not use because to match DNA samples, the offender must be in the Police National Database. Furthermore, with DNA tests being quite expensive, the recent budget cuts in many forensic fields may lead to certain cases being burdensome as they are unable to fund the DNA evidence needed to prove someone guilty or innocent.

Another investigative technique that is useful in criminal investigations would be Profiling techniques. This is when by examining the characteristics of an offense, we can predict the characteristics of the offender. One type of profiling is typological profiling. This aims to put offenders into different types by the characteristics of how they behave at the crime scene. Profiling divides the crime scene and the offender into organized and disorganized types. For example, an organized murderer would have above-average intelligence, be manipulative, and be angry at the time of the attack, whereas a disorganized murderer would be socially inadequate and be frightened or confused at the time of the attack. By doing this, the police can identify and narrow down their search for the offender and predict future behavior. Another type of profiling is clinical profiling. This is when clinical psychologists use their professional experience to get into the mind of the offender this allows them to gain insight to predict future behavior. This was used in the brief, where a criminal psychologist was used to create an offender profile of the killer, which led to the arrest of Gareth Hughes who fitted the description given. The third type of profiling is geographic profiling. Due to offenders making choices about where they offend, geographical profiling aims to investigate where the offenses occurred to identify where the offender lives. This is based on the least effort principle (where the offender chooses the offender nearer to home) and the buffer zone principle (where offenders will avoid offending too close to home). This has been explained through the marauder whereby drawing a circle through the two furthest apart offenses, the offender will live in the middle. The commuter where the offender will travel away from home and once they are there, the crimes will all be clustered together. For example, this was the case with John Duffy. 23 women were raped at railway stations throughout the southeast. Geographical profiling was used by studying where the rapes occurred, and the patterns involved with the offenses. This helped profile Duffy and identified where he lives to convict him.

There are several advantages to profiling techniques being used in criminal investigations. One strength would be it can link crimes committed by the same offender. This can be very useful as it can allow police to be ahead of the offender and to be able to find and convict them before any further offending occurs. Also, through this, we can predict future offenses and prevent any further victims. Furthermore, profiling can be useful in criminal investigations as it can help the police target their resources and priories suspects. With recent budget cuts in the police departments, there is a lack of resources. However, targeting the offender early on, allows for fewer resources to be used and therefore can save them for bigger cases.

However, there are also some weaknesses to profiling techniques, which may lead to them being not useful in criminal investigations. For example, typological profiling can be useful in a criminal investigation because it allows offenders to be caught sooner and prevents any future crimes to occur. However, the profile based on the offender`s likely personality is subjective and may be completely different from the offender`s actual personality. This would prove that profiling to not be useful in criminal investigations. Also, clinical profiling could produce unsupported speculation about the offender’s characteristics and motivations. This may sidetrack the investigation and may lead to arresting innocent people. This occurred in the case of Rachel Nickell. Rachel was murdered in broad daylight in 1992. Paul Britton, a criminal profiler, was used in the investigation and Colin Stagg was convinced to be the murderer as he fitted the description. However, they lacked forensic evidence and therefore, Britton came up with a plan to tempt Stagg into a confession using a honey trap. Although Stagg didn`t confess, he was still charged with the murder. However, with the use of the honey trap, the trial collapsed as they tried to incriminate an innocent suspect. Profiling techniques, such as geographical profiling can be useful in criminal investigations because it has been able to predict where to find the offender in a range of crimes e.g., rape, arson, etc. However, if the offenders change patterns and ways of offending, profilers will find it difficult to predict the offender`s future offending. Also, geographical profilers rely on accurate data. If crime locations are not recorded correctly, this will make the map inaccurate. Despite this, geographical profiling may be the most useful in a criminal investigation. This is because it can help with a variety of crimes, and it can help prevent any future offending and save further victims. Also, it can help you track down where the offender lives and be able to arrest and convict them to bring rightful justice.

