Summary Unit 3- AC1.2 Assess the usefulness of investigative techniques in criminal investigations
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Course
Crime Scene to Courtroom
Institution
WJEC
Using this got me 98/100 in my Unit 3 exam! Elaborate and detailed notes on Criminology (WJEC) Unit 3 AC 1.2. Includes instructions, colour codes sub topics, and highlights key information from case studies to be used to support points. Layout of pages is ideal for printing to be put in a binder fo...
Unit 3 AC1.2- Assess the usefulness of investigative
techniques in criminal investigations
● 100 minutes total
● Choose 4 personnel- 25 minutes each
● Assess- make a judgement, i.e. is the technique useful when investigating crimes?
Forensics
Describe briefly:
● Collect trace evidence; analyse hair, bodily fluids, glass, paint etc
● Uses DNA profiling, chromatography techniques etc
● Will collect elimination samples- which excludes certain people from being suspects eg: first
responders, CS personnel and analysts
● Must collect evidence appropriately and preserve it well
● May carry out initial testing at the scene to determine the type of biological material
What types of crime require the use of forensics?
➔ Most types of crimes, especially where trace evidence can easily be found, such as violent crimes,
sexual assaults, murders, robberies etc
In what situations is forensics used?
➔ Can be analysed in a lab
➔ Collected from a crime scene
➔ Take samples from a police station
➔ Presented to the jury in a courtroom
A strength of forensics is Genetic Genealogy
Describe briefly as a strength:
● Genetic/forensic genealogy determines relationships between individuals through DNA testing- people
can also find genetic matches and discover their ancestry
● This is done through tracing a family tree with public records, such as birth and marriage certificates
● This is also useful when solving criminal cases as law enforcement agencies may look on genealogy
sites for matches in DNA found in crime scenes
● Third party sites like GEDmatch can find profiles that match a particular segment of DNA- this can help
identify suspects through their relatives
● By using genetic genealogy, American law enforcement identified over 70 suspects in 2019
Case study- focus on how this is a strength of forensics and is useful
● Colette Aram was a 16 year old girl who was abducted, raped and strangled in 1983
● They took DNA samples from the crime scene but eventually no suspect was found
● Then in 2008, a man named Jean Paul was arrested and his DNA was taken
● Analysts realised his DNA was nearly identical to the match of the killers’ profile
● Jean Paul was ruled out as he was not alive in 1983, but they concluded the killer must be a close
relative of Jean
● This lead to the arrest of the true killer- Jean Paul’s father- Paul Hutchinson
, Strengths Limitations
Explain at least two: Explain at least two:
● DNA analysis is a useful technique because: ● Cross contamination of evidence is possible
○ Found in every cell of the body eg: Adam Scott- wrongfully convicted of rape
○ Everyones is unique- high reliability and murder as his DNA was left on a petri
○ Opportunity to solve old cases dish used by the technician when analysing
○ Can prove innocence + guilt the true criminals DNA
○ Can identify victims when other ○ The risk of this is increasing as now
methods don't work the smallest samples of DNA can be
○ Even DNA from relatives is proven analysed
useful eg: Colette Aram ● In order to secure a DNA match to a criminal,
● Particularly useful for homicides, rape, their DNA or DNA of a relative must be on the
robberies etc, where lots of trace evidence National Database- this is not useful as
can be left criminals who can't be identified will be free
● Can be found in samples such as hair, blood, ● May infringe civil liberties, especially of those
semen- can then be used to construct DNA who are innocent but have DNA profiles on
profiles the database- in 2012 a new act established
● Advances in technology may allow us to that DNA profiles of innocent people must be
identify certain characteristics of a removed after a certain amount of time- this
perpetrator is not useful as it will be harder to identify
● Is getting cheaper to test- only costs approx, suspects through their family or own DNA
£20 ● Between 2010 and 2016, there were 218
● Can exonerate people who were wrongly successful appeal cases which argued that
convicted eg: Ronald Cotton- wrongfully DNA evidence had been misleading
convicted of rape, DNA testing 8 years later ● DNA can falsely implicate a person, other
proved his DNA did not match with the people's DNA may be at a crime scene by the
semen found at the scene criminals partner/someone who has a skin
condition eg: eczema, psoriasis etc
● DNA testing of identical twins has not
advanced much yet and is therefore very
costly- it may be harder to differentiate
between twins if one has committed a crime-
this may lead to a wrongful conviction
A limitation of forensics is that is can lead to false or no convictions, for example the
case of the Phantom of Heilbronn:
● Police had linked a female serial killer to around 40 crimes, 6 of which were murders starting from 1993
● They had found DNA on the weapons used but were unable to trace any back to a person
● In 2009, police had realised the serial killer “did not exist”- the DNA they analysed was contaminated by
the DNA of the factory worker who made the cotton buds used to swab samples
● The killer has never been identified
● This shows that DNA analysis is not infallible and can be subject to human error- which can lead to no
convictions or wrongly convicting someone else
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