AC1.1 Evaluate the Roles of Personnel Involved in Criminal Investigations
Police officers play a vital role in the golden hour of an investigation, as they are the first people to go to
arrive at a crime scene. Police officers can search for evidence, as well as going door to door to gather
statements from possible witnesses. Police officers are also responsible for arresting suspects and
questioning them. A strength of becoming a police officer is its very accessible, as there are multiple
ways a person can join the police. For those who can't afford to go to university there is a police degree
apprenticeship, this is good as it will allow more police officers to be trained making the UK a safer
place. Since 2020 there has been a 5% increase in employment (UK parliament, 2021). However, a
limitation is the starting salary for a police officer is £23,000, which is low considering it is an
emotionally draining job and they work long hours. Another strength of police officers is there is lots of
jobs available, as they are in high demand, this might encourage people to train to be a police officer, as
they know the role will be open when they have finished training. A weakness of the police force is they
have been named institutionally racist, and sometimes fail to properly investigate crimes, which makes
them a less desirable place to work. A case study that shows Major failings in the police is Stephen
Lawrence, who was killed after being beaten up by a gang of white males, the police on the case were
racist and treated Lawrences family poorly. After this case the police were labelled as institutionally
racist.
Crime scene investigators (A.K.A. SOCO’s) attend crime scenes and preserve any evidence, all the
evidence will be packaged, stored and documented in order to avoid cross contamination, some CSI
officers also attend postmortems in the case of a suspicious death. Its also part of a CSI job to attend court
trials to give evidence. A limitation of becoming a CSI is the pay to begin with is low (£29,600), which
could put people off wanting to spend the money on university and CSI training, as it will take a long
time to pay the loan off. A strength of CSI is the job allows for progression, and it is possible to become a
specialist, this could encourage more people to become a CSI to earn more money. A limitation of CSI is
they have a difficult job, as they could make a mistake, which leads to cross contamination, meaning they
could face retaliatory action from the public. Another strength of CSI is they get health and life insurance
alongside holiday pay, sick leave and retirement benefits, all of which could motivate someone to train to
be a Crime scene investigator. A case study that shows failings with CSI is that of Meredith Kercher and
Amanda Knox, Kercher was murdered in her home in Italy, her housemates Knox and Sollecito were
accused and sentenced for her murder based on evidence from the crime scene, which was later labelled
as worthless, and investigators did not wear the necessary protective suits when at the crime scene. They
were later released from prison.
Forensic Scientists are lab based and consist of specialist units, for example a blood splatter specialist or a
toxicology specialist. They process evidence and provide the police with a report which will later become
evidence in a court trial. A limitation of becoming a Forensic scientist is it is very difficult to get the
relevant training, to become a forensic scientists you would need a Bachelors and Masters in chemistry,
meaning university is vital, so it is less accessible for those from lower income households. A strength of
becoming a Forensic Scientist is the job allows for progression, so a higher pay can be earned the longer
spent in the job. Another limitation of Forensic scientists is the pay is low considering what they do and
the training they have, they earn £29,600 per year. This might discourage others from becoming a
forensic scientists, as they don’t think the pay is worth the time put in studying. Another strength of
Forensic scientists is they are well trained, so the public can be at ease that well educated people are
dealing with crime. This also means there is less likelihood of mistakes being made. Another limitation is
they are on call 24 hours a day and only get a 25 day holiday per year. The job is extremely taxing, which
might be difficult for some people. Another strength of Forensic Scientists is there is specialist units so
