AC 1.1 - Evaluate the eecveness of the roles of personnel involved in criminal invesgaons. (10
marks)
Crime scene inves gators
Role:
A crime scene invesgators role is to collect and preserve evidence from the crime scene. They main
responsibility is to ensure that the evidence at the scene is not contaminated as s would therefore
mean it will not be admissible in court. work together with the police to decide what evidence is vital
and decide the best way in order to gather it. They photograph the crime scene as well as any
surrounding areas that contain evidence, using the common approach path. Once they have obtained all
the evidence, they have to pack and document everything so it is ready to be sent o for analysis by
forensic specialists. In addion to this, the may also a"end post mortems and give evidence in court.
E ecveness:
Experse- CSIs are experts in their (eld as they undergo through training and many also have a degree in
a science related (eld. This would imply that they have a great deal of experse as they have had the
necessary training in order to carry out their role e ecvely.
Availability- CISs are available 24/7 as they work on an on-call basis. This means that they could be called
to a crime scene at any me of the day. This is essenal as of course crimes can be commi"ed at any
me, and so its important that crime scene invesgators can arrive at the scene quickly in order to
obtain evidence before it may be possibly contaminated by factors such as the weather.
Cost- Each CSI gets paid a salary, and so this will therefore incur addional costs to the invesgaon.
Other evaluave points:
The samples that CSI’s collect may be a hazard to their health and safety, so these rusks need to
be calculated and the appropriate measures taken in order to minimize the risk of harm
The role can be taking a toll on CSI’s mental wellbeing due to the nature of the scenes that they
may a"end to
The weather could contaminate the crime scene
They may be able to provide a suspect’s innocence through DNA or (ngerprints tesng.
Case example- Amanda Knox:
Exchange student found dead in her 2at In Italy, friend Knox suspected of murder.
Contaminaon of evidence, failures to document evidence, planted evidence to falsely
incriminate
Strength
CISs may gather evidence that conclusively links suspects to crime scenes and vicms
The evidence may also prove conclusively that a suspect is in fact innocent, e.g., when their
(ngerprints do not match those found by the CSI at the crime scene
,Limitaons
The work requires specialist skills (such as forensic photography), as well as paence, meculous
care and a"enon to detail. failure to collect and record evidence correctly, or allowing it to
become contaminated, can lead to a guilty person going free or an innocent one being
convicted.
the forensic samples that CSIs handle may out their health or safety at risk. These include blood
and other body 2uids, hazardous chemicals, explosives and incendiary devices, (rearms and
ammunion, knives and hypodermic syringes.
The work may be stressful and emoonally demanding. This can lead to burn-out and people
leaving the profession, resulng in sta shortages.
Forensics specialists and scien sts:
Role
Once evidence has been collected from the crime scene by CSI’s, it is passed over to the Forensic
Specialists and Sciensts. Their role is to interpret and analyse the evidence in relaon to the crime
scene. They analyze a range of evidence, such as blood and other bodily 2uids, in order to try and (nd
DNA. This is the aim of most evidence analysis, as (nding DNA means the person responsible for the
crime is o7en iden(ed and found.
E
ecveness
Experse- Forensic sciensts possess a great deal of specialist knowledge that is vital in invesgaons.
They are able to interpret evidence which could lead to proving if a suspect is innocent or guilty, so they
have a big role to play within an invesgaon. This experse is especially valuable in complicated and
advanced criminal cases, as the criminal may also possess knowledge which prevents evidence being
linked to them.
Availability- Forensic sciensts typically work during the normal working week, which is Monday to
Friday. This could be an issue as some cases may require evidence to be analyzed urgently in order to
catch the suspect as soon as possible and so waing for a forensic scienst to be available would cause
delays in the invesgaon. However, some forensic sciensts work on an on-call basis, which means that
they can work on high priority cases as they unfold which would greatly help the invesgate process.
Cost- As forensic sciensts are highly quali(ed individuals, this also means that their salaries and work
they provide is expensive. This would mean that the use of forensic sciensts in invesgaons would
increase the cost of the invesgaon overall, and perhaps means that not all evidence would be
analyzed as its might not be (nancially feasible.
Other evalua ve points-
The work that Forensics sciensts do is subjecve, and thus that means that di erent forensic
sciensts may interpret evidence di erently. This could cause issues in the courtroom, as the
defense and prosecuon’s experts may give con2icng evidence which would confuse the jury
and make it more di;cult for them to come to a verdict
, An expert, such as a forensic scienst, could mislead the court, whether it be on purpose or as a
result of a mistake is wrongly found guilty or not guilty. An example of this is the case of Sally
Clarke who was found guilty for murders she did not commit as a result of an expert’s mistake.
