The Importance of Criminal Investigation

The Importance of Criminal Investigation

Thesis Statement

“The importance of criminal Investigation, investigators major responsibilities and diversity in tools used to solve cases”

Introduction

Criminal investigations today have become more complicated than they ever were in the past. The influx of huge amounts of information, evolving technology had challenged criminal investigation systems and for that matter, the investigators. Any violations in Law lead to involvement of criminal investigation. The court bears all the expenses of the procedures in investigating the case, except the defence lawyer hired by the accused. In situations where the accused cannot afford, the state is liable to pay for his lawyer. It is a must that all the witnesses of the prosecution and the defence appear to the trial.

In a criminal investigation, there is the need to break down two things. Firstly, the investigation itself and secondly the investigator involved. It is of utmost importance that the criminal investigation is done accurately, failure to do so will have negative consequences on the society. Investigation involves the collection of facts, scenarios and situations which are directly or indirectly related with the case. Whereas investigator is the person who should observe, question, analyze and scrutinize the available details. Careful evaluation then helps to achieve the much needed evidence. Criminal investigation is one of the most essential functions of the Law Enforcement agencies, as it is their prime responsibility to maintain a secure environment and protect life and property (Alifano.C, 2006)

Discussion

The main function of the criminal investigation is to discover, collect and safeguard evidence. In any case, even the slightest piece of information can be characterized as evidence. The legal definition is all means of detail that may be proved or disapproved in a court of law. Evidence must be based on facts; opinion evidence is permissible only if the witness is able to satisfy the court. There are three forms of evidence, for example, real objects, documents and testimony. There are no specific ways to investigate or to find a crime. It is based on a mix of attributes of an investigator, who needs to use his common sense, judgment, intelligence and skill. Most importantly he has to rely on his inside feeling or intuitions. He must investigate keeping in mind his experience, study of cases and use of his expertise. Every scenario of a crime will be different, and accordingly he will have to change his methods of observation of the criminal's behavior. The basic types of investigations that are done by officers on a daily routine bases are the investigation of incidents that were due to violations like robbery, rape, illegal weapons and accidents on roads. Others include personnel investigations that are to observe backgrounds, daily routines of people and their overall living. Therefore, it is a huge responsibility on the part of an investigator to confer his efforts towards criminal investigation in the best possible way.

Failure on the part of the investigation leads to a number of negative consequences such as individuals who commit ...