CDI 2 - PRELIM

SPECIAL CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION 1 W/ LEGAL MEDICINE

Basic Definition of Terms

Criminal Investigation - is an art which deals with the identity and location of the offender and prove his guilt in a criminal
proceeding. (Dr. Pedro S. Solis)

Criminal Investigation - it is the systematic method of inquiry that is more a science than an art. The logic of scientific method
must however, be supplemented by the investigator's initiative and resourcefulness. The sequences of the investigation should be
regarded by scientific, operating framework that requires improvising on the part of the investigator. (Charles Swanson Jr., Neil
Chamelin and Leonard Territo)

Art - Intuition, felicity of inspiration or by chance

Science - adequate professional preparation and abundance of certain qualities

Investigator

 is the person who is charged with the duty of carrying out the objectives of criminal investigation.
 is an individual who gathers documents and evaluates facts about crime

Special Crime Investigation

 deals with the study of major crimes based on the application of special investigative techniques.
 the study concentrates more on physical evidence; it’s collection, handling, identification and preservation in coordination
with the various criminalists in the crime laboratory. Special crime investigation involves close relationship between the
investigator in the field and the investigator in the laboratory- the Criminalist.

Duty of Criminal Investigator- By Solis

1. Establish that, in fact, a crime was committed under the law.

2. Identify and apprehend the suspect.
3. To recover stolen property.
4. To assist the state in prosecuting the party charged with the offense.

Job of the Criminal Investigator- By Solis

1. Discover whether or not an offense has been committed under the law.
2. After determining what specific offense has been committed, he must discover how, when, where, why, what offense was
committed.

Tools in Criminal Investigation

1. Information (Interview) - knowledge which the investigator gather and acquire from different sources.

Ability to secure information is attained and developed in the following:

a. by becoming acquainted with different kinds of people.
b. By being friendly with other peace officers in the area.
c. By making the habit of jotting down and keeping permanent record of potential and actual offenders and informers.
d. By learning not to overlook chance memoranda or haphazard notations.

 Kinds of Information depend on who give the information where the information is collected

Sources of Information
 Person - Place - Thing

Informant and Informer

a. Incidental - no specific intention of imparting subsequent information

b. Automatic - provide information by virtue of his official function/duties
c. Casual - characterized by infrequent but continuous delivery of information
d. Recruited - spotted, selected, cultivated and developed as continuous source of information
e. Double – informant - person who provide information to opposing visit or organization
f. Dual/multiple - person who provide information to two or more friendly organization.
g. Intelligence Broker - person who provide information for fee.
h. Paid Informant -same as intelligence broker

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Conception of gathering information (Police Manual)

 Overt – Covert - Semi overt or semi covert

2. Interrogation
 this is the process of questioning witnesses and suspect to obtain further information.
 Its effectiveness depends with the craft, logic and psychological insight with the information relevant to the case as
they were discovered.

Kinds of Interrogation/interview

1. Custodial
2. Tactical

Purposes of Interrogation

 To obtain confession to the crime

 To induce subject (suspect/witnesses) to make admission
 To extract facts and circumstances surrounding the crime.
 To develop information which will lead to the recovery of the fruits of the crime
 To discover the details of other crime where suspect participated.

3. Instrumentation - application of instrument and methods of physical science to the detection of crime. The sum total of
all sciences in crime-detection known as Criminalistics.

Various ways in which criminalistics is useful to criminal investigation:

 by supplying one or more missing link in the chain of evidences

 by strengthening a weak link, or links in the chain of evidence
 by checking the accuracy of the statement made by suspects and/or witnesses
 by clearing out doubtful points in the preliminary stages of investigation which may or may not be significant at a later
stage
 by assisting in the rapid clearing of the case and routine inquiries.

Phases of Criminal Investigation

1. Identifying the criminal

2. Tracing, locating and arresting the criminal
3. Gathering facts and evidence to prove guilt in criminal proceeding

Methods of Identifications of Criminals

Criminal are identified thru the following:

 Confession and Admission
 Statement of witnesses
 Circumstantial Evidence
 Associative Evidence

 Confession - this is an expressed acknowledgement by the accused in criminal cases of the truth of his guilt as to the crime
charged or of some of the essential part thereof. There is no implied confession for it is positive and direct acknowledgement of
guilt. It is the best means of identifying criminal.