Issue of contaminaon – if evidence us contaminated in the analysis process this can cause
issues such as evidence being mixed up or incorrectly interpreted. This of course would lead to
problems with the invesgaon, perhaps in accusing the wrong suspect or le=ng someone go
due to evidence surrounding being lost.
Case example- sally Clarke
Wrongly convicted of murder of her two sons as a result of the expert witness, professor sir Roy
meadows, giving evidence that was based on wrong informaon
Case example- Adam Sco$
Falsely accused of rape a7er his DNA was contaminated, leading him to spend 5 months in
custody charged with rape. This shows how contaminaon of evidence can a ect a criminal
invesgaon.
Case example- Sarah Payne
Sarah Payne was a young girl that was abducted and murdered by a previously convicted
pedophile Roy Whing
Used (bers from sweatshirts found in the van to link he presence of Sarah there, found threads
of school uniform on Velcro shoes
A number of clothing (bers and a single strand of Sarah’s hair were linked to items in the van
used by Mr. Whing to take the eight-year-old before driving more than 20 miles to dump her
naked body.
Strength
The special experse of forensic sciensts may be able to idenfy an interpret evidence that
proves a suspect’s guilt or innocence
Their experse may be essenal in complex cases where the criminal also has specialist
knowledge or skills
Limitaons
forensic sciensts are highly quali(ed and their services are expensive
contaminaon of evidence can occur when it is being examined by scienst
forensic may disagree
if an expert deliberately or accidentally misleads the court, this can result in a miscarriage pf
jusce
Police o&cers and detecves
Role
Police o;cers are most commonly the (rst people to arrive at a crime scene. Their (rst duty is to ensure
the wellbeing of anyone involved, for example by calling an ambulance or keeping the public away from
, the scene for their safety, if the suspect is sll present, they should aim to arrest them. A7er this has
been established, the police o;cer’s role is to make sure that the evidence at the scene is conserved
unl a CSI is available to gather it. They do this by ensuring that nobody enters the scene or touches
anything that could be classed as evidence. They may also take witness statements from people who saw
the crime take place, and this needs to be done as soon as possible to avoid issues of witnesses
forge=ng or being confused of what they saw. Detecves have a similar role, but they have a more
managerial role, meaning they oversee what happens at the scene inially and talk to the o;cers to
gather the informaon they need to begin their invesgaons.
Eec veness
Availability- police o;cers work on a call- on basis, meaning they are available to a"end to crime scenes
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This is vital as it means criminals are more likely to be arrested at the
scene which saves me in trying to idenfy and locate them at a later date.
Experse- police o;cers undergo training to ensure that they are (t to carry out their role and so they
have specialists’ knowledge to be able to deal with a crime scene. Detecves have many years of
experience in order to obtain the rank of detecve, and they o7en work in specialist departments which
ensures that they are equipped to invesgate and deal with the crime t hand.
Cost- both police o;cers and detecves get paid a yearly salary which incurs costs.
Other evaluave points
Police could fail to secure a crime scene, which could possibly result in the contaminaon of
evidence and this would severely hinder the case in court.
Certain crimes may not be taken as seriously by the police or because f personal biases.
Issues such as instuonal in the police show incompetence and discriminatory a=tudes among
the olive. This a ects crime scene procedures as they may make assumpons about the o ender
or vicm which could lead to evidence being overlooked or the crime nor being invesgated
correctly (Stephen Lawrence case)
Case example- Stephen Lawrence
Racially movated a"ack resulng in the death of Lawrence whilst walking home.
Failed to be recognized as a hate crime due to the instuonal bias and racism of the police
service and failures suspects due to force corrupon.
Crown prosecuon service
Role
The cps is a prosecuon service which covers, England and wale, made up 2,000 solicitors and barristers,
as well as assisng sta . Its main funcon is to advice the police on the likelihood of prosecuon if a case
is brought to court. They also test to see if there is su;cient evidence for prosecuon, and if the case is
in the public interest. The CPS can decide what charge to give an o ender in more serious cases. They
also have a role in the court proceedings, as they prepare cases for hearing and make sure all the
relevant informaon is disclosed to the defense, and may also present the case in court.
Eecveness