Another investigative technique that is useful in criminal investigations would be Surveillance techniques. Surveillance techniques involve watching over someone or something to help provide evidence for criminal investigations. This can involve CCTV, Covert surveillance, and observation. CCTV is used to give 24-hour coverage of a location, and the crime and to help identify the offender and victims. This is very useful in a criminal investigation. For example, it proved very useful in the case of James Bulger. James Bulger was abducted, tortured, and murdered by two 10-year-old boys. Bulgers’ body was found on the train tracks a few miles away from Liverpool`s shipping Centre. CCTV footage from the shopping Centre showed the offender observing the children and selecting Bulger. The boys walked out of the shopping Centre with Bulger, and CCTV footage found them walking toward the train station. It caught Thompson and Venables (the offenders) beating Bulger up and pushing him onto the train tracks. This footage was used in court, and Thompson and Venables got convicted guilty of murder. However, CCTV may not always be useful. This is because due to CCTV being fixed, it lacks the ability to follow a suspect around the corner. Also, CCTV cameras can be easily spotted which may result in offenders avoiding them or disguising themselves. Furthermore, CCTV footage may not always be of good quality, which may make it difficult or impossible to identify someone. Despite this, however, CCTV is the most useful in a criminal investigation. This is because CCTV cameras are placed in most streets, laboratories, police stations, and outside and within big institutions. With the camera running constantly, this increases the likelihood of catching criminal activity. This evidence may help convict someone of being guilty or proving someone`s innocence, which proves its usefulness in a criminal investigation.

Another type of surveillance technique would be covert surveillance. This is planned surveillance carried out so that those being monitored are unaware. Examples of covert surveillance are: tracking devices and GPS, tapping phones, unmarked police cars, etc. Cover Human Intelligence Sources can also be used. They are individuals who maintain a relationship with the target to gain information. Despite covert surveillance being successful in helping o gain information and insight into offenders to prevent future offending, it may be the most useful technique used in criminal investigations. This is because carrying out covert surveillance may breach the target’s human rights to private life and entrapment. If carried out unethically, this can result in the information being found to be inadmissible and the case being collapsed. This will result in the technique being not useful. Covert Surveillance is pre-planned surveillance; however, observation is not. Observation may occur if a police officer not on duty unexpectedly comes across suspicious activity taking place. The police officer may keep the situation under observation to decide whether there is a crime being committed.

Finally, the last investigative technique used in criminal investigation is the interview technique. Interview techniques involve interviewing witnesses to a crime or experts that can help provide evidence to a court. One example of an interview technique is eyewitness testimonies. This is evidence given by a witness to a crime which is often accepted by juries as accurate, and more weight is given to this than to other types of evidence. In fact, in 74% of cases, a lineup identification was the only prosecution evidence as mentioned by the Devlin Committee in 1976. This can show the usefulness of the technique in criminal investigations. However, despite this, the innocent project showed that over 70% of the 352 wrongful convictions were due to eyewitness misidentifications. This may result in the technique being not useful. Also, eyewitness testimonies may have problems in criminal investigations. This is due to the nature of relying on a witness`s memory acquisition (how well they absorbed the details of the crime), memory retention (storing the events for long periods of time), and memory retrieval (how well the witness recalls the memory accurately). The witness’s memory may be affected by the crime, resulting in them providing inaccurate details of a crime and therefore being not useful in a criminal investigation. For example, in the brief, two witnesses came forward and claimed to have seen a man acting suspiciously in the park. However, when brought in to identify the man from the lineup, only one of them showed up. The witness who identified Gareth Hughes could`ve recognized his face due to the mass media interest the case was receiving and therefore gave an inaccurate statement. This case was brought to the innocent project to be checked upon as the eyewitness testimony may have given a misidentification, resulting in a miscarriage of justice for Gareth Hughes. In order to avoid these problems, the cognitive interview is brought instead of the standard police interview. This includes asking the witness to reinstate the context of the crime. This involves imagining themselves back in the situation; and reporting everything they saw. Using cognitive interviews in criminal investigations can prove to be extremely useful because it maximizes the chances of gaining accurate information from witnesses and therefore provides useful evidence to be used in court.

Another example of an interview technique would be expert witnesses. They can play an important role in criminal investigations by providing information and advice on different crimes and aspects of the investigation. For example, there are experts in fields such as blood patterns, fires, explosions, offenders’ likely behavior, likely cause of death, insects, etc. In the case of Leanne Tierman, an expert in dogs was used. Leanne Tierman`s body was found in a shallow grave with her body with a black plastic bag over her head, held in place with a dog collar. The police called a canine expert to track down the collar, in which they found the suppliers of the dog collar and found that a man from Bramley had bought several like the one found around Leanne Tiernan`s neck. His name was John Taylor. The experts were able to trace dog hairs found on the collar and matched the dog to John Taylor, which led to his sentencing to two life sentences in July 2002. In February 2003, he was convicted of two rapes, based on DNA evidence, and given two additional life sentences. Expert interviews can be extremely useful in criminal investigations because police can ask them for clarification which allows there to be no miscommunication. Also, due to the specialist knowledge in many different categories, answers about the crime can be answered quickly and efficiently by the experts. However, despite having this specialist knowledge, experts may sometimes get it wrong and this can lead to a miscarriage of justice. For example, in the case of Sally Clark. Sally Clark was wrongly jailed for the murder of her two sons after an expert witness told the jury that the chances of both her baby`s death being accidental was one in 73 million. When in actual fact, experts now believe that the risk could have been as low as one in 100. Despite this, the expert witness would appear to be the most useful technique in a criminal investigation. This is because experts are more likely to have specialist knowledge in order to discuss parts of the crime. This can therefore explain what happened to the victim of any sort of crime and allow the police to understand what measures must take place next.