Rules in Confession

a. Confession need not to be in writing

b. Confession may be written in a language which the accused does not speak
c. Confession must be freely and voluntarily made

 Voluntarily - means that the accused speak of his free will and accord, without inducement of any kind and with the full and
complete knowledge of the nature and consequences of the confession.

 Freely - when the speaking is so free from the influence affecting the will of the accused at the same time the confession was
made.

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Requirement for confession as proof of guilt

1. Other corroborative evidence must support it.

2. Corpus delicti - must be established separately (the actual commission of the crime charged. It refers to a particular crime
and signifies that specific offense had been actually committed by someone being composed of two elements:
a. that certain results were produced.
b. That someone is criminally responsible
3. Confession must be made voluntarily.

B. By EYE-WITNESS TESTIMONY- description made by eyewitness

Value of identification by eyewitness testimony depends on the following: (credibility-bringing honor)

1. the ability of the eyewitness testimony to observe and remember the relative “distinctiveness” of the accused appearance
2. The prevailing conditions, visibility and observation
3. The lapse of time between the criminal event and identification

Methods of Identification made by eyewitness

1. Verbal Description - portrait parley vividly describing in words the appearance of a person by comparing and thru
personal appearance.
2. Photographic files (rogues gallery)
3. General photograph - files of photograph in any given establishment.
4. Artist Assistance or composite sketches - drawing or sketching the description of a person’s face by the cartographer
5. Police line-up - selecting the suspect from a group of innocent persons to eliminate the power of suggestions as factor of
identification

 Cartography - the art of sketching the image of a person or the art of making map

Bases of the eyewitness in the identification of criminal

1. Face -forehead, eyebrow, mustache, eyes, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, teeth, chin, jaw, etc.
2. Neck - shape, length, Adam’s apple
3. Shoulder - width and shape
4. Waist - size, shape of the abdomen
5. Hands - length, size, hair, condition of the palms
6. Fingers - length, thickness, stains, shape of nails and condition
7. Any deformities (cross eyed, limping and etc.)
8. Teeth
9. Gait

 Personal appearance - is the verbal or physical description of the appearance of an individual.

Bases of Physical Description of Physical Appearance

1. Mug Shot
2. Artist Drawing
3. Composite Sketches
4. Verbal description or Portrait Parley

 Homicide Investigation - It is the official inquiry made by the police on the facts and circumstances surrounding the death of
the person which is expected to be criminal or unlawful.

The Primary Job of the Investigator

1. To discover whether an offense has been committed under the law.

2. To discover how it was committed.
3. Who committed it and by whom it was committed.
4. When it was committed.
5. And under certain circumstances why it was committed.

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Responsibilities of a Homicide Investigator

1. Homicide investigator when called upon to investigate a violent death, stand on the dead man’s shoes, to produce his
instincts against those suspects.
2. Consequently, the zeal, enthusiasm, and intelligence the investigator brings in the case marks the difference between
murderer being convicted or set free.
3. If the investigator interprets an intentional death as due to natural death the family may be deprived of benefits and other
properties which the deceased have sacrificed to obtain.
4. If he interprets a criminal death was accidental death or natural, a guilty person is otherwise set free.

Mistakes in Homicide Investigation

1. The mistakes of the homicide investigator cannot be corrected.

2. The homicide investigator should not cross the three bridges, which he burns behind him. It is important that competent
personnel adequately handle the case.
The following are the three bridges:

A. The dead person has been moved.

It is therefore necessary that photographs be taken, measurements made, fingerprints taken and other necessary tasks to
be first carried out.
B. The second bridge is burned when the body is embalmed.
Embalming destroys traces of alcohol and several kinds of poison. If poisoning is suspected, the internal organs should be
removed.
C. The third bridge is burned when the body is burned or cremated.
The exhume body is difficult and expensive. The lapse of time makes the examination doubtly difficult and a conclusion is
hard to arrive at. Cremation destroys body itself.

