CRIMINOLOGY UNIT 3: Crime Scene To Court Room
AC 1.1
EVALUATE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ROLES OF PERSONNEL INVOLVED IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
SCENES OF CRIMES OFFICERS (SOCOs):
o represented on TV as crime scene investigators
o employed by the police to keep safe a crime scene as well as recover any evidence
o the evidence of a criminal investigation must remain uncontaminated and must be collected as
soon as possible as that would make the evidence more credible (e.g., gunshot residue,
fingerprints, or hair)
o if the evidence is contaminated, then it would be considered as inadmissible in court
o risks of the evidence being contaminated are extremely low as they are trained & qualified in this
certain area
o they operate on an on-call system (always available)
Limitations of SOCOs-
Exposure to hazardous substances e.g., contaminants coming into contact with skin, airborne
substances entering the mouth- but could be avoidable by wearing the correct protective clothing
(masks, glasses)
Amanda Knox case- SOCOs wore shoe covers outside the house as well as others did not wear any
protective clothing inside the house (which was later used in court as unreliable collection of evidence)
FORENSIC SCIENTISTS:
o review evidence as well as prepare and produce information for it to be shown in court (e.g.,
blood/any other bodily fluids are analysed in a lab)
o the evidence is likely that it will produce a just result in court
Advantages of forensic scientists-
Most have experience in specialist areas such as psychology, dentistry, toxicology
Limitations of forensic scientists-
DNA analysis- unethical as it reveals confidential information
Expensive/time-consuming
Miscarriage of justice is a result of lack of attention/care
,CRIMINOLOGY UNIT 3: Crime Scene To Court Room
Adam Scott case-plastic tray which has not been disposed, had his DNA in it and was re-used in a rape case
which led to him being in custody for 5 months
POLICE OFFICERS:
o first personnel called and their main role is to preserve life, investigate crime as well as try to
reduce it and the fear it creates
o they secure the crime scene and try to protect the possible evidence
o police service has specialist units e.g., The Criminal Investigations Department (trained to
investigate wide range of crimes)
Limitations of police officers-
Stephen Lawrence case- the Macpherson Report 1999 has claimed police had institutional racism
as well as it made seventy recommendations on improving this service
Hillsborough disaster- police had acted inappropriately in criminal investigations; 2016 inquest has
stated police blunders caused the disaster & victims were illicitly killed
CROWN PROSECUTION SERVICE (CPS):
o set up in 1986 as a department to take on and over the decisions made by the police
o work with police to assess cases and decide if it is appropriate for a prosecution
o law firm (2000+ crown prosecutors), all prosecutors have been fully qualified as barristers and
solicitors
o their consistency is seen in the tests they apply, taking into consideration the evidence which has
been collected by police and determine whether it would be appropriate to prosecute based on
whether it is in the public’s interest or not
Limitations of CPS-
A lot of cases failed due to lacking evidence
Abu Hamza case-hate preacher, found guilty of inciting murder; before this, CPS refused to
prosecute although police had put a lot of evidence
Damilola Taylor case- CPS’ image was damaged as they relied too much on evidence from the 14-year-old
girl; due to lying, her evidence was thrown out of court, which resulted in CPS being criticised as the lies
were obvious (little time spent checking her evidence against direct evidence like videotaped interviews)
PATHOLOGISTS:
,CRIMINOLOGY UNIT 3: Crime Scene To Court Room
o medical doctors which make autopsies to determine the cause of death and such evidence is
necessary as it gives clues for further information about the investigation
o they are skilled and well-qualified as well as have knowledge in other areas like pathology,
anatomy, and crime scene evaluation
Limitations of pathologists-
Very limited and might need to work on more than one case at the same time
Costs of pathologists are extremely high (public sector- can earn approximately £100,000/year and
more within private sector)
Anthony Hardy (Camden ripper) case- Freddy Patel (pathologist), although obvious that the cause of the
death of the girl was the way her body was found (blood stains on her clothes, bedding and wall);, he
determined the cause of her death was natural; due to police not being able to do anything, Hardy
murdered another 2 women which led to him being convicted for the 3 deaths and Patel being suspended
from his role (irresponsible actions, low standards of what he was supposed to be a ‘competent’
pathologist)
, CRIMINOLOGY UNIT 3: Crime Scene To Court Room
AC 1.2
ASSESS THE USEFULNESS OF INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS
INTELLIGENCE DATABASES:
1. The Police National Database: holds information about suspected criminal activity (3.5 billion
searchable records); made up of 220 linked databases.
2. The Police National Computer (PNC): it stores over 12 million people’s arrests, convictions and
police cautions and links to biometric databases for fingerprints (the National DNA Database; also
hold vehicle registration data, and information on 48 million people holding a driving licence and
those disqualified as well as missing and wanted people.
e.g., Madeleine McCan
3. Crimint and Gangs Matrix: Crimint stores information on criminals, suspects, and protestors; the
Gangs Matrix stores information about suspected gang members.
e.g., Yakuza-largest gang in the world and to be a successful member of the gang, they are required
to cut off all ties with their families; there are more than 102000 members.
4. International databases (e.g., INTERPOL): police forces in different countries share information on
things such as child sexual exploitation, biometric records, stolen property, firearms, and organised
crime networks.
e.g., Issei Sagawa case-awaited his trial for two years in a French prison however, judge Jean-Louis
Bruguiere declared him legally insane and unfit to stand trial, dropping the charges and ordering
him to be held indefinitely in a mental institution, resulting in then deporting him back to Japan.
Evaluation:
o The Gangs Matrix- criticised as racially discriminatory; 2021-Met police were technically forced to
remove over 1000 young black men from the database; 2017- accidental leak of names and
addresses of 203 alleged gang members, and then fell into the hands of rival gangs which resulted
in some of those named suffering brutal violence.
FORENSICS:
Forensic techniques
