www.rkmfiles.

net 1

Review in Criminal Investigation

Basic Definition of Terms

Criminal Investigation- is an art which deals with the identity and location of the offender and
prove his guilt in a criminal proceeding. (Dr. Pedro S. Solis)

Criminal Investigation- it is the systematic method of inquiry that is more a science than an art.
The logic of scientific method must however, be supplemented by the investigator's initiative and
resourcefulness. The sequences of the investigation should be regarded by scientific, operating
framework that requires improvising on the part of the investigator. (Charles Swanson Jr., Neil
Chamelin and Leonard Territo)

Art- Intuition, felicity of inspiration or by chance

Science- adequate professional preparation and abundance of certain qualities

Investigator- is the person who is charged with the duty of carrying out the objectives of criminal
investigation.
- is an individual who gathers documents and evaluates facts about crime

Special Crime Investigation- deals with the study of major crimes based on the application of
special investigative techniques.
- the study concentrates more on physical evidence; it’s collection, handling,
identification and preservation in coordination with the various criminalists in the
crime laboratory. Special crime investigation involves close relationship between
the investigator in the field and the investigator in the laboratory- the Criminalist.

Duty of Criminal Investigator- By Solis

1. Establish that, in fact, a crime was committed under the law.

2. Identify and apprehend the suspect.
3. To recover stolen property.
4. To assist the state in prosecuting the party charged with the offense.

Job of the Criminal Investigator- By Solis

1. Discover whether or not an offense has been committed under the law.
2. After determining what specific offense has been committed, he must discover how, when,
where, why, what offense was committed.

Tools in Criminal Investigation

1. Information (Interview)- knowledge which the investigator gather and acquire from different
sources.

Ability to secure information is attained and developed in the following:

a. by becoming acquainted with different kinds of people.

b. By being friendly with other peace officers in the area.
c. By making the habit of jotting down and keeping permanent record of potential and actual
offenders and informers.
d. By learning not to overlook chance memoranda or haphazard notations.

Kinds of Information depend on who give the information where the information is
collected.

Sources of Information

Person - Place - Thing

Informant and Informer

a. Incidental- no specific intention of imparting subsequent information

b. Automatic- provide information by virtue of his official function/duties
c. Casual- characterized by infrequent but continuous delivery of information
 www.rkmfiles.net 2

d. Recruited- spotted, selected, cultivated and developed as continuous source

of information
e. Double- informant – person who provide information to opposing visit or
organization
f. Dual/multiple- person who provide information to two or more friendly
organization.
g. Intelligence Broker- person who provide information for fee.
h. Paid Informant-same as intelligence broker

Conception of gathering information (Police Manual)

Overt – Covert - Semi overt or semi covert

2. Interrogation- this is the process of questioning witnesses and suspect to obtain further
information.
- Its effectiveness depends with the craft, logic and psychological insight with the
information relevant to the case as they were discovered.

Kinds of Interrogation/interview

1. Custodial 2. Tactical

Purposes of Interrogation

1. To obtain confession to the crime

3. To induce subject (suspect/witnesses) to make admission
4. To extract facts and circumstances surrounding the crime.
5. To develop information which will lead to the recovery of the fruits of the crime
6. To discover the details of other crime where suspect participated.

3. Instrumentation- application of instrument and methods of physical science to the detection of

crime. The sum total of all sciences in crime-detection known as Criminalistics.

Various ways in which criminalistics is useful to criminal investigation:

1. by supplying one or more missing link in the chain of evidences

2. by strengthening a weak link, or links in the chain of evidence
3. by checking the accuracy of the statement made by suspects and/or witnesses
4. by clearing out doubtful points in the preliminary stages of investigation which may or may not
be significant at a later stage
5. by assisting in the rapid clearing of the case and routine inquiries.

Phases of Criminal Investigation

1. Identifying the criminal

2. Tracing, locating and arresting the criminal
3. Gathering facts and evidence to prove guilt in criminal proceeding

Methods of Identifications of Criminals

Criminal are identified thru the following:

1. Confession and Admission

2. Statement of witnesses
3. Circumstantial Evidence
4. Associative Evidence

A. Confession- this is an expressed acknowledgement by the accused in criminal cases of the

truth of his guilt as to the crime charged or of some of the essential part there of. There is no
implied confession for it is positive and direct acknowledgement of guilt. It is the best means of
identifying criminal.

Rules in Confession

a. Confession need not to be in writing

b. Confession may be written in a language which the accused does not speak
c. Confession must be freely and voluntarily made
 www.rkmfiles.net 3

Voluntarily – means that the accused speak of his free will and accord, without inducement of
any kind and with the full and complete knowledge of the nature and consequences of the
confession.

Freely- when the speaking is so free from the influence affecting the will of the accused at the
same time the confession was made.