The Medico-Legal Autopsy

1. The real beginning of any homicide investigation should be to establish the cause of death accurately.
2. An autopsy should be performed at once when there is the slightest reason to suspect the probability of homicide.
3. In general, it maybe stated that death has been caused by violence, an autopsy is always performed unless there is
adequate proof to the contrary.

The value of the Investigator in attending autopsies.

During the conduct of autopsy, an investigator can observe first hand and ask questions pertinent to the case under
investigation. The medico-legal officer can explain the autopsy findings as they progress. As the results of the autopsy are received
by the investigator such information, if pertinent and requiring expeditious investigative attention, can be passed along to the other
investigators for immediate handling. When the investigator has a suspected weapon, comparison of the weapon with the wound
can be made. The officer present at the autopsy can be the liaison with the investigation team working on the case and see that all
evidence is obtained during the examination.

The Role of the Medico-Legal officer in Homicide Investigation

The determination of criminal responsibility in death has been developed into a specialized field of medical science called
forensic pathology. A pathologist can assist in homicide investigation by:

1. Documentation of all wounds, bruises, scratches, scars or other marks at the time of the autopsy.
2. Interpretation of findings based on medical facts.

 Necropsy Report - It is a document stating the cause of death of the victim. This is the medico-legal report.

The Facts of Death

1. The first action of an investigator upon arriving at the crime scene of the homicide is the verification of death.
2. An individual is said to be dead in the medical sense when one of the three vital function is no longer performing within the
body:
a. Respiratory system
b. Cardiac Activity
c. Central nervous system activity
3. In the legal sense, death is considered to occur when all of the three above vital functions have ceased.

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Presumptive signs and Test of Death

1. The following are few of the signs indicative of death:

A. Cessation of breathing and respiratory movement
B. Cessation of heart sounds
C. Loss of placing of nail beds when pressure is applied in the fingernails is released.

Suspended Animation

1. Cardiac activity, breathing and functioning of the nervous system may reach such a low-level activity that a homicide
investigator maybe deceived into an assumption of death.
2. The following conditions produced simulated appearance of death:
 electric shock
 prolonged emersion
 poisoning from narcotic drugs
 barbiturate poisoning
 certain mental diseases

The Importance of Establishing the Identification of Homicide Victims.

The identification of the victim is an important investigative step for the following reasons:
1. It provides an important basis for the investigation processes since it may lead the investigator directly to other important
information leading to the solution of the crime.
2. The identity of the dead person provides the focal point/starting point for the investigators can then center their attention
on associates and haunts of the deceased.
3. The identity of the deceased may arouse suspicion in mysterious death since the victim maybe a person whose life had
been threatened or whose death was desired for criminal purposes.
4. The identification of the deceased can be traced or related to wanted persons or missing one.

Methods of Identification

a. Fingerprints - Fingerprint identification is the most positive and quickest method of ascertaining identity. However the
prints of the deceased may not be on file or may not be obtainable because of trauma, mutilation, incineration or
decomposition. The sole clue maybe bone, a skull or a few teeth.

b. Skeletal Studies - Examination of the skeleton may provide a basis for identification because of individual peculiarities
such as old fractures and presence of metal pins. Bones may also provide information about age, sex, and race.

c. Visual Inspection - Someone knowing the deceased person may recognize the victim. However, trauma, incineration, or
decomposition may render the features unrecognizable. In addition, a visual inspection without further verification has the
advantage of possible subjective error or deliberate false identification. Visual inspection combined with fingerprint
evidence is a favored method for rapid identification.

d. Personal Effects - Identification of a victim by personal effects such as Jewelry, I.D. card, wallets, belts, shoes etc.

e. Tattoo and Scars - Identification scars, moles, tattoos, pockmarks or other markings may be helpful in identification,
particularly in conjunction with other findings.

f. Dental Evidences (Forensic Odontology) - Identification based on the examination of teeth (teeth charts, fillings, inlays
crowns, bridgework, dentures etc.) is valuable inasmuch as the teeth are probably the most durable part of the human
body. There are probably no two people alive with dentures that are completely identical in all respects. Dental evidence is
legally recognized and accepted, if properly presented in court.

g. Clothing - Articles of clothing containing cleaner’s mark, labels, initials, size, color, texture knitting, etc. have provided
investigators with the leads and even identification in most instances.

h. Photographs - Identification of victims has been made by publication in bulletins, circulars, television and other
distribution media, artist sketches, death mark and casts have likewise aided the police in identifying unknowns.

Investigative Leads

The problem of who did it is a simple on when the offender is caught in the act or apprehended in flight from the scene the
scene shortly after the crime. When the perpetrator is not promptly arrested, the direction of the investigation varies according to
whether the case falls into one of the two categories- known identities or unknown identity. Whenever investigators encounter
cases of the later, investigative leads now are necessary to attain the objective of criminal investigation.

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 Establishment of Motive to the killing - This will furnish a good clue in the solution of the crime. The investigator drawing
from his ingenuity, experience and availability of data, must base his investigation on a theory that rationally explains the fatal
act.

 Victims Background - Very promising leads can be developed from the review of the background of the victim that can
provide the background of the victim which can give the pursuit defined goals.

 Modus Operandi - The choice of particular crime to commit and the selection of a method of committing a criminal act that
forms the signature of the criminal give a clear lead on who might have committed the crime.

 Informants - Informants are a traditional starting point in seeking basic leads. In fact informants sometimes offer data about an
unreported or undiscovered crime or one in its planning stage.

 Benefits - The question of who might benefit from the crime provides an excellent focus for making inquiry. The “benefit factor”
can provide investigative leads.

 Opportunity

 Knowledge - Simply determining who might have knowledge of the crime to establish farther information about the case.

A. Approximate time of death

A. Composite Sketches
B. Photographs of Known criminals
C. Psychics
D. Voice Identification
E. Polygraph testing
F. Fingernail Scrapings
G. Signs of Struggle
H. Field Contact Report
I. Motor Vehicle

ROBBERY AND THEFT INVESTIGATION

Robbery - The law on robbery in the Philippines can be found on the following articles of the Revised Penal Code: Article 293.
Who are guilty of robbery – Any person who, with intent to gain, shall take any personal property belonging to another, by means of
violence or intimidation of any person, or using force upon anything shall be guilty of robbery.

Elements of Robbery:

1. Unlawful taking of personal property

2. The property must belong to another
3. The taking is done with violence against an intimidation of any person of force upon things
4. The taking is with intent to gain

Article 294 – Robbery with violence or intimidation of persons

Article 295 – Robbery with physical injuries committed in an uninhabited place and by
band or the use of firearm on a street.

Article 297 – Attempted and frustrated robbery committed under certain circumstances.

Article 298 – Execution of deeds by means of violence or intimidation

Article 299 – Robbery in an inhabited house or public building or edifice devoted to worship – Any armed person who shall commit
robbery in an inhabited house or public building or edifice devoted to religious worship – and if:

(a) The malefactors shall enter the house or building in which the robbery was committed, by any of the following means:
1. Through an opening not intended for entrance or egress
2. By breaking any wall, roof or floor or breaking any door or window
3. By using false key, padlocks or similar tools
4. By using fictitious name or pretending the exercise of public authority or if

(b) The robbery be committed under any of the following circumstances:

1. By the breaking of doors, wardrobes, closets, or any other kind of locked or sealed furniture or receptacle.
2. By taking such furniture or objects away to be broken or forced open outside the place of the robbery.

Article 302 – Robbery in an uninhabited place or in a private building

Article 303 – Robbery of cereals, fruits or firewood in uninhabited place or private building.

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Anti-Piracy and Anti-Highway Robbery Law of 1974 - (Presidential Decree 532)

Piracy - Any attack upon or seizure of any vessel, or taking away of the whole or part thereof of its cargo, equipment or the
personal belonging of its complement or passengers, irrespective of value thereof, by means of violence against or intimidation of
person or force upon things, committed by any person, including a passenger or member of the complements of said vessel in
Philippine waters, shall be considered as piracy. The offender shall be considered as pirates.

Highway Robbery/Brigandage - The seizure of any person for ransom, extortion or other unlawful purposes, or the taking away of
the property of another by means of violence against or intimidation of persons or force upon things of other unlawful means
committed by any person or any Philippine highway.

Aiding Pirates or Highway Robbers/ Brigands or Abetting Piracy or Highway Robbers/Brigands - Any person who knowingly
and in any manner aids or protects pirates or highway robbers/brigands, such as giving them information about the movement of
police or other peace officers of the government or acquire or receives property taken by such pirates or brigands or indirectly
abets the commission of piracy or highway robbery or brigandage, shall be considered as an accomplice of the principal offender.

Anti-Cattle Rustling Law of 1974 - (Presidential Decree 533)

Case Rustling - Is the taking away by any means, methods or scheme, without the consent of the owner/raiser, of any of the
above animals (cow, carabao, horse, mule or other domesticated member of the bovine family) whether or not for profit or gain, or
whether committed with or without violence against or intimidation of any person or force upon things. It includes the killing of large
cattle, or taking its meat or hide without the consent of owner/raiser.

Anti-Fencing Law of 1979 - (Presidential Decree 1612)

Fencing is the act of any person; who, with intent to gain, for himself or for another shall buy, posses, keep, acquire, conceal,
sell or in any other deal on any articles, items, objects or anything of value which he knows to have been derived from the proceeds
of crime or robbery or theft.

Fence - include any person, firm, organization, association, or corporation or partnership and other organization who which
commits the act of fencing.

The Targets in Robberies

The selection of a victim and the place of the robbery are two basic keys to developing a pattern which will furnish clues to a
robbers identity. Data usually are correlated in the following areas:

1. Victim:
a. alone
b. in the company of two or three
c. in the company of four or more persons
2. Residence:
a. one family
b. multi family
c. motel – hotel (robbery of guest)
d. garage ( or other residence – occupancy shed or structure)
3. Street and highways
a. sidewalk
b. roadway
c. alley
d. publicly accessible area ( parks, parking lot, entranceway)
e. over and under pass
f. highways
4. Commercial (non-residence)
a. bank
b. business office or off-street retail sales outlet (loan companies, pawnshops, jewelry store, etc.)
c. markets
d. liquor stores
e. other retail outlets
f. motel-hotel (robbery of manager/owner)
g. taverns (restaurants, bars, cafes)
h. delivery services (chicken, pizza, etc.)
i. drive-ins
j. service stations

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 5. Vehicles
a. taxis
b. bus
c. trailer
d. passenger jeepney
e. victims personal car
6. Vessels:
a. inter-island (passenger)
b. cargo
c. ferry
d. tugboats

Style and Tactics in Robbery Cases

The identification in an armed robbery case often relates to the tactics and style of the robbery. Robbery has been categorized
as having three styles:

(1) The ambush – is the least planned of all and is based on the element of surprise
(2) The selective raid – involves a minimum of planning but some casing of the robbery scene
(3) The planned operation – is carefully structured and the robbery group examines all aspects of the situation, plans for all
foreseeable contingencies.

Crime Partnership in a Robbery Group

 Crime partners in a robbery group form a loose partnership, providing the skills for the various task necessary to carry out
different types of robberies. They participate in the planning of robberies as well as the basic decision as to whether or not
a certain target can be successfully robbed.
 Crime partners usually are associate from spontaneous play groups in the underworld. Investigators assigned a single
robbery or series of robberies to investigate should search for “link-up” “connect-up” which will indicate the operations of a
group.

Types of Robbers:

1. Amateurs – motivated by greed, want, the desire for a thrill, or need for self-testing.
2. Professionals – are describe as those persons who worked at robbery as a trade making it their living and having no
other means of income.

Technique Commonly Employed by Robbers – Means of Entry

The means of entry differs in various burglaries and are related to the skill of a robber. The various known means of entry are:

1. The open door or window entry – the robber/s roams residence areas, apartments, and hotels looking for open doors or
windows.

2. The jimmy entry – the robber/s forces a door or window with an iron tool such as a tire iron, screwdriver, or small crowbar
or box opener.