In a criminal investigation, there are many different techniques used. Techniques such as forensics, surveillance, interviews, and profiling. However, the technique that would be most useful in a criminal investigation would be forensics. This is because DNA is unique to everybody (other than twins) and can allow for matches on the databases to appear in previous offenders. Furthermore, if it is someone`s first offense and they are not on the database, close relatives’ DNA has also been found to match. This is useful in a criminal investigation as it allows for the majority of first-time and reoccurring offenders to get identified with information that can help track them down in order to arrest and prosecute them rightfully.

Persuasive Essay on Virtual Reality

Technological evolutions have been taking place daily since the advent of the computer era. Virtual reality is one of the technical fields that have experienced dramatic changes since its onset. Virtual reality can be defined in simple terms as an artificial environment that is created through digital technology in such a way that its users assume that it is a real environment. Virtual reality has been applied to other technologies such as digital forensics and security. Digital forensics aims to examine digital materials to discover evidence of a crime. Virtual reality has experienced a series of evolutions in the past until today. This move has facilitated its adoption into digital forensics studies. In this paper, I will explain how virtual reality has been of use in forensics and the advancements that we expect to get in the future.

Introduction

Virtual reality has been in existence for several decades. It is a type of technology that has been proven to have capabilities that support the activities that are carried out in digital forensics. On the other hand, virtual reality has been used for supporting crime scene reconstruction (Chan, 2011). Scientists are optimistic that these technologies will bring many solutions to the field of digital forensics. In this case, we are going to look into what virtual reality has achieved thus far and the prospects that we are expecting soon.

Virtual reality is a technology that has been developed to incorporate many aspects of human beings, such as human senses. It has been developed in such a way that it can capture feelings and immerse them into another world that is generated by computer technology. VR has been designed to capture senses to enable human beings to be able to perceive and interact with it because it creates a “sense of presence.” According to Witmer (1998), “a sense of presence is the creating subjective experience to a person in such a way that he experiences a different environment from where that person is located.” Besides, environments created the VR are now sharable through internet technology for many people to interact with it (Neeter, 2019).

Virtual reality brings a sense of immersion to the users such that the digital environment fully envelops them. The users then, perceive themselves as if they are interacting with the digital environment instead of interacting with their real-world surroundings. The user gets images and sounds from their points of view in their natural surroundings. The sense of presence created by virtual reality makes the users feel like they are physically present in the scene (Neeter, 2019).

Uses of virtual reality in forensics

Most of the judicial processes require a lot of support from documented materials as proof of evidence. Physical materials are used to provide evidence or a clue about what happened in courts (Chan, 2011). Most of the time, collecting evidence at crime scenes is difficult. Digital forensics is, therefore, a good source of meaningful insights into what happens in the scenes of crime. Launching investigations of crime scenes with technology is one of the things that were almost impossible in the past. Communication between the investigators and the prosecutors also had some difficulties before the advent of current technologies such as virtual reality (Chan, 2011).

Virtual reality and other associated technologies have been used for criminal investigations for several decades. A research conducted by Agosto et al., (2008), virtual reality has been used in conducting crime scene analysis. In the study, the researchers try to verify how they can associate human movements with patterns of blood that may be found at crime scenes. The approach they have used shows that virtual reality has been a powerful tool for investigating crime scenes.

Research conducted by Poelman et al. (2012) sought to investigate whether crime scene investigators can effectively carry out their investigations using 3D technologies and virtual reality technology. The results of this study reveal that virtual reality is very instrumental in helping crime investigators solve different issues that revolve around the collection of evidence from crime scenes. This study also reveals that criminal experts have been able to get solutions even when they are far away from the scenes. In other words, virtual reality has been used to support judicial processes through the evidence they provide.

Criminal investigators use sophisticated 3D laser scanners to capture the photos of the crime scenes. VR provides an intuitive way of visualizing the data collected through 3D gadgets. Virtual reality has also become affordable, and thus its adoption has increased in recent years (Binter et al., 2016). Criminal justice investigators are now able to get the reports of crime scenes when they need them by using VR technological tools. Since criminal evidence can be destroyed before it reaches the right places, virtual reality systems are used to recreate a more realistic environment that provides and preserves evidence of the crime scenes (Neeter, 2019).

