Problems with Interrogative Techniques

ABSTARCT

This paper throws light on the investigation techniques in general and the interrogation technique in particular. The steps of interrogation, the structures, the problems and recommendations are discussed in the paper.

Problems with Interrogative Techniques

Introduction

Long since the world came into being, the world of crime also was born. The history of criminal activities dates back to as long as the history of mankind on earth. People have been involved in all sorts of crimes since the early ages. The planet has advanced rapidly in the recent years. The world in which we live today is a world which is full of crimes and there effects on the society. There is a crime almost every single minute. To keep these crimes to a minimum, many departments have been set up. The world has become modern and so have the techniques to investigate the crimes and capture the criminals. This paper throws light on the criminal investigation techniques, the procedures and processes to follow and the recommendations to make them better.

Criminal investigation

Criminal investigation can be defined as the methods by which the personnel of the crime investigation departments study crimes and apprehend the criminals. The investigators try to understand motives behind crimes and the methods used by the criminals. They also try to find out the identities of the criminals, those of the victims and also search for witnesses of the crime scene and interrogate them (www.britannica.com).

Identifying criminals is no easy task. There are many cases in which the criminals are so professional that they leave no traces behind. When there are no finger prints left behind by the criminals, no trademarks left, then it becomes more difficult to investigate the crime and the motives behind them. The people of the investigation department then use specialized techniques in these cases. The criminal investigation teams compile all the data available to them from the crime scene such as the finger-prints, lists of broken and stolen property and all the traces left behind by the criminals. The departments already have an access to the public records like the firearms and automobile registrations, and also to private data such as dry-cleaners' marks and laundry, secondhand-dealers' transactions and pawnshop and many more.

Structure of criminal investigations

Criminal investigations can be classified into two broad types, reactive and pro-active.

Reactive

The reactive approach is when the investigation department responds to as crime which already has taken place. This type of investigation can be classified into many stages. The first stage is the initial discovery of the crime and the response. This is when the police is informed about the crime either by the victim or by the witnesses. Second stage is the initial investigation stage during which the officer who arrives at the crime scene arrests the culprit (if present), collect and preserve all the available information and interview the witnesses available.

The third stage is the follow-up investigation stage which takes place when the culprit is not arrested during initial investigation. This stage requires additional investigation which is ...