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Summary effectiveness of role of personell involved in criminal investigations
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evaluating the effetiveness of roles involved in criminal investigations
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Evaluate the effectiveness of the roles of personnel involved in criminal investigationsPolice officers
Role
A Police Officer serves to maintain law and order in local areas by protecting
members of the public and their property, preventing crime, reducing the fear of
crime and improving the quality of life for all citizens. usually first on the scene and
secure it for investigation, Need to safeguard the public and attend to anyone
seriously injured at the scene, e.g. call ambulance. Arrest the suspect but usually
they have already left the scene. After a crime is discovered, when officers must act
quickly to secure the crime scene in order to conserve the evidence. Should avoid
contaminating the scene by moving furniture, opening doors etc. Important to take
initial statements from witnesses and victims while events are still fresh in their
minds. Prepare crime reports and present case files to senior officers and the CPS
and attend and give evidence in court and at other hearings.
Evaluation of the police role
Strengths
Both the complexity of the crime and the vulnerability of the victim need to be
considered in deciding which officer should investigate. (crime allocation) E.g. even
'low-level crime' such as criminal damage or common assault may involve a
vulnerable victim and thus require a greater level of specialist support. Forces make
some assessment of risk and complexity and then allocate the investigation to the
most appropriate team. BUT due to low availability of numbers, not always possible
to do so.
Limitations
availabilty
The number of police officers in England and Wales fell by 20,600 between March
2010 and March 2019, down to 123,200 officers.
-Police forces up and down the country lost officers due to the government's
austerity cuts. E.g. The Merseyside force has lost 1,100 officers over the past 10
years and is currently training 500 new recruits.
-Severe shortage of investigators, such as detectives. Some forces are coping with
considerable increases in the number of complex crimes (such serious sexual
offences) but in other forces there are not enough qualified detectives and other
investigators to meet the demand effectively.
-Some police forces are not taking investigations into crimes such as domestic
abuse further because the victim does not support police action (complex reasons
such as their own vulnerability or due to intimidation). Means that far too many
perpetrators of extremely harmful domestic abuse crimes are not being brought to
justice and victims are being failed by the police.
, -There appears to be some reluctance among officers to follow a detective pathway=
intense scrutiny individuals are under should there be some form of investigative
failure, becoming a qualified detective requires officers to invest a considerable
amount of time in training.A large number of crimes in effect written off rather than
pursued to an appropriate conclusion for the victim and the community.
expertise
complex investigations are being led by those who lack the appropriate skills and
experience. Some forces not coping with increases in number of complex crimes
(e.g. 14% increase in sexual offences 2019) as not enough qualified detectives and
other investigators to meet the demand effectively.
-Poor or inconsistent supervision means that too many cases do not make the
progress that they should.
-The majority of initial investigations are conducted by uniformed response officers
who have had limited formal training on how to investigate crime, apart from that
contained within initial training, while they generally had a good working knowledge
of important points such as the golden hour principles, this tended to be developed
from experience gained on the job rather than acquired through formal training.
Cost
-Over the past decade, direct government police funding has fallen by 30% (National
Audit Office). But some forces can also raise money locally via council taxes which
have increased in the same period or by charging for some services, like policing
football matches.
-The total police budget funded by central government in 2018/19 was £8.6 billion.
-Number of detectives serving in major crime and murder squads in England and
Wales had fallen by at least or 28%, between 2010-11 and 2017-18.
-With new threats emerging, funding needs to be allocated elsewhere. E.g. In
2018/19, £728 million was set aside for counter-terrorism.
General limitations and critisisms
Been criticised for sometimes failing to secure crime scenes and preserve
evidence.
-Such failures can be due to incompetence in handling evidence or
discriminatory attitudes of individual officers.
-Too often wanted suspects not being pursued and apprehended e.g.
napper. Suspects are identified in only half of crimes recorded in England
and Wales.
Case study
^What happened?
*He was a black teenager who was stabbed to death in a racist attack in south-east London
whilst with friend Dwayne Brookes was with him in 1993.
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