Future application of virtual reality

Before we dive into what we anticipate to get in the future by using virtual reality in digital forensics, we need to ask ourselves whether virtual reality has been used to its full potential. In my own opinion, I would say that there is still a lot that needs to be done for us to say that it has been used maximally. When I look at the current usage of virtual reality in providing evidence for criminal investigations, I see that a lot of improvements need to be made. However, there are a lot of things that we are expecting in the field of virtual reality, especially in the field of digital forensics and security. First, we are anticipating that there will be increased usage of 3D laser scanners by forensics experts (Binter et al., 2016). This move will be realized because these tools are simple to use and efficient in collecting forensic information from crime scenes.

The demand for other innovative ways of collecting and sharing scene information will also increase. More features will be added to the software and hardware that use virtual reality technologies to enhance the experience of the users while using VR tools. We are also anticipating that the demand for virtual reality technologies will continue to increase. The ubiquity and pervasiveness of virtual reality will cause criminal experts to have an increased demand for virtual reality technologies (Crellin et al., 2009). The adoption of these technologies in other fields will accelerate the rate of adoption of the same techniques in the criminal investigation field. We also expect that we have the same effects of virtual reality in other gadgets, such as smartphones.

The use of Virtual reality in digital forensics and security has brought several impacts. VR has positively impacted the field of digital forensics in several ways. First of all, criminal investigators and other users have been able to use this technology to conduct investigations with efficiency since the evidence provided can be walked through as many times as they need in a way that they can perceive the evidence as if it is in the original settings (Taylor et al., 2014). These users get to revisit issues related to the crime scenes quickly and cost-effectively. Different users of VR technology are also able to share knowledge since most of the processes used are digitized. The other positive impact that has been brought about by using VR in digital forensics is knowledge acquisition. Prosecutors have been able to acquire knowledge about the crime scenes effectively. They have also been able to communicate their views based on informed evidence provided by VR technology. However, the use of VR has some negative impacts. The tools that are used may sometimes be costly, thus making them unaffordable to many people, especially in third-world countries. Functional issues may also decrease the usage of VR in digital forensics (Crellin et al., 2009).

Virtual reality has been applied widely in providing evidence for criminal cases. Even though every technology has some drawbacks, Virtual reality has proved to be more beneficial in the field of digital forensics. The reason why VR has been welcomed in this field is that it provides criminal investigators and other specialists with a clear visualization of crime scenes in a way that makes them feel as if they are physically present at the site of the crime. Communication barriers are, therefore, eliminated since people using this technology extract most of their evidence through observation of the digital environment (Crellin et al., 2009). The other aspect that has caused VR to be applied widely in digital forensics is the fact that different experts from different geographical locations can collaborate within the digital environment created by VR. However, the price of most of the VR tools required to carry out an investigation keeps many away from applying virtual reality (Crellin et al., 2009).

References

1. Agosto, E., Ajmer, A., Boccardo, P., Giulio Tonolo, F., and Lingua, A., 2008. Crime scene reconstruction using a fully geomatic approach. Sensors, 8(10), pp.6280-6302.
2. Binder, J., Klapilová, K., Zikánová, T., Nilsson, T., Bártová, K., Krejčová, L., Androvičová, R., Lindová, J., Průšová, D., Wells, T. and Riha, D., 2016. Exploring the Pathways of Adaptation: Avatar 3D Animation Procedures and Virtual Reality Arenas in Research of Human Courtship Behaviour and Sexual Reactivity in Psychological Research. In Virtual worlds: The virtual reality and augmented reality intersections (pp. 35-44). Brill.
3. Chan, A., 2011. The use of low-cost virtual reality and digital technology to aid forensic scene interpretation and recording.
4. Crellin, J., and Karatzouni, S., 2009, September. Simulation in digital forensic education. In Third International Conference on Cybercrime Forensics Education and Training (CFET3)(BCS SIG).
5. Neeter, E., 2019, February 13. Exploring Virtual Reality as a Forensic Tool. Retrieved from https://read.nxtbook.com/wordsmith/evidence_technology/winter_2018/exploring_virtual_reality_as_.html
6. Poelman, R., Akman, O., Lukosch, S., and Jonker, P., 2012, February. As if being there: mediated reality for crime scene investigation. In Proceedings of the ACM 2012 conference on computer supported cooperative work (pp. 1267-1276).
7. Taylor, R.W., Fritsch, E.J. and Liederbach, J., 2014. Digital crime and digital terrorism. Prentice Hall Press.