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Writeup for Unit 3: AC1.1
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Complete writeup for unit 3 for AC1.1
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AC1.1 WriteupDuring a criminal investigation there are numeral personnel who each play a key role in
what they gain and do during the investigation.
A crime scene investigators (SOCO’s) role is to preserve and protect a crime scene while
recovering evidence, this evidence would be trace evidence such as gunshot residue,
fingerprints, fibres, and blood splatters. Due to the nature of this evidence, crime scene
investigators wear a full set of protective clothing to try and eliminate the risk of cross
contamination. During the recovery of evidence, they are required to document and process
the crime scene to try and uncover what happened. To be a SOCO, you need good GCSE’s
and A levels and while it isn’t mandatory, a degree in science or forensics can prove
advantageous. It also would be useful to have a qualification in photography as you will be
photographing numerous crime scenes and numerous pieces of evidence. A strength of the
SOCO’s is that their expertise means that evidence can be handled correctly and have
reduced risk of compromise. This is a strength because it prevents other personnel such as
police officers from needing to investigate a crime scene as their level of expertise won’t be
as high so may lead to accidental cross contamination and even the loss of vital trace
evidence. A limitation of the SOCO’s is that it can take a long time to analyse a crime scene
depending on where the SOCO’s are coming from and where the crime scene is. This is a
limitation as it could mean some evidence is compromised due to external, environmental
factors especially if the crime scene is outdoors. Another limitation of the SOCO’s is that
cross contamination can have an extremely detrimental effect on a case, so any mistakes or
if they omit anything; it can seriously affect the case for the worse. This is a weakness as it
shows how much pressure a SOCO’s job is, and how one minor human error could lead to
something as large as a miscarriage of justice. This limitation is demonstrated in the case
study of Amanda Knox. In this case, the high international profile of the case influenced
investigators to accelerate investigation resulting in indefinite contamination of evidence,
this cross contamination interfered with evidence and lead to the wrongful conviction of
Amanda Knox and her boyfriend for the murder of Knox’s roommate.
A forensic scientist’s role is to review evidence from a crime scene and produce information
for a court. Evidence such as blood and other body fluids are analysed in a laboratory and
interpreted, these interpretations can assist a court in making a decision and producing a
just result as it applies scientific knowledge to crime and the legal system. To become a
forensic scientist, you will need qualifications such as a degree in biology, chemistry or
forensic science. A degree in statistics or geology can also prove advantageous. One
strength of forensic scientists is that it can provide clear, indisputable evidence in court in
order to support a case because science is highly objective so issues such as investigator bias
aren’t much of an issue as science is hard facts rather then interpretation. This is a strength
as it can be the deciding factor in whether a person is guilty or not and can save people from
a miscarriage of justice. One weakness of forensic scientists is that it can be very expensive
to hire such specialists for an investigation and can also be very time consuming depending
on how large or complex a case is. This is a weakness as it means these specialists can only
be available for high-profile cases most of the time, and can waste a lot of time in a case to
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