Description
The terms forensic investigator and forensic investigation are part of our cultural identity. They can be found in the news, on television, and in film. They are invoked, generally, to imply that highly trained personnel will be collecting some form of physical evidence with eventual scientific results that cannot be questioned or bargained with. In other words, they are invoked to imply the reliability, certainty, and authority of a scientific inquiry.
Using cases from the authors’ extensive files, Forensic Investigations: An Introduction provides an overview of major subjects related to forensic inquiry and evidence examination. It will prepare Criminal Justice and Criminology students in forensic programs for more specialized courses and provide a valuable resource to newly employed forensic practitioners. Written by practicing and testifying forensic professionals from law enforcement, academia, mental health and the forensic sciences, this work offers a balanced scientific approach, based on the established literature, for broad appeal.
The purpose of this book is to help students and professionals rid themselves of the myths and misconceptions they have accumulated regarding forensic investigators and the subsequent forensic investigations they help to conduct. It will help the reader understand the role of the forensic investigator; the nature and variety of forensic investigations that take place in the justice system; and the mec
Chapter
1 - Forensic Investigations: A Primer
FORENSIC NECESSITY: EVERYBODY LIES
THE FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR
FORENSIC SCIENTISTS/FORENSIC EXAMINERS
INVESTIGATORS/INVESTIGATIONS
FORENSIC INVESTIGATIONS: THE BIG PICTURE
FORENSIC FACTS VERSUS POLITICAL REALITY
THE PILLARS OF THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
SCIENTIFIC FACT VERSUS LEGAL TRUTH
EXPERTS, EVIDENCE, AND ADMISSIBILITY
The Federal Rules of Evidence (FRE, 2011)
Article VII. Opinions and Expert Testimony
THE RIGHT TO “EFFECTIVE” COUNSEL
THE FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR
EMPLOYERS AND FITNESS FOR DUTY
AN ETHICAL CANON FOR THE FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR
4 - Investigators and the Scientific Method
REFLECTION AND METACOGNITION
THE AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC AND THE PROBLEM WITH EXPERIENCE
SCIENCE VERSUS SCIENTIFIC METHOD
SUPPRESSED EVIDENCE OR CARD STACKING
APPEAL TO FALSE AUTHORITY
ARGUMENTUM AD HOMINEM, AKA “ARGUMENT TO THE MAN”
CIRCULUS IN PROBANDO, AKA CIRCULAR REASONING
CUM HOC, ERGO PROPTER HOC, OR “WITH THIS, THEREFORE BECAUSE OF THIS”
POST HOC, ERGO PROPTER HOC, OR “AFTER THIS, THEREFORE BECAUSE OF THIS”
5 - Crime Scene Investigation and Analysis
CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION, RECONSTRUCTION, AND ANALYSIS
CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
LINKING THE SUSPECT TO THE VICTIM
LINKING A PERSON TO A CRIME SCENE
DISPROVING OR SUPPORTING WITNESS TESTIMONY
IDENTIFICATION OF SUSPECTS
PROVIDING INVESTIGATIVE LEADS
6 - Crime Scene Processing
CRIME SCENE PROCESSING: A DESCRIPTIVE TIERED SYSTEM
CRIME SCENE PROCESSING PROTOCOLS
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE GUIDELINES
National Institute of Justice Protocols
Section A: Arriving at the Scene
Section B: Preliminary Documentation and Evaluation of the Scene
Macroscopic, Latent, and Microscopic Evidence
EVIDENCE COLLECTION AND PRESERVATION
Evidence Technicians and Training
7 - Forensic Victimology1
FORENSIC VICTIMOLOGY: EVIDENCE OF CONTEXT
CATEGORIZING VICTIM EXPOSURE
Assessing Lifestyle Exposure
SITUATIONAL/INCIDENT EXPOSURE
Assessing Situational Exposure
CREATING A TIMELINE: THE LAST 24H
8 - The Sexual Assault Examination
THE ROLE OF RECONSTRUCTION
SEXUAL ASSAULT EXAMINATION PROTOCOLS
PHYSICAL EXAMINATION: HEAD TO TOE
NIJ GUIDELINES: FORENSIC MEDICAL EXAMINATION AND EVIDENCE COLLECTION PROCEDURES
BRUISE AND OTHER INJURY PATTERNS
Physical Restraint and Bindings
EVIDENCE OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY
FALSE POSITIVES: CONDITIONS THAT MIMIC ABUSE
9 - Medicolegal Death Investigation: Protocols and Practice
MEDICOLEGAL DEATH INVESTIGATOR
Logical and Comprehensible
The Autopsy as Medical Practice
Investigate, Examine, Then Opine
PROTOCOLS FOR MEDICOLEGAL DEATH INVESTIGATORS
DEATH INVESTIGATION PROTOCOLS
THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES REPORT
THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MEDICAL EXAMINERS STANDARDS
MEDICOLEGAL FAILURES: A TOP 10 LIST
INTERVIEW PREPARATION AND CHECKLISTS
INVESTIGATIVE TASKS PRIOR TO ANY INTERVIEW
DOCUMENTATION AND RECORDING
GENERIC INTERVIEW QUESTIONS: A STARTER KIT
GENERAL INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR ALL WITNESSES
INVESTIGATOR DRESS AND PRESENTATION
Length of Interviews and Interrogations
CONTINUING EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
11 - The Polygraph: Uses and Misuses
12 - Investigating Allegations of Police Torture: Forensic Protocols and Psychological Assessment
TORTURE BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS IN MEXICO
Interrogation in Ajuchitlan
TORTURE BY GOVERNMENT AGENTS IN THE UNITED STATES
Jon Burge, Chicago Police Department
Sitka Police Department—Sitka, Alaska
US Military, Abu Ghraib Prison, Baghdad, Iraq
ROLE OF THE FORENSIC INVESTIGATOR
COERCIVE INTERROGATION V. TORTURE
BEHAVIORS CONSTITUTING TORTURE
DIAGNOSTIC CATEGORIES RELATED TO TORTURE
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS AND IMPACT OF TORTURE
COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIORAL MANIFESTATIONS
TORTURE: FORENSIC INTERVIEW PROTOCOLS FOR THE MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL
13 - Forensic Investigations for Court: Probation, Sentencing, Mitigation Issues in Capital Cases
JUVENILE COURT PROBATION SYSTEMS
CAPITAL MURDER MITIGATION INVESTIGATIONS
14 - Oklahoma v. Elvis Thacker: Evaluating Victimology, Victim Sexual Assault Evidence, Suspect Torture by Law Enfo ...
THE PLEA AND THE CONFESSION
THE EVIDENCE, THE CONFESSION, AND SUSPECT TORTURE
Forensic Investigations
：An Introduction
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