Tonight we watched an episode of The Rookies named Neon Skies. The episode was about getting a couple of cops in a bad neighborhood to get to know the community and try to deter crime. The chief believes that Terry, a young African American rookie cop, would be great for the task. When rookie Terry passed on the offer, clean cut white Willie stepped up. The first day Willie encounters one of the neighborhood’s crew at the gym and invites them to a game of basketball. He gets beat up when he gets too close. He was also wearing police gear. Willie is a nice guy and is determined to come back. Terry ends up accompanying…
A checklist should be created off of the operating procedures and brought to each crime scene by the investigator. Every electronic device should be photographed before touching anything. The checklist should be followed step by step and every item needs to be put into an evidence bag and tagged. Then a chain of custody document needs to be created for every piece of evidence. No analysis should be done on the original copy of any device. All analysis should be done on system image copies of each…
The last process is to collect and package the evidence in the proper containers. The evidence that is the most important is that evidence that is fragile and can be contaminated easily. This might include fingerprints and blood evidence that could break down quickly. All evidence should be put in separate containers so that the evidence does not get contaminated by another piece of evidence. Firearms should be…
I think that we as people have made advancements in technology, and I believe that depending on the seriousness of a crime can place a higher regard on the forensic evidence that a juror might consider important. I also feel that eye witness testimony and fingerprints are especially important in criminal cases, as well as DNA to a large majority of people. But when it comes to bringing down verdicts, and the lives of people, I believe most of us can differentiate between reality and…
References: Cops.usdoj.gov.2003. Evidence Identification, Collection & Preservation for Law Enforcement. Retrieved February 26, 2009. Available Online:…
They must also confiscate any controlled substances (drugs) seized in violation of the law. They need to collect any devices at a crime scene containing explosive charge and any residue from explosion for suspected explosion charges. Fibers are another form of physical evidence. Investigators have to determine whether fibers are natural or synthetic. The transfer of fibers may be helpful in establishing the relationships between objects and people within a case. They must also establish the identity and place at the scene where there are fingerprints. Firearms, projectiles, and cartridges are another type of physical evidence. Criminalistics investigators have to identify and compare them to other exemplars and firearms. They have to tell whether firearm residue was present and if so approximately what distance and angle was the bullet coming from. In some cases there is glass involved in a crime scene. They need to examine glass particles, window panes with holes, and broken windows to determine the transfer evidence, sequence and origin, and characteristics. The criminalistics unit is composed of different departments…
“The CSI Effect is a recent phenomenon that can be attributed to the influence of mass media. The term started appearing in legal lexicon in 2003; roughly 3 years after the show and its spin-offs became wildly popular options for the American public” (Heinrick 59). This so called “CSI Effect”, is creating major controversy in the courtroom. There is such a large different between what the media depicts and real forensic science that jurors now believe that they are more educated than prosecutors themselves. It is becoming extremely important that attorneys, judges, and anyone else involved in a case to be aware that jurors are expecting great things in regards to forensic evidence. If the “CSI Effect” is ignored within the courtroom, there is no telling what will happen. The guilty may be let free or the innocent could be wrongfully accused of something they didn’t do. In addition to the “CSI Effect”, another similar effect that has been formed because of CSI-type shows is the “Tech Effect”. The “Tech Effect” is very similar to the “CSI Effect” and is defined as a mentality in which jurors “hold higher expectations for forensic evidence because of the actual development in forensic technology” (Cole & Dioso-Villa 1345). Both the “CSI Effect” and the “Tech Effect” affirm that reality crime shows are changing the minds of its viewers, while some forensic accomplishments have been…
Intermediate Photographs helps to show the evidence in relation to other objects in the room.…
The comparison of at least two types of specialized databases that have an advantageous effect undergoing such development are the Automated Fingerprint Identification system (AFIS) and the facial recognition in identifying a criminal. These two specialized databases are security-based computer systems that identify and locate a person in a matter of minutes providing factual information based on the summarized data. AFIS and facial recognition are essential tools that help to provide criminal justice and law enforcement agencies with fully integrated communications system with the ability to log on to a computer system to view necessary data among criminal justice professionals, while including a comprehensive range of security safeguards in order to prevent undesirable consequences from happening. Developing the ability…
In present-day, technology has been established to be tremendously essential and efficient, and has been embedded in our lives currently to the point of being close to a necessity. In Criminal Justice, the ardent use of technology has proven to be of tremendous help in many areas of the field. The incorporation of the computer systems in criminal justice tremendously has improved the general communication between agencies as the new methods of transferring information among departments. In addition, it has become much more resourceful and efficient in that it is much simpler to acquire the data at a more rapid rate, hence, speeding up the time it takes to prevent or solve crimes. The intent of this paper is to deliver an insight toward the efficiency of the methods in which technology was being used inside the criminal justice system.…
Throughout the article, the authors express the strengths and weaknesses of both techniques to the extent that the reader can understand the usefulness of both. What needs to be understood is that both of these techniques have been used by investigative professionals and that they understand the dangers that come with the criminal investigative process. On the other hand, it is their job, and they have a crime to solve every time they use one of these investigative tactics. Therefore, that is why the authors of this article explain in depth both techniques and how they are used to solve even the most serious crimes. When the…
The current methods of fingerprinting that involve subjective comparison and matching of fingerprinting has led to disapproval of the method. Extensive testing has shown that the results of fingerprint testing are not valid (Schmalleger, 2011). Fingerprint matches are now being done by experts, those fingerprints that have been previously been examined to make identification of suspects were presented to the same experts in a different context and the results were different. Similarly, DNA evidence for identification of criminals has been marred by several problems. Surreptitious DNA collecting, presentation of partial DNA profiles, and fake DNA evidence; cast doubts on the DNA evidence presented in courts (Schmalleger, 2011).…
First of all, let’s understand the issue here, Mr. Dents was arrested of the killing his former girlfriend Uma Opee. Mr. Dents was charge by the state on theses: Homicide, Assault of a police, officer, Burglary and crimes related to drugs. After all these charges, the defendant pleads not guilty due to reason of insanity. In California, insanity can be called as an affirmative insanity: According to Schmalleger. F& Dolatowski, J (2010), an affirmative defense is a status that…
Beaufort-Moore, D. (2009) Crime Scene Management and Evidence Recovery. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chapter 2 (p26- 37)…
Shelton, D. E. (2010). Criminal adjudication: The challenges of forensic science evidence in the early 21st century. (Order No. 3415644, University of Nevada, Reno). ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, , 267-n/a. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/734315512?accountid=8289. (734315512).…