FUNDAMENTAL OF

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
REVIEW 2020
• The Philippine National Police personnel should at all times prove his
mettle not only in the arena of combating all forms of criminality but
also in the successful prosecution of the malefactors within the rule
of law. There is no substitute in competence and dedication. Ample
knowledge of the basic principles and procedures on the rudiments
of criminal investigation is, therefore, a must for all members of law
enforcement agencies.

• CESAR P NAZARENO
• Major General,Chief of Constabulary/
Director
General, INP
 Origins of Criminal Investigation
• The roots of criminal investigation can be traced back to the early times
in Asia and the Middle East, where government agents used torture and
other means to identify criminals.
• During England’s Industrial revolution, population of peasants from the
countryside trooped to larger cities and towns, resulting in number of
crimes. Law enforcement officials were forced to recruit thief catchers
(some of which were mercenaries themselves) to aid in locating
criminals. In 18th century England, for example, Jonathan Wild operated
simultaneously as a law enforcer for London’s authorities and as a
criminal in its underworld. While operating a brothel for thieves and cut-
throats and receiving stolen property, he served as an undercover
operative acting as a middleman who restored lost property.
• By the nineteenth century, technology in crime detection
began to flourish with the creation of a personal identification
system. Other scientific developments were applied to the
examination of physical evidences, including the use of
comparison microscope, bloodstain analysis and firearms
identification. This led to the establishment of the first police
laboratory in 1910 in Lyon, France. By this time, police
departments have become formally organized, and the use of
informants in criminal investigation has been supplemented by
interrogations and other methods to secure confessions. The
term “Third Degree” has thus been employed to characterize
the then widely used extraction of confessions accompanied
by brute force.
 History and Development of Forensic Science
• The study of Criminal Investigation involves fundamental
understanding of forensic science, which could be broadly
defined as the application of science of law. Although
increased awareness can be attributed to those who
recognized forensic techniques and principles in literary works
of fiction and television shows, the field of forensic science
primarily owes its origins to those who actually developed its
principles and techniques who made specific contributions to
make the field a coherent discipline that could be practically
applied to the Criminal Justice System. Who are they?
• The Scottish physician and writer Sir
Arthur Conan Doyle who popularized
scientific crime-detection through his
fictional character “Sherlock Holmes”.
• Mathieu Orfila, father of forensic
toxicology. Published the first scientific
treatise on the detection of poisons and
their effects on animals in 1814, thereby
establishing forensic toxicology.
• Alphonse Bertillon, father of criminal identification;
devised the first scientific system of personal
identification. In 1879, he began to develop the science
of anthropometry, a systematic procedure taking a
series of body measurements as a means of
distinguishing one individual from another; this system
was considered as the most accurate method but was
eventually replaced by fingerprinting in early 1900s.
• Francis Galton undertook the first definitive study
of fingerprints and developed a methodology of
classifying them for filing.
• Leone Lattes, who in 1915, devised a relatively
simple procedure for determining the blood group of a
dried bloodstain, a technique immediately applied to
criminal investigations and often used by forensic
scientists to this day.
• Calvin Goddard, a U.S. Army Colonel, refined
the techniques in determining whether or not a
particular gun has been fired; a bullet requires
comparison with one that has been test-fired from the
subject’s weapon by using the comparison
microscope, an indispensable tool of the modern
firearms examiner.
• Albert Osborn, developed the fundamental principles of
document examination. He was also responsible for the
acceptance of documents as scientific evidence by the
courts.
• Edmond Locard, started the first police laboratory in
1910 who strongly believed that every criminal can be
connected to a crime by dust particles carried from the
crime scene, and hence, formulated the basic principle in
forensic science known as Locard’s Exchange Principle”,
which states that whenever two objects come into contact
with one another, there is exchange of materials between
them.
 FUNDAMENTALS OF CRIMINAL
INVESTIGATION
• Criminal Investigation is considered a
reconstructive process. It uses the logical
process of deductive reasoning in which a
conclusion follows from specific facts. Criminal
Investigators establish proof that a suspect is
guilty of an offense based on specific pieces of
evidence.
• Criminal investigation can be considered both an
art and a science. Science because as gatherer
of facts, the detective must develop hypotheses
and draw conclusions based on available
informations. The investigative process involves
a comprehensive activity involving information
collections, crime scene management
interviewing, informant handling, offender profiling,
the application of logic, the exercise of sound
reasoning, and other scientific approaches.
• It is also an art, especially evident to
experienced detectives who demonstrate
brilliant insight and intuition, and do not rely
merely on the theories taught in classrooms
and books.
• In crime investigation, the first 72 hours of a
murder or kidnapping/abduction investigation is
referred to as “The Golden Hour”. This is the
most crucial time for the investigator to collect
vital evidence/s and information of the crime.
•Investigation Defined: - The
collection of facts to accomplish a
threefold aim:
•Identify the guilty party
•Locate the guilty party
•Provide evidence of ( his ) guilt
• In the performance of his duties, the
investigator must seek to establish the six
(6) cardinal points of investigation,
namely: WHAT specific offense has been
committed; HOW the offense was
committed; WHO committed it; WHERE the
offense was committed; WHEN it was
committed; and WHY it was committed.
• These cardinal points of investigation are anchored on
the theory of crime, which involves three independent
factors, namely:
• Motive – which is defined as the reason which pushes a
person to commit an act with a definite result in mind. It is
not an element of a crime but may be useful when the
identity of the offender is unknown.
• Opportunity – refers to the chance or occasion to
commit the crime.
• Means ( Instrument ) – is the capability of a person to
commit a crime using tools at their disposal.
 Tools of an Investigator in Gathering Facts:
•A. Information – data gathered by an
investigator from other persons including
the victim himself and from:
•1. Public Records
•2. Private Records; and
•3. Modus operandi file
•B. Interrogation – skillful
questioning of hostile witnesses and
suspects
•C. Instrumentation – scientific
examination of real evidence;
application of instrument and
physical sciences in detecting crime.
•** The main objective of a police
investigator is to gather all facts in order to
identify the criminal through: (Phases)
•Confession

