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Homicide investigations occupy a special niche when it comes to criminal justice, attracting the attention and the interest of the general public and requiring enormous resources from the investigators. These crimes are most likely to disturb a community and, at the same time, some of the hardest to achieve a high clearance record for. This paper, however, focuses on homicide in the context of the United States, its laws, and relevant studies conducted in the area. To analyze the specifics of the homicide investigation, this paper refers to the Criminal Investigation. A method for reconstructing the past’s chapter on homicide, as well as three other academic sources. The sources have been chosen to account for their relevancy and research of different homicide-related topics. This paper aims to discuss the main types of homicide and their key characteristics in the American context. It also aims to comment on the existing homicide investigation procedures, their efficiency, and the associated ethical dilemmas.
Although all cases of homicide, an act involving taking the life of another human being, are at least ethically troubling, not all of them are considered criminal by definition. The existing framework identifies instances of justifiable homicide when the killing is lawful and excusable homicide, when the killing is unlawful but unintentional (Osterburg & Ward, 2019). The cases of criminal homicide are further separated into murder and manslaughter, with the key difference laying in whether the law determines the presence of malice in the act. Murder cases are then legally divided into the first and second degree, depending on whether the homicide was planned or occurred in the heat of passion (Osterburg & Ward, 2019). Manslaughter cases are characterized by the lack of malice behind them and can occur in self-defense or as a result of negligence. Although both murder and manslaughter are unlawful taking of human life, the two types involve different degrees of intentionality and warrant different levels of punishment. Expectedly, for the investigators and the lawyers involved in the case, it is often difficult to determine the appropriate type of case at hand.
American homicide cases specifically are characterized by two common traits: men constitute the majority among both perpetrators and victims, and guns and firearms are widely used. With gun possession and carrying being conditionally allowed in the United States, its’ heavy involvement in homicide cases is a uniquely American trait. Between 2006 and 2012, more than half of the homicide cases were committed by a fire gun (Robinson & Maxwell, 2017). Men being comparatively more likely to commit or become a victim of a homicide is an international phenomenon, but particularly in the U.S., it coincides with the high rates of racist violence and mass shootings.
Criminal studies continue to supply new theories and explanations for why murder occurs in society, but so far, it has been proven as a dark historical constant. It is, therefore, no surprise that homicide investigation exists as a special area of its own. Homicide investigations focus on gathering statements from those who possess the information relevant to the incident, examining physical evidence, and interviewing suspected killers (Hough, 2019). Investigation techniques heavily rely on science, namely forensic biology, and certain areas of chemistry, and, in modern days, data science. Keeping that in mind, it is important to account for the previous popularity of pseudo-sciences, such as phrenology, that claimed it was possible to evaluate one’s personality from one facial proportion. As a morally charged subject, disturbing for the community in general, it is no surprise that homicide investigations may accidentally provide a breeding ground for the manifestation of existing prejudices. It is, therefore, one of the responsibilities of an investigator to maintain an objective perspective on the case in hand and do not be swayed by the community biases.
In the United States, homicide cases are considered cleared when the investigative body arrests and charges the suspects. Alternatively, an extraordinary circumstance, such as the death of an offender, might result in the case being unable to proceed. Clearance rates have been a subject of debate in social and legal sciences for a considerable time since the data varies significantly across police departments. Considering such variance, it is unlikely that investigative tactics have a major effect on the clearance rates of homicide cases (Pizarro et al., 2019). The existing minor differences in investigative tactics often concern the available resources and produce a marginal effect at most. Existing studies reveal administrative and clerical registration, public willingness to co-operate, and the work of individual patrol officers. Admittedly, research in the area is complicated by the differences in the state-level laws across the country when it comes to investigation procedures. Overall clearance rates are frequently one of the main concerns of the department, and local efforts are utilized to decrease those as much as possible.
As a type of crime, homicide encapsulates and affects a variety of scientific and social spheres. Researchers in psychology, sociology, biology, law, chemistry, and medicine have chosen homicide-related topics as worthy of their attention throughout time. Scandalous and bloody homicide cases enhance in the public eye a mixture of shock, fear, and intense, almost instinct-based interest. Serial killers fascinate psychiatrists and, unfortunately, sometimes generate the entire fanbases of obsessive people dissecting their every move. When analyzed through the perspective of criminal justice specifically, homicide is considered to be one of the most serious crimes. This status puts all the participants of the investigation and the consecutive trial to do the morally right thing and uphold the law, which might sometimes be difficult to achieve at the same time. The existing legal definitions of murder and manslaughter, as well as the procedures that exist to define intentionality behind either of those, are often ineffective when faced with the grey cases. When it comes to homicide, grey cases are more than just a rare exception.
In conclusion, homicide has been defined as an incurable social disease and will therefore remain frequent trouble to the police forces. The investigative procedures for it continue to evolve, with scientific advancement allowing to increase the procedure of the existing laboratory tests and data analysis tactics. Structurally, homicide investigations are challenging at every stage due to the jurisdiction conflicts, amount of paperwork, and the inherent tension homicide induces in a community. Particularly considering the existing firearms laws in the United States, homicide rates are unlikely to decrease substantially any time soon. Therefore, every investigator involved must always prioritize the precision and objectivity above everything else, starting with determining the type of homicide and finishing with the administrative casework after the trial.
References
Hough, R. (2019). The investigation of homicide. Homicide Studies, 23(2), 87-92. Web.
Osterburg, J. & Ward, R. (2019). Criminal investigation. A method for reconstructing the past. (8th ed.) Routledge.
Pizarro, J., Terrill, W., & LoFaso, C. (2018). The impact of investigation strategies and tactics on homicide clearance.Homicide Studies, 24(1), 3-24. Web.
Robinson, A., & Maxwell, C. (2017). Typifying American exceptionalism. In E. R. Maguire, F. Brookman & M. Maguire (Eds). The Handbook Of Homicide (pp. 368-387). Willey Blackwell. Web.
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