Requirement for confession as proof of guilt

1. Other corroborative evidence must support it.

2. Corpus delicti- must be established separately (the actual commission of the crime charged.
It refers to a particular crime and signifies that specific offense had been actually committed
by someone being composed of two elements:)

a. that certain results were produced.

b. That someone is criminally responsible
3. Confession must be made voluntarily.

B. By EYE-WITNESS TESTIMONY- description made by eyewitness

Value of identification by eyewitness testimony depends on the following: (credibility-

bringing honor)

1. the ability of the eyewitness testimony to observe and remember the relative “distinctiveness”
of the accused appearance
2. The prevailing conditions, visibility and observation
3. The lapse of time between the criminal event and identification

Methods of Identification made by eyewitness

1. Verbal Description- portrait parley vividly describing in words the appearance of a person by
comparing and thru personal appearance.
2. Photographic files (rogues gallery)
3. General photograph- files of photograph in any given establishment.
4. Artist Assistance or composite sketches- drawing or sketching the description of a person’s
face by the cartographer
5. Police line-up- selecting the suspect from a group of innocent persons to eliminate the power
of suggestions as factor of identification

Cartography- the art of sketching the image of a person or the art of making map

Bases of the eyewitness in the identification of criminal

1. Face-forehead, eyebrow, mustache, eyes, ears, cheeks, mouth, lips, teeth, chin, jaw, etc.
2. Neck- shape, length, Adam’s apple
3. Shoulder- width and shape
4. Waist- size, shape of the abdomen
5. Hands- length, size, hair, condition of the palms
6. Fingers- length, thickness, stains, shape of nails and condition
7. Any deformities (cross eyed, limping and etc.)
8. Teeth-
9. Gait

 Personal appearance- is the verbal or physical description of the appearance of an

individual.

Bases of Physical Description of Physical Appearance

1. Mug Shot
2. Artist Drawing
3. Composite Sketches
4. Verbal description or Portrait Parley
 www.rkmfiles.net 4

Homicide Investigation

It is the official inquiry made by the police on the facts and circumstances surrounding the
death of the person which is expected to be criminal or unlawful.

The Primary Job of the Investigator

1. To discover whether an offense has been committed under the law.

2. To discover how it was committed.
3. Who committed it and by whom it was committed.
4. When it was committed.
5. And under certain circumstances why it was committed.

Responsibilities of a Homicide Investigator

1. Homicide investigator when called upon to investigate a violent death, stand on the
dead man’s shoes, to produce his instincts against those suspects.
Consequently, the zeal, enthusiasm, and intelligence the investigator brings in
the case marks the difference between murderer being convicted or set free.

2. If the investigator interprets an intentional death as due to natural death the family
may be deprived of benefits and other properties which the deceased have sacrificed
to obtain.

3. If he interprets a criminal death as accidental death or natural, a guilty person is

otherwise set free.

Mistakes in Homicide Investigation

1. The mistakes of the homicide investigator can not be corrected.

2. The homicide investigator should not cross the three bridges, which he burns behind him. It is
important that competent personnel adequately handle the case.
The following are the three bridges:

A. The dead person has been moved.

It is therefore necessary that photographs be taken, measurements made, fingerprints
taken and other necessary tasks to be first carried out.

B. The second bridge is burned when the body is embalmed.

Embalming destroys traces of alcohol and several kinds of poison. If poisoning is
suspected, the internal organs should be removed.

C. The third bridge is burned when the body is burned or cremated.

The exhume body is difficult and expensive. The lapse of time make s the examination
doubtly difficult and a conclusion is hard to arrive at. Cremation destroys body itself.

The Medico-Legal Autopsy

1. The real beginning of any homicide investigation should be to establish the cause of death
accurately.
2. An autopsy should be performed at once when there is the slightest reason to suspect the
probability of homicide.
3. In general, it maybe stated that death has been caused by violence, an autopsy is always
performed unless there is adequate proof to the contrary.

The value of the Investigator in attending autopsies.

During the conduct of autopsy, an investigator can observe first hand and ask questions
pertinent to the case under investigation. The medico-legal officer can explain the autopsy
findings as they progress. As the results of the autopsy are received by the investigator such
information, if pertinent and requiring expeditious investigative attention, can be passed along to
the other investigators for immediate handling. When the investigator has a suspected weapon,
comparison of the weapon with the wound can be made. The officer present at the autopsy can
be the liaison with the investigation team working on the case and see that all evidence is
obtained during the examination.
 www.rkmfiles.net 5

The Role of the Medico-Legal officer in Homicide Investigation

The determination of criminal responsibility in death has been developed into a specialized
field of medical science called forensic pathology. A pathologist can assist in homicide
investigation by:
1. Documentation of all wounds, bruises, scratches, scars or other marks at the time of
the autopsy.
2. Interpretation of findings based on medical facts.

Necropsy Report- It is a document stating the cause of death of the victim. This is the medico-
legal report.

