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Assignment 2 Unit 6 - Criminal Investigation Procedures in Practice
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A distinction-graded assignment written about interviewing, investigations and resources.
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Unit 6 Assignment B- Investigative Procedures, Resources, and InterviewingAimee Baish
Types of criminal investigation
Reactive investigation
A reactive investigation is where a criminal investigation begins after the crime(s) have been
reported. This means that they typically begin when a member of the public reports a crime to the
police. However, they may also begin after a person has been arrested, after a case has been re-
investigated due to added information or evidence being revealed or if there has been intelligence
found which links the crime committed to other crimes (known as a linked series of crimes).
Proactive investigation
A proactive investigation is where the criminal investigation starts when intelligence has been given
about a potential crime happening. Proactive investigations prevent crimes happening in the future.
This means that they almost always are investigating the same people who are known to the police
for certain crime types, the individuals may be a group of people or even just one person.
The stages of a criminal investigation
Stage 1- Instigation
The instigation stage of an investigation is where the criminal investigation begins. This involves the
reporting of the crime or deciding whether to act on a possible crime that may happen. This is also
where it becomes a proactive or reactive investigation. Depending on the type of crime, the
appropriate response would also be decided at this stage. This is also where the first pieces of
information are collected, meaning that the information collected here is crucial for the investigation
as if there is not enough then the investigation cannot continue as there would not be enough
information to continue. The person who is receiving the report of an offence has to collect enough
information (for example, who was involved and what they did, where it happened, when it
occurred, who was affected/what was affected, a description of who did (hopefully with detail) and
anything else that will be useful (like were items taken/stolen, were vehicles involved (if so, get a
description)). As this is where all the initial information/details of the offence are recorded, the
instigation stage is crucial for the whole investigation, as if you do not acquire the initial details, you
cannot investigate the crime, as you do not know it happened, or anything about it.
Evaluation
When enough information is collected, it is greatly beneficial for the rest of the investigation. This is
because, when you have a lot of accurate and detailed information that’s been collected in this
stage, you will know which type of officers that need to be deployed (like if armed police or Crime
Scene Investigators (CSIs) are needed), you would also know whether or not the call is genuine, if the
crime that is being reported actually happened, because if not, the investigation does not need to go
further. Having enough accurate information also helps with responding to the crime quickly
meaning that the ‘golden hour’ investigation is optimised.
The ’golden hour’ is the first hour after a crime has occurred, this is when it is best to collect
evidence as it is most likely to still be in its original state. It also means that the amount of
potentially lost evidence is as minimal as possible. This means that the evidence which is the most
important is secured, and the amount of evidence that can be collected is maximised. Therefore, the
, amount of admissible evidence is increased, compared to investigating a scene outside of the
‘golden hour.’
However, if there is not enough information collected in this stage it will ruin the rest of the
investigation. This is because if the person who is recording the report does not record enough of
the details of the case, they may end up sending officers to a scene and they were not needed as it
was a hoax. It may even lead to a key part of information being missed and then the correct
specialists are not sent to the scene, which ruins the ‘golden hour’ investigation, it could also ruin
the entire investigation. If certain information is missed or is inaccurate, officers/specialists may
even be sent to the wrong place or could be looking for the wrong person. This can even mean that
evidence loses its importance because it has started degrading due to delayed investigation. This
would mean that the evidence is more likely to be inadmissible in court.
Overall, the instigation stage has a significant impact on the whole investigation process, as if it is
done incorrectly/inaccurately, it jeopardises the rest of the whole investigation process. However, if
it is done correctly and accurately it has huge benefits for the rest of the investigation process.
Stage 2- Initial investigation
The initial investigation is where the criminal investigators start to collect and record even more
information, evidence (especially crime scene investigators), and witness statements. This is the
stage where interviews are conducted as well, more specifically witness interviews. This stage is the
main source of information for the investigation, meaning that if/when the case goes to court, any
information collected here must be disclosed to the court. This is also where it is determined if a
case is a major incident or not, a lot of times when a crime is reported and an officer is dispatched to
the location, that officer is the only person that needs to attend the location. This means that it is
quite an important stage due to the fact that if the investigation is carried out thoroughly, you may
find links to other crimes that have been committed but the offender was not caught, this stage can
help link the offender to those crimes as well if it the same person.
Disclosure is important in any investigation as it means that everything that you have collected in
this investigation must be given to the court, even if you think it is irrelevant to the case. If the court
believes that you have not given full disclosure (they think that you have not submitted any evidence
collected (even just one piece/photo and even if it was unused) it may be taken further, you may be
criminally charged, you may lose your professional status, etc.
Evaluation
When the investigation procedures are carried out correctly all lines of enquiry are pursued. This is
because the Police and Criminal Evidence act (PACE), and the Criminal Procedures and Investigations
act (CPIA) must be followed by all investigators in any investigations. CPIA demands investigators to
follow each and every line of enquiry, it does not matter how small it seems or whether or not it
leads them to or away from a suspect, it must still be investigated. They are expected to use as many
intelligence sources and evidence sources as they need to maximise the amount of evidence they
collect and the more they have the easier it is to find which pieces are fake or misleading as those
would not be used when prosecuting a suspect. Also, as the investigator has correctly followed all of
the legal framework in place, they would be seen as more professional and attentive by the court.
This means that the evidence they submit, and present is more likely to be considered by the court.
However, when the investigation procedures are not carried out correctly evidence and information
is not recorded properly, this means it would be inadmissible in court. This is because the CPIA
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