Description
Discussion Board 4
Your first task is to post your own Key Assignment Outline to the discussion area so that other students are able to review your plan. Attach your document to the main discussion post, and include any notes you feel are appropriate. The purpose of this assignment is to help improve the quality of the Key Assignment Draft you will complete next week.(Basically just an outline)
Individual Project 4
You are a rookie investigator assigned to the Juvenile Sex Crimes Unit. Because you are new to the unit, the supervisor of the unit has assigned you to work with veteran investigator Jake Wilson to get your training in sex crimes unit investigations. During your tour of duty on your first day, you receive a call to proceed to 1255 Maple Street to meet a patrol officer who is on a juvenile sex assault call at the No Tell Motel. On arrival, you learn that the suspect was seen by law enforcement officers acting suspicious in the parking lot earlier in the day, and when he spotted officers, he quickly drove away from the motel parking lot. After a short chase, officers took the subject, Jose Torres, H/M 35 years of age, into custody.
After taking the suspect into custody, he was asked by officers why he ran, and he opened up to officers and told them that he had been having sex with an underage 14-year-old girl, his girlfriend, in the motel room and had gotten scared when he saw the police. You also learn that officers did not read him his rights before asking him questions regarding the scene and recognize this might be a problem in the case. The crime scene had been entered already by several police officers who stopped by to visit the crime scene, and office management had also stopped by. The 14-year-old female was also at the crime scene, and your partner is interviewing her on the scene to find out what happened.
Based on the above crime scene and information, answer the questions listed below regarding the scene.
Assignment Guidelines
- Address the following in 3-4 pages:
Evidence and Scene Processing
- Considering the evidence at the crime scene, make a list of this evidence, and also advise what equipment you will utilize to recover the evidence.
- Describe the process of protecting the crime scene and recovering the evidence, labeling it, transporting it, and exactly what type of analysis you would request to have performed with the evidence by the lab.
- After reading the scenario, is there a problem with scene contamination?
- What role will this evidence likely play in your case?
- Would a warrant be needed at the crime scene? Why or why not?
Victim and Witness Statements, Suspect Interrogation
- What is the proper process for obtaining a statement from both the suspect and the victim in this incident?
- Will you be able to use the information provided to patrol officers by the suspect immediately after his arrest?
- If your partner interviewed the suspect at the scene and threatened him, would this be lawful? Why or why not?
- If your partner lied to the suspect to gain information from him, would this information be usable?
- What if your partner read the suspect his rights before the interrogation?
- What has the Supreme Court said about the use of deception in interrogating a suspect?
- Where would you interview the female victim?
- Who would do the interview, and how should it be conducted?
- What types of questions should the interviewer ask the suspect and the victim in this crime? Why?
Training Needs
- What type of specialized training would you need as a sex crimes investigator?
- Describe some of the training you feel would be useful for a rookie detective who just got promoted and placed into a sex crimes unit.
- What types of training would you recommend for a veteran detective who had just transferred into the sex crimes unit?
- How does experience play a role in the types of training that you would recommend for each of these two types of officers—a rookie and a veteran? Explain.
APA Format for references
At least 3 references.
Explanation & Answer
Kindly let me know if you need any clarification.
Running head: ROOKIE VS VETERAN DETECTIVES
Rookie vs. Veteran Detectives
Student's Name
Course Number-Name of Course
Instructor’s Name
Date
ROOKIE VS VETERAN INVESTIGATORS
2
Outline
In this project, I will explain on the various issues concerned which are concerned with
the evidence and scene processing. These questions include a list of this evidence and the advice
on what equipment you will utilize to recover the evidence.
I will describe the process of protecting the crime scene and recovering the evidence,
labeling it, transporting it, and the type of analysis I would request to have performed with the
evidence by the lab.
The next section will explain the methods of conducting victim and witness statements as
well as suspect interrogation. Finally, I will explain the training needs. Both the rookie and
veteran training needs will be elucidated in this paper.
ROOKIE VS VETERAN INVESTIGATORS
3
Rookie vs. Veteran Detectives
From the analysis of the case, it is apparent that there was a problem with scene
contamination. This is because several police officers had already gotten to the scene where the
suspect was, and this could have led to his panic in giving evidence (Lee and Ladd, 2001). I am
aware that the technicality of collecting evidence is a major concern for the court for the
evidence to be admissible.
What role will this evidence likely play in your case?
Because Torres confessed voluntarily without coercion, it is apparent that the evidence
can be presented in a court of law. The probability of admission is high since the suspect self incriminated himself without any coercion or torture (Cynthia and Catherine, 2014).
Would a warrant be needed at the crime scene? Why or why not
In this case, there was no need for an arrest warrant. This is because the veteran
investigator and other officers had a sufficient reason or a probable cause to believe that Torres
had committed the crime (LaFave and others, 2004). Torres was the person that the police
wanted to arrest. Thus there was no need for an arrest warrant.
Victim and Witness Statements, Suspect Interrogation
Obtaining a statement from both the suspect and the victim requires preparation and
planning by choosing the most appropriate place to interrogate (LaFave and others, 2004). This
is crucial to make the suspects comfortable. It is also good to determine whether or not there will
be the presence of other officers in the case. Planning on the questions to ask before the
ROOKIE VS VETERAN INVESTIGATORS
4
interrogation is crucial. Engaging the suspects during the inquiry is also another determining
factor of the kind of evidence I would obtain.
It would not be lawful for my partner to interrogate Torres and the other victim at the
crime scene. This is because the suspects could not be comfortable to give information or confess
about the crime which he is suspected to have conducted.
If my partner interviewed the suspect at the crime scene and threatened, it is apparent that
this evidence would not be admissible. This is primarily for two reasons: First, the suspect was
coerced to give information. Second, the suspect was not was not comfortable when giving his
account (“NCLVI,” 2010).
If my partner lied to the suspect...
Review
Review
