SUBJECT: FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

INSTRUCTOR: PLTCOL ZACHARY M CAPELLAN

DATE: 18 SEPTEMBER 2023

INDIVIDUAL SUMMARY REPORT

PLTCOL CAPELLAN taught us the fundamentals of criminal investigation with high
intelligence and enthusiasm. From the latin word investigare, which means “to track,”
investigation means the act of inquiry to something; formal or systematic examination or
research. We perform investigation in our daily lives, wittingly or not. When something is
lost from your belongings, or if there is a leak from your roof, you perform investigation to
know the reason or root cause of the loss of your belongings or leak from your roof,
respectively.
Criminal Investigation is the collection of facts in order to accomplish the three-fold
aims, namely: identifying the suspect, locating the suspect, and providing evidence for
the suspect’s guilt. Conducting criminal investigation is one of the essential duties of a
police officer. For a fact-finding investigator, although it is not necessary that he conduct
criminal investigation; identification, location and apprehension of suspected criminal and
the presentation of evidence for his guilt in a competent court, since the cases to be
investigated by him is primarily administrative in nature, the principles and techniques of
criminal investigation will be greatly useful to him.
Our instructor comprehensively discussed the six cardinal points of investigation,
namely; who is the suspect/who is the victim/who are the witnesses, what crime/offense
has been committed, when was the crime/offense committed, where was the crime
committed, why was it committed, and how it was committed. The cardinal points herein
are basically the five W’s and one H that should be answered during the conduct of
criminal investigation.
The anatomy of crime is also well-discussed. There are three elements of a crime,
to wit; motive, instrumentality and opportunity. In these three elements, elimination of
opportunity is the most important to prevent the consummation of a crime because motive
and instrumentation cannot be removed from a criminal since it is personal to him.
Commission of rimes should be investigated to serve as future deterrence for
possible law offenders and also to others. Investigation of a crime often yield positive
result, meaning, the identification and apprehension of suspect. This serves as a
deterrence for future law offenders for there is a natural feeling of fear of detention or
imprisonment in a person. Another reason is to protect the community’s safety and also
the innocent people. Aside from the notion that innocent people is protected when we
conduct criminal investigation, a person that is mistakenly identified as a suspect is also
protected in conducting criminal investigation because we can also determine if the
person apprehended is indeed the suspect or not. There is a saying that it is better to
release a hundred convicted criminals than to imprison one innocent man.
Types of criminal investigation, namely; custodial investigation and investigation
while the suspect is “at large” was also discussed. The former is conducted by law
enforcement officers when a suspect has been taken into their custody for the alleged
commission of a crime. The latter one is conducted when the suspect is not under arrest
and outside their custody.
Proper steps, methods and principles in criminal investigation was also discussed
by our esteemed instructor.

NAME: TROI BULALACAO, GIELDAN G.

CLASS: CIC CL 976-2023