7 Lesson 2 Tools Phases and Principles in Investigation
7 Lesson 2 Tools Phases and Principles in Investigation
TOPICS
1. Criminal Investigation and Its Phases
2. Role and Qualities of an Investigator
3. Approaches and Tools in Criminal Investigation
4. Cardinal Points and Methods of Identification
5. Technical and Legal Aspect of Witness
LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:
a. explain the criminal investigation and stages of investigation;
b. identify the qualities of investigation and investigative quality of
investigator;
c. discuss the relevance of approaches and tools in investigation; and
d. enumerate the different types, technical and classification of witness.
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3. Provide evidence needed for his conviction - to successfully produce a conviction,
investigators must remember the rules in handling evidence so as to maintain its integrity
starting from the crime scene up until during court presentation.
The initiation of the investigative process primarily relies with the question “Is the act performed
constitutes a crime as defined by law” or “Is the law being violated? If the answer is yes, then
investigators must exhaust all means to uncover the facts surrounding the commission of the crime.
If investigators find that a crime was not committed or the act performed is not tantamount to a
crime, then obviously they should not interfere with
the matter.
Meanwhile, investigators play an important role
in the success of criminal investigation. As they are
the primary individual who gathers and collects
relevant information concerning the crime and later
on give testimonial evidence in court. As such, they
should possess the following qualities to become an
effective investigator.
a. Good Communication- this refers to the
capability of the investigator to interact both
in written and oral. This means that they can do effective interview either to the witness or
suspect as well as be able to write a written report when required to do so. Effective
interview means a fruitful interaction between the investigator and the people as he
gathers information without language problem.
b. Active listener -this refers to the ability of the investigator to attentively hear the testimony
given by a witness and be able to identify hearsay statements or false statements.
Hearsay are those statements made by the person who does not witness the actual
commission of the crime while false statements are those statements which are purely
fictitious and are invented only by the witness.
c. Critical thinking - this refers to the analytical skills of the investigator while he formulates
Judgment based on the testimonies given by witnesses and evidences gathered in the
course of investigation.
d. Work under pressure- this refers to the capacity of the investigator to go through the
investigation process despite of obstacles and hindrances that he may encounter such as
but not limited to lack of resources, inadequate investigative leads and clues and others.
Investigative leads refer to the information gathered from people specially those who are
within the immediate area where the crime took place while clues refer to the pieces of
signs and traces which helps in identifying perpetrators.
e. Innovativeness-this refers to the flexibility and resourcefulness of the investigator in trying
to uncover the identity and location of the perpetrator. This includes finding all possible
ideas that he may take in the course of investigation.
f. Integrity -this refers to the honor and honesty or the investigator in solving the case and
avoid unethical issues that will discredit his image.
g. Knowledge about rules on evidence- this refers to the knowledge of the investigator
about evidence handling which includes but not limited to preservation, marking, tagging,
packaging, and the requirements as to how such evidence will be admitted in court during
presentation.
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Moreover, these qualities should not be possessed only by an investigator but rather should be
enhanced in response to the changing society. This could be possible through different seminars
and training in line with an effective investigation.
Seminars are more in line with discussions or meetings while trainings are more inclined with
actual or practical exercises and demonstrations.
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TOPIC 4: CARDINAL POINTS AND METHODS OF IDENTIFICATION
A series of questions and procedures should be set in order to produce a fruitful result. In the
conduct of investigation, the investigator must note the cardinal points in criminal investigation that
address the following questions:
a. What act was performed in which the law defines
it as crime?
b. Who committed the act in which the law defines it
as crime?
c. Where did this act, as defined by law as a crime,
happen?
d. When did this act, as defined by law as a crime,
happen?
e. Why was this act, as defined by law as a crime,
performed?
f. How did this act, as defined by law as a crime,
happened?
Moreover, investigative process is defined as the procedure taken by the investigator which
commence from the time the crime was reported up until it was brought before the court for the trial
of person accused to have violated the law and for proper sanction and disposition of the case.
Along with the investigative process, the investigator must establish that a crime has been
committed and the person suspected should be held for trial. In the process of establishing that a
crime was deemed committed, the following should be noted such that:
a. Investigator must prove that the accused is guilty;
b. Investigator must ensure that the accused was identified by competent witness;
c. Investigator must confirm that whatever evidence found in the crime scene pinpoints to the
same accused or group of accused people;
d. Investigator must note that evidences recovered in the crime scene are the same
evidences that will be presented in court; and
e. Investigator must remember that conviction will depend as to how he will establish the
elements of the crime alleged.
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Method of identification refers to the ways and means employed to uncover the
personality of the person who may have committed an act in which under the existing law is
regarded as a crime.
Moreover, the identity of the person suspected to have committed a crime can be established
mainly through the following:
Identification by witness - the identity of the perpetrator is established through an eye -
witness or person who have seen the perpetrator in the actual commission of the crime or his
presence was seen in the crime scene or immediate area/s where the crime took place.
Identification through Physical Evidence - the identity of the perpetrator is established
through collection of physical evidence that has a logical connection to the case which could either
be associative or tracing evidence. This two differ such that:
Associative evidence - these are those material/s owned and can be linked to the
perpetrator which by some instance was left at the crime scene.
Tracing evidence - these are those material/s taken by the perpetrator at the crime scene
and most commonly found in theft or robbery cases.
Identification through Forensic Science - this method is done through the aid of the
expertise of different forensic services such as DNA, fingerprint, Odontology and the like.
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8. Fearful witness - these are those persons who are afraid of being involved in the
prosecution of the accused or simply shy to face the open court.
9. Egocentric witness - refers to a witness who is prone to exaggeration of the things he
had observed and may attempt to add facts which are not part of the real scenario.
10. Hostile witness - these are those witnesses who are uncooperative and do not wish to
provide information necessary for the prosecution of the case.
11. Suspicious witness-are individual witnesses who are doubtful about the true intention of
the investigators or the police as a whole.
In legal perspective, the law and the Revised Rules of Court define and qualify a witness as
'any person who can perceive, capable of perceiving, and can make known his perception to
others' can be a witness.
Under the Revised Rules of Court the law further classify witness as either:
1. Ordinary witness - these are those witness who may be allowed to testify regarding the
following:
About the identity of the person whom he had knowledge;
Handwriting of the person of which he had familiarity; and
Mental sanity of the person whom he had acquainted.
2. Expert witness - are those witness who by reason of their knowledge, skills, training or
experience may be allowed by the court to give their opinion.
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