**Eyewitness/s Testimony

**Circumstantial Evidence
•** Associate evidence
• The objectives of criminal investigation are
more clearly stated, such as:
• To detect crime
• To locate and identify suspects in
crimes
• To arrest suspects in crimes
• To recover stolen property
• To prepare sound criminal cases for
prosecution
• ***These objectives are based on the premise that
perpetrators makes mistakes when committing
crimes, thus leaving some type of evidence of who
they are.
• The final test of a criminal investigator is
proving the guilt of the accused in court. The
proof of guilt is predicated on the establishment
of the essential elements of crime. The
investigator must know by heart the elements of
a specific crime.
• The test of law enforcement efficiency is not gauged
by what the law enforcer does to repress, prevent or
solve crimes in his locality but by the absence of
crime

• ****Qualities of an effective investigator

• A law enforcer must be reminded that the necessity
for the use of physical force and legitimate compulsion for
the achievement of police objectives proportionately
diminishes with the extent of public cooperation in the
enforcement of laws and ordinances.
• 1.Team Player - Effective investigators are
good team players. They are willing to share
information's, knowledge, and experience.
• 2. Communication skills – skill in both oral
and written communication.
• 3. Street knowledge – knowledgeable of the
environment and demographic profile
• 4. Observation skills – drawing on training and
experience
• 5. frequently notice clues that would not be
noticeable to just anyone.
• 6. Self-discipline – a high-degree of self-discipline
guides the investigator’s behavior to ensure that
only legally acceptable and ethical methods of
investigation are utilized to solve cases.
• 7. Reasoning ability
– ability to draw a
conclusion on the suspects and their
modus operandi based on evidence
discovered in the course of
investigation.
•8. Stability under pressure
•9. Organizational abilities
• 10. Persistence – A good investigator seek out the
correct answers and does not easily give up.
• 11. Investigative ethics – this is the foundation
upon which an investigator’s reputation and
credibility is built, which also affects the entire
organization. An investigator must always perform
his/her job in a professional and ethical manner.
Lying or distorting the facts is never an acceptable
practice.
•12. Legal knowledge – a thorough
working knowledge of criminal law and
a familiarity of civil law in order to be
effective.
•13. Good understanding of
characteristics of human nature
Standard Methods of Recording Investigative
Data:

•a. Photographs
•b. Sketching crime scenes
•C. Written notes ( what you
have seen or observed )
•e. Gathering physical evidence
•f. Plaster cast
•g. Tape recording of sounds
•h. Video recording of objects;
and
•i. Written statement of subject(s)
and witnesses
 The Investigator’s Notebook ( Purpose )
• Considering the mass of details and the number
of cases an investigator is handling, it is very
possible that an investigator might forget some
details. Many of the details associated with the
investigation, while not essential to the report,
might become points of interest to the court when
the case is brought to trial. During trial, the court
allows investigator to consult with their notes to
recall or freshen the memories of the investigator.