Criminology Controlled Assessment – Unit 3
AC1.1 – Evaluate the effectiveness of the roles of four personnel involved in criminal investigations
Police officers:
A police officer is typically called upon in order to investigate crime scenes. Their job position includes
attending to scenes of crime, inspecting the crime itself through collecting proof, recording witness
accounts along with undertaking detainments if needed. Along with this, a crucial period within the
investigation (typically the first hour) must be considered for, this is known as ‘golden hour’, whereby
officers who respond to the investigation must ensure that the crime scene is preserved for the purpose
of preventing the scene from being contaminated, and initial witness/victim accounts are collected in
order for incidences to be retained in memory as this prevents important evidence being missed.
Cost:
Employing and developing the skills of a police officer costs£12,900, the yearly wage of an officer who
was recently employed is £30,520. Due to government funds being decreased, the police force faces
many threats. From the years of March 2012 to March 2016, the amount of police officers had reduced
significantly (134,101 t0 124,006). During 2010, 79,500 police subordinates were employed throughout
the institutions situated in England and Wales, this had reduced to 61,688 in March of 2016. As a result
of government funds being reduced, police institutions within England and Wales are incapable of
developing the skills of police officers as well as employing an exact number of them prior to the
reduction in government funding, along with this it has caused a few institutions to lack finance and
leaving them to respond to and examine offences that have been recorded with limited materials. This
subsequently has resulted in a rise in the number of offences committed, this is evident in regards to the
number of reported weapons owned, and this has risen by 28.7%. This indicates that officers were
focusing on offences with great importance such as murder as opposed to minor offences like property
damage and thus had to turn a blind eye, along with this, officers may not fulfil their role effectively as
due to budget cuts police stations lack the necessary resources to investigate crimes, therefore they
may not follow standard procedures to an adequate level. Reductions in budgeting have had an impact
on the training needed to ensure an effective police officer is made. But as a result of the reduced
budgeting there are currently less officers as to the previous years. To employ and develop the skills of
10,000 officers, the total sum of this is £300 million, however as a result of a decrease in budgeting
police institutions would not be able to do this.
Expertise:
Police officers undertake specialist preparation and development for the purpose of guaranteeing that
they are suitable and competent enough to conduct the responsibilities of a police officer. Such a job
position includes acquiring an expert understanding concerning the approaches taken to manage
, difficult scenarios at scenes of crime. In cases of rape, officers possess an expert understanding on the
ways to manage the crime scene through, for example, ‘golden hour’ where investigators must make
sure that the crime scene is preserved in order to prevent the crime scene being polluted and that the
first witness and victim statements are recorded in order for events to be remembered.
Availability:
Police officers respond to scenes of crimes at all times, therefore they are accessible to members of the
public whenever required. This is crucial since it indicates that officers are probable to carrying out
detainments of suspected individuals as opposed to misusing government and enforcement materials in
an attempt to discern and interrogate afterwards.
Strengths:
There are several advantages concerning the implementation of police officers throughout a criminal
investigation. One of which includes the ability to attend to crime scenes effectively, this means that
they can respond and arrive at scenes of crime in a timely and quick manner. This enables them to
intercept and impermissible personnel from accessing the scene as they could potentially pollute the
contents of the crime scene which may have been crucial to use in the investigation. Along with this they
tend to develop relationships with members of the community indicating that many civilians trust and
depend on police officers. Officers face all types of criminal actions on a daily basis; thus, they usually
are aware of the most suitable approach to conduct during the investigation, with the primary aim of
attaining the most precise timeline of incidences. Finally, the conditions required to achieving the role of
a police officers tends to take a minimum of three years which means that those who intend on taking
that job position are heavily dedicated. This therefore allows officers to develop their skills and
knowledge throughout the years and apply it to a crime scene, they can then meticulously and quickly
collect evidence and implement appropriate measures so that personnel or any other factors cannot
contaminate the evidence.
Limitations:
Although becoming and using police officers is beneficial to an investigation, there are weaknesses to
this such as the possibility of not sufficiently exploring crime as a result of human misinterpretations or
inaccuracies. In times of stress, officers may not meticulously investigate a crime scene, indicating that
the approach taken may have been ineffective and rushed. Along with this the workload of a police
officers is challenging as there is an ongoing issue with insufficient materials at the disposal of many
police institutions as well as time which prevent officers from effectively carrying out an investigation.
Due to the 19% reduction in financing police institutions which has been initiated by the government,
45,000 officers have been made redundant. As a result of this, current personnel within the job role of a
police officer experience increased pressure as well as workload. In addition, there is a possibility that
the investigation may not be carried out effectively as officers could overlook crucial evidence within the
scene and compiling inadequate evidence may stop an investigation from reaching court. Lastly, officers
