CriminologyJustice: Detective

Showing posts with label Detective. Show all posts

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Homicide Investigations

Posted on 9:00 PM by Unknown

by Tabetha Cooper

Birmingham Homicides - Jan-Apr 2006 (Photo credit: Dystopos)

Criminal investigationis slightly different when dealing with homicide cases. An investigator has extra steps to take during their investigation. It also helps if an investigator knows how the body of a victim can provide evidence and what the importance of a modus operandi is when looking for the perpetratorof the homicide. They also have to know about the different types of homicide and how each one is determined. They need to be able to differentiate between a homicide and a suicide as well.

In any criminal investigation, according to both Osterburg & Ward (2007) and the Nationa

Modus operandi (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

l Medicolegal Review Panel (1999), an investigator must determine if a crime has been committed and what all is part of the crime scene. After this has been determined, the crime scene needs to be sectioned off for the sake of its preservation. Chain of custody needs to be established and then documentation, photographs, and a complete evaluation of the crime scene needs to be conducted. After the scene has been evaluated everything determined to be evidence needs to be collected, inventoried, and preserved. Any witnesses at the crime scene need to be interviewed. All the investigative techniques for investigating any crime are the same but other measures need to be taken when dealing with a homicide. When an investigator gets to the crime scene they need to make sure that the victim is indeed deceased. After that has been determined, and with help from the medical examiner, the cause of death needs to be established if possible at the crime scene so that investigators can go ahead and look for the murder weapon. The body needs to be photographed and all injuries need to be

Skulls on a Beach: "Currents carry many dead things to Punuk Island making it the graveyard of the Bering Sea." (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

documented. The victim needs to be identified in order to gather information to figure out a motive for their homicide and so that notification of death can be given to the family.

The first thing that an investigator needs to do when they go to a crime scene, where there is a death, is determine if the death was from natural causes, suicide, or a homicide. A suicide is a death that a person has inflicted on themselves, whereas a homicide is a death inflicted by another person. When a death is suspected to be suicide information on the victim needs to be gather that can point to that conclusion. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, the leading causes of suicide are “depression, alcohol/substance abuse, or a major stressful event.” In light of that information an investigator should look for a history or mental illness, a stressful event, or signs that the victim was using drugs or alcohol on a regular basis. In a suicide the murder weapon or if it was a case of a drug over dose the bottle of medication or drug paraphernalia should be close to the body.

If all signs of the death points to homicide the investigator needs to determine which type of homicide it was. There are two types, murder which is a premeditated unlawful taking of another’s life or manslaughter which is the unlawful taking of another’s life without the intent to cause death (Osterburg & Ward, 2007, p. 351). For example, a woman finds out that her husband has been cheating on her with someone she knows. She takes a knife from her home and enters the other woman’s home illegally and kills her, then disposes of her body in a shallow grave that she had dug earlier that day. That would be classified as murder because the wife clearly planned to kill and dispose of the body of the other woman. On the other hand, take a man walking home from work when a teenager decides to rob and beat him. He sees a pipe lying beside the sidewalk and picks it up to help defend himself. He swings the pipe in an attempt to get knock the teenager away from him and accidently hits him in the head, killing him. That would be manslaughter because he never intended to kill the boy; he was just doing whatever he could to get the teenager to leave him alone

US Army CID crime scene investigator (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When collecting evidence it is vital for the crime scene investigator to get details from the body of the victim. The National Institute of Justice (2009), says that an examination of the body can give unbiased information about the “victim’s physical attributes, his/her relationship to the scene, and possible cause, manner, and circumstances of death.” Examination of the body can also lead to the discovery of blood and other bodily fluids that can give investigators a DNA sample that can be compared to suspects, in hopes of making a positive identification of the perpetrator. A medical examiner can determine if the body was relocated after death. This lets investigators know if there is another crime scene that needs to be found and examined, which could give them additional leads. If the information from the victim’s body can’t lead investigators to a suspect, it can help them to establish a modus operandi (a perpetrators particular means and method to commit a crime) and possibly link the homicide to others in and around the area. Although, Douglas and Munn (1992) warns that too much stock should not be put into the modus operandi alone. A criminal’s modus operandi may change over time as certain aspects of the crime don’t go the way it was planned or after the perpetrator has been caught. They can change their methods to exclude the things that got them caught and include things that will make the crime easier to commit. In the event that a modus operandi can link a homicide to another within another jurisdiction, it may be possible for departments to share information with each other that may assist with gaining leads.

When an investigator can conduct an investigation with the proper techniques, know how to differentiate between a homicide and suicide, can recognize the evidentiary value of the body, and utilize the modus operandi, they are well on their way to becoming very successful. Knowing all the right investigative techniques for a murder does not ensure that an investigator will catch a murderer but following all the guidelines does make the prospect of catching the killer much more likely.

References

Douglas, J.E & Munn, C.. (1992) FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin, February 1992. Retrieved February 23,

2010, from http://www.criminalprofiling.ch/violent-crime.html

National Institute of Justice. (2009) A Guide to Death Scene Investigation: Documenting and Evaluating

The Body | National Institute of Justice. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/law-enforcement/crime-scene-guides/death-

investigation/document-body.htm

National Institute of Mental Health. (2009) NIMH · Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and Prevention.

Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/suicide-in-the-

us-statistics-and-prevention/index.shtml

National Medicolegal Review Panel. (1999) Death Investigation: A guide for the Scene Investigator.

Retrieved February 23, 2010, from http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles/167568.pdf

Osterburg, J.W. & Ward, R.H. (2007) Criminal Investigation: A Method for Reconstructing the Past (5^th Ed.) Newark, NJ. Mathew Bender & Company, Inc.

Posted in Crime scene, Criminology Amp Justice, Detective, DNA profiling, Forensic science, homicide, Modus operandi, National Institute of Justice, National Institute of Mental Health | No comments

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Offense Issues

Posted on 9:00 PM by Unknown

Tabetha Cooper

When investigating a homicide or rape there are certain techniques that need to be used and issues that need to be avoided. An investigator needs to be aware of the proper techniques in each investigation process and the ethical issues involved. In this paper the proper investigative techniques for

Ethics and Technology (Photo credit: Center for the Study of Ethics at UVU)

homicide and rape along with the ethical issues, how to reduce the ethical problems, the problems that a prosecutor will face if an investigation isn’t handled ethically, and what ethical issues are directly related to the prosecutor will be discussed.

As stated by Morris and Zuluaga (2006), in any crime the investigative process can be summed up in approximately five steps: interview, examination, photographing and sketching, processing, and interrogation. The responding officer determines if a crime has been committed then he immediately sections off the crime scene, calls in the proper detectives, and separates then interviews victims, witnesses, and suspects if there are any present. The responding investigators will re-interview any victims, witnesses, or suