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INTRODUCTION:
Crime is a major concern for many people. Indeed, for some it is the major
concern in their lives. Everyday people are forced to change their lives because they
were a victim of a crime or are fearful of becoming a victim. One means to make life
safer is to remove criminal offenders from the streets and place them in confinement for
some period of time. That is one of the major roles of the investigators. These
individuals used a wide variety of techniques to identify, arrest, and subsequently assist
in the prosecution of offender and to bring them (offender) to the bar of justice.
LEARNING GOAL:
The goal of this lesson is provide participants with an introduction to the
Fundamentals of Criminal Investigation. This will serves as a refresher to the
experienced investigators and a primer to the new police investigators.
LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this lesson, the participants will be able to:
1. Define Criminal Investigation;
2. Understand the Anatomy of Crime;
3. Identify the Four (4) reasons why crimes should be investigated;
4. Know the Two (2) Types Criminal Investigation;
5. Distinguished Police Operation from Police Investigation;
6. Identify the Phases of Investigation;
7. Identify the tools of the criminal investigator;
8. Know the importance and purpose of Investigator’s Notebook;
9. List the Characteristics of an Effective Investigator; and
10. Know the Functions of the Investigator.
SESSIONS:
B. Investigation while the suspect is “at large” (Meaning- not under arrest
and detention, as distinguished from: - “fugitive from justice”)
The term “at large” is not synonymous to “fugitive from justice”, the former
not being a wanted person in the eyes of the law, and therefore cannot be lawfully
arrested without a warrant. The later is necessarily an escapee from detention or an
escaped prisoner while serving sentence by virtue of a final judgment rendered by a
court of competent jurisdiction that can be legally arrested (par. [c], Sec. 5, Rule 113,
Rules of Court without the necessity of the court.
6. Phases of Investigations
The main objective of a police investigator is to gather all facts in order to:
A. Phase I - identify the suspect/s through
1. Confession, as defined in Section 29, Rule 130, Rules of Court, is: “The
declaration of an accused expressly acknowledging his guilt of the charged, may be
given in evidence against him.”
The handgun used in killing the victim is the best evidence in a case of
homicide or murder. In a case of robbery, the force upon things like forced entry to the
window shown by broken jealousy or the recovered stolen articles found in the
possession of the suspect are the best physical evidence.
C. Phase III - Gather and provide evidence to establish the guilt of the accused.
In proving the guilt of the accused in court, the fact of the existence of the
crime must be established; the accused must be identified and associated with the
crime scene; competent and credible witnesses must be available; and physical
evidence must be appropriately identified. The investigator must know by heart the
elements of a specific crime.
8. Investigator’s Notebook
A. Purpose: Considering the mass of details and the number of cases in which
in some instances and investigator is handling, it is very possible that he might forget
some details. Many of the details associated with investigation, while not essential to
the report, might become points of interest to the court when the case is brought to trial.
Experienced investigators employ a notebook to record the relevant details of the case.
During trial, the court allows investigators to consult their notes to refresh their memory.
B. Recording note: The data of the investigation should be recorded in a
complete, accurate and legible fashion so that in the event another investigator is
required to assume responsibility for the investigation, he can make intelligent use of
the notebook.
C. Since investigative notes are permanent records of information, they should
be written in a manner which furthers this purpose. A good set of notes will have the
following characteristics:
1) in ink: ink does not smudge or fade.
2) Each page identified: The top of each page in the notebook should bear
the investigators name, the date, and case number or number.
3) Concise phrases: notes should be written in concise phrases containing
enough facts to refresh the investigator’s recollection upon a later review.
4) Details: care should be taken to accurately record names, numbers,
addresses, descriptions and other details. Variations between the evidence at trial and
information in the notebook may prove embarrassing to the officer and damaging to the
case.
5) Negative information: the results of non productive leads should be
included in the notes, so that time is not wasted contacting witnesses or reexamining
areas which have already prove futile.
6) Investigators observations: entries in the notepad contain the “WHO,
WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY and HOW” for each of the following:
The criminal event;
The victim;
The witnesses;
The suspect;
The evidence;
The investigator’s own investigation
7) Providing the “5 W’s and 1H” for each of the above categories will ensure a
complete record of the criminal investigation.
SUMMARY:
This lesson has explained and discussed to you the Basic Fundamentals in
Criminal Investigation. Notable of what you learned in this lesson includes:
Definition of Criminal Investigation, Anatomy of Crime, Four (4) reasons why
crimes should be investigated, Two (2) Types Criminal Investigation, Police Operation
distinguished from Police Investigation, Phases of Investigation, Tools of the criminal
investigator, Investigator’s Notebook; Characteristics of an Effective Investigator, and
Functions of the Investigator
Participants are expected to the take tests at the regular scheduled time. If a
participant cannot do so, he/she should inform the instructor before the test. If the
reason for being absent is valid, the participant will be given the opportunity to take a
make-up test