Investigating Sex Crimes Paper Example

Evidence and Scene Processing

The collection of evidence and scene processing is the first priority in investigating sex crimes. Also, it is important to note that sex crimes involve two different crime scenes, the body of the victim and the place of the occurrence (Weiss, 2015). Therefore, in this case, the collection of evidence will involve examining the location of the occurrence and medical examination of the victim. The list of evidence in this crime scene include:

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• The witness, who is a law enforcement officer
• The victim, who is a 14-year-old girl
• The suspect

Although the perpetrator admits the sex crime, it is advisable to collect farther evidence which will be used to file a strong case against the suspect. Further evidence that should be collected in this crime scene include:

• DNA samples
• Weapons used
• Semen
• Vaginal Swab

Surveillance Camera recording The equipment used to recover evidence includes an ultraviolet light which is capable of identifying body fluids. Other equipment used for collecting evidence include blood collection tools, glass slides, labels, Surveillance camera, and documentation forms (Weiss, 2015). The evidence should be stored and transported using clean and clear containers or paper bags.

The process of protecting crime scenes:

• Limit the number of people entering the scenes
• Establish a perimeter around the scene
• Identify the individuals at the scene such as victims, suspects, witness and isolate them from each other.
• Minimize evidence contamination by not removing anything from the scene
• The first respondents should be the forensic officers who will collect evidence.
• After collecting the pieces of evidence, they should be put in clear glasses or clear paper bags and then labeled. Additionally, the DNA samples should be stored and labeled in a frozen equipment.
• A suitable facility with a cool environment should be used for transportation.

In the lab, the samples of DNA collected should be examined and matched to the DNA of the accused. The collection of DNAs will require the forensic officers to collect samples of epithelial cells on items which the victim and the suspect might have touched. For instance, the doorknobs, toilet handles, clothing of the victim, and utensils inside the motel should be collected for DNA analysis. Additionally, the victim should not bathe or change the clothes before she is examined at the hospitals. At the hospital, farther evidence of sex crime should be collected. The evidence should involve physical examination of the victim to determine any physical harassment on the victim (Weiss, 2015). The examination also involves collecting samples of semen, vaginal swabs, saliva samples, and head and pubic hair. After a medical examination, the victim should remove the clothes and place them in a white paper for a farther collection of evidence attached. This aims at differentiating the wrongly accused suspect of the sex crime.

According to the case scenario, there might be a problem of evidence contamination. The sex crime scenes should not be interfered with until all the evidence is collected by sex crime investigators (Weiss, 2015). However, in this case, the owner and other officers had entered the room which could affect the accuracy of the evidence collected for forensic examination. The evidence collected will help the case by showing whether or not the accused committed the crime. Also, the evidence will help to file a case against the right suspect. In this case study, the arrest warrant could not be necessary because there is evidence linking the accused directly with the crime scene.

Victim and Witness Statements, Suspect Interrogation

The collection of statements from both the suspect and the victim is an important process during sex crime investigation. However, both the victim and the suspect have rights which protect them from being harassed by police officers while obtaining the statement (Najdowski & Bonventre, 2014). The process of obtaining a statement involves:

• The sex crime investigators should obtain the statement from both the victim and the suspect differently and in different places.
• The officer should ensure both the victim and the suspect know of their rights and the reason they are taking the statement
• In this criminal case, while interviewing the victim, the parent or the intermediate adult of the child must be present.
• The statement should be handwritten, typed or electronically stored.
• After taking the statement, the officer in charge will read through the statement to the victim or the suspect.
• The victim and the suspect have the right to remove some information if they want
• Both the victim and the suspect will then sign the statement.

The information provided can be easily be used to patrol the officers after the arrest of the suspect. However, it would be unlawful for the officers to take statements after threatening them on the scene because both the victim and the suspect are protected by the law against harassment. The statements taken after threatening the suspect could be contaminated thus making the case invalid. Additionally, the law warns against lying to the suspect as a way of gaining information. However, the information is usable if the court rules out that the deception did not force the suspect to commit or accept the crime.

The supreme court allows the use of deception provided it does not intend to force an innocent person to commit or admit to a crime. It says "Criminal activity is such that stealth and strategy are necessary weapons in the arsenal of the police officer." (Najdowski & Bonventre, 2014)). "Nor will the mere fact of deceit defeat a prosecution, for there are circumstances when the use of deceit is the only practicable law enforcement technique available." (Najdowski & Bonventre, 2014).

In this case, a juvenile girl is a victim. Therefore, it is not advisable to interview her in the interrogation room. I would ask the girl to choose whether a home, hospital or a police facility away from the suspect. I think a female officer should conduct the interview, and it should be conducted in a lawful and discreet manner. The victim should be aware of her rights, as well involving the parents since she is a minor. The victim should be allowed to speak freely without being harassed or judged. The questions which should be asked includes free questions which aim at establishing a friendly relationship with the suspect or the victim. Direct questions should then be asked in order to engage the victim or the suspect into talking. Cross- questioning should then be conducted to check whether the answers support or contradict previous answers. Lastly, review questions should be asked to summarize the whole interrogation process ("Interrogation questions", 2108).

Training Needs

Sex crime unit is a specialty of law enforcement which requires the officers to acquire special training. The officers should be trained to understand the motives of the perpetrator, skills in the management of evidence, and skills in victim investigation (Weiss, 2015). A rookie detective promoted in this unit is required to learn various techniques useful for crime investigation such as the basics of sexual assault crimes such as what to expect in the sex crime scene. Additionally, the detective needs to learn how to the victims with empathy. Also, the detective needs skills of evidence collection and protection in sex crimes.

Personal experience in handling special investigation such as sex crime investigation is an important aspect to consider. The experience of a veteran and rookie officers differ, and thus it will play a significant role in determining their training programs. Since the veteran detective had handled more critical criminal cases, I would recommend only orientation training. For a rookie detective, it is recommended that he takes more training programs including orientation, onboarding, technical, and soft skill training programs. This is because the rookie detective is new to critical sex crime investigations, but, the veteran has the technicalities required in sex crime investigation gained from the past experience.

References

Weiss, D., (2015). One Assault, Tow Crime scenes: The Challenge of Handling Sexual Assault Cases.Inpublicsafety.com. Retrieved from https://inpublicsafety.com/2015/04/overview-of-sexual-assault-crime-scene-processing/

Najdowski C. & Bonventre, C., (2014). Deception in the interrogation room. Apa.org. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/monitor/2014/05/jn.aspx

Interrogation questions. (2018). Changingminds.org Retrieved From http://changingminds.org/techniques/interrogation/interogation_questions.htm