3. The celluloid entry – the burglar forces open a door spring lock with a small piece of celluloid.

4. The stopover or human fly entry – the burglar is an aerialist, the stopover robber steps from a fire escape, balcony or
other building to a nearby window. The “human fly” robber can progress upward or downward or the sides of a building to
a selected point of entry.

5. Roof entry – the burglar breaks into a premises through a skylight or air conditioning duct or the roof or by cutting a hole
in the roof of a building or residential home.

6. The hide – in entry – the burglar hides in a commercial premises until all employees have left and then breaks out with
the stolen property.

7. The cut-in entry – the robber uses tools of various kinds to cut through the floor, ceiling, or wall of a store or office to
another store or office.

8. Hit and run – the robber breaks a window of a ground floor store and takes property from a window or nearby portions of
the premises, and flees before police can be alerted to the crime.

9. Key entry – the robber uses a key – the key may be given to him by an informant (finger-man) it may be stolen or the
burglar may obtain a duplicate or master key by various means.

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Safebreaking

Methods of safebreaking:
1. Punching - In this manner of entry a sledge hammer and a drift punch are used to knock the combination dial from the
safe and to drive the spindle back into the safe. This makes the release mechanism of the lock accessible and allows the
safe to be opened.
2. Pulling - A device similar to a gear or wheel puller is used to pull the dial or spindle completely out of the safe door and
thus allow the safe to be opened.
3. Peeling - This means of entry involves the prying off the outer surfaces of the safe door so that the locking mechanism of
the safe is exposed and can be pried open, allowing entry to the safe.
4. Drilling - One or more holes are drilled in the door of the safe to expose the lock mechanism allowing the safe-breaker to
align the lock tumblers manually and open the door of the safe.
5. Ripping - This is a battering of the top, bottom or sides of a safe with a chisel or other metal cutter, such as a ripping bar
the hydraulic ramming device used in a body and fender shop.
6. Burning - Use of oxygen/acetylene torch.
7. Blasting - Use of explosives
8. Carrying away.

Physical Evidence to be Collected:

1. Footprints
2. Fingerprints
a. areas of break
b. closets – prints may be found in door and jambs
c. door knobs
d. dressers
e. pieces of furniture
f. bottles and glasses
g. walls
h. tools
i. desks
3. Clothing’s – sometimes the robbers exchange their own jacket with that one found
4. If a window was broken is effecting entry, glass particles may be present in the trouser cuffs and pockets of suspect.
Samples of broken glass should be collected for possible future comparison in the event that a suspect is picked up.
5. Paint- If a crowbar has been used to force the window, paint may adhere to the tool. Paint samples should be taken for
future comparison.
6. Tool marks
7. Tools
8. Some robbers are given to add behavior such as defecation on the floor, stealing fountain pen, eating candy or drinking
excessively from bottles found on the premises. The peculiarity of the behavior would be noted and check in modus
operandi index.
9. Cords and ropes use
10. Firearms use
11. Get-away vehicle
12. Stolen articles/properties

Investigative Techniques in Robbery Cases:

1. The investigator must initiate similar preliminary steps upon reaching the crime scene (discuss earlier or this note)
2. Determine the point of entrance and point of exit by the perpetrator.
3. Determine the value of stolen articles
4. The full and detailed description of the stolen articles.
5. Gather physical evidence.
6. Determine the modus operandi of the perpetrator as it would give leads in the identification and arrest of the suspect.
7. Full and detailed description of a get-away vehicle if any, or vessel, boat in cases of piracy.
8. Coordinate with other law enforcement agencies
9. Exploit investigative leads (discuss earlier on this note)
10. Written testimony of the complainant witnesses.
11. Accumulate clues and traces at the scene of a crime which will serve to identify the offender.
12. Develop informants in the local underworld who are aware of the activity of robbery, particularly the activity of the semi-
skilled and amateur groups (usually the addict robber)
13. Conduct a surveillance of likely fences and uncover and trace back stolen property from its receiver to the robber.
14. Conduct surveillance of known burglars to ascertain if they are presently committing robbery
15. Accumulate information on various types of robber, the knowns and newcomers, whether they are in or out of prison,
whether they are active
16. Be alert on a modified modus operandi
17. In cases homicide is committed, follow the pattern of homicide investigation.