The Facts of Death

1. The first action of an investigator upon arriving at the crime scene of the homicide is the
verification of death.
2. An individual is said to be dead in the medical sense when one of the three vital function is no
longer performing within the body:
a. Respiratory system
b. Cardiac Activity
c. Central nervous system activity
3. In the legal sense, death is considered to occur when all of the three above vital functions
have ceased.

Presumptive signs and Test of Death

1. The following are few of the signs indicative of death:
A. Cessation of breathing and respiratory movement
B. Cessation of heart sounds
C. Loss of placing of nail beds when pressure is applied in the fingernails is released.

Suspended Animation
1. Cardiac activity, breathing and functioning of the nervous system may reach such a low-level
activity that a homicide investigator maybe deceived into an assumption of death.
2. The following conditions produced simulated appearance of death:
1. electric shock
2. prolonged emersion
3. poisoning from narcotic drugs
4. barbiturate poisoning
5. certain mental diseases

The Importance of Establishing the Identification of Homicide Victims.

The identification of the victim is an important investigative step for the following reasons:
1. It provides an important basis for the investigation processes since it may lead the
investigator directly to other important information leading to the solution of the crime.
2. The identity of the dead person provides the focal point/starting point for the investigators can
then center their attention on associates and haunts of the deceased.
3. The identity of the deceased may arouse suspicion in mysterious death since the victim
maybe a person whose life had been threatened or whose death was desired for criminal
purposes.
4. The identification of the deceased can be traced or related to wanted persons or missing one.

Methods of Identification

a. Fingerprints
Fingerprint identification is the most positive and quickest method of ascertaining identity.
However the prints of the deceased may not be on file or may not be obtainable because
of trauma, mutilation, incineration or decomposition. The sole clue maybe bone, a skull or
a few teeth.

b. Skeletal Studies
Examination of the skeleton may provide a basis for identification because of individual
peculiarities such as old fractures and presence of metal pins. Bones may also provide
information about age, sex, and race.
 www.rkmfiles.net 6

c. Visual Inspection
Someone knowing the deceased person may recognize the victim. However, trauma,
incineration, or decomposition may render the features unrecognizable. In addition, a
visual inspection without further verification has the advantage of possible subjective
error or deliberate false identification. Visual inspection combined with fingerprint
evidence is a favored method for rapid identification.
d. Personal Effects
Identification of a victim by personal effects such as Jewelry, I.D. card, wallets, belts,
shoes etc.
e. Tattoo and Scars
Identification scars, moles, tattoos, pockmarks or other markings may be helpful in
identification, particularly in conjunction with other findings.
f. Dental Evidences (Forensic Odontology)
Identification based on the examination of teeth (teeth charts, fillings, inlays crowns,
bridgework, dentures etc.) is valuable inasmuch as the teeth are probably the most
durable part of the human body. There are probably no two people alive with dentures
that are completely identical in all respects. Dental evidence is legally recognized and
accepted, if properly presented in court.
g. Clothing
Articles of clothing containing cleaner’s mark, labels, initials, size, color, texture knitting,
etc. have provided investigators with the leads and even identification in most instances.
h. Photographs
Identification of victims has been made by publication in bulletins, circulars, television and
other distribution media, artist sketches, death mark and casts have likewise aided the
police in identifying unknowns.

Investigative Leads

The problem of who did it is a simple on when the offender is caught in the act or
apprehended in flight from the scene the scene shortly after the crime. When the perpetrator is
not promptly arrested, the direction of the investigation varies according to whether the case falls
into one of the two categories- known identities or unknown identity. Whenever investigators
encounter cases of the later, investigative leads now are necessary to attain the objective of
criminal investigation.

A. Establishment of Motive to the killing

This will furnish a good clue in the solution of the crime. The investigator drawing from his
ingenuity, experience and availability of data, must base his investigation on a theory that
rationally explains the fatal act.
B. Victims Background
Very promising leads can be developed from the review of the background of the victim
that can provide the background of the victim which can give the pursuit defined goals.
C. Modus Operandi
The choice of particular crime to commit and the selection of a method of committing a
criminal act that forms the signature of the criminal give a clear lead on who might have
committed the crime.
D. Informants
Informants are a traditional starting point in seeking basic leads. In fact informants
sometimes offer data about an unreported or undiscovered crime or one in its planning
stage.
E. Benefits
The question of who might benefit from the crime provides an excellent focus for making
inquiry. The “benefit factor” can provide investigative leads.
F. Opportunity
G. Knowledge
Simply determining who might have knowledge of the crime to establish farther
information about the case.
H. Approximate time of death
I. Composite Sketches
J. Photographs of Known criminals
K. Psychics
L. Voice Identification
M. Polygraph testing
N. Fingernail Scrapings
O. Signs of Struggle
P. Field Contact Report
Q. Motor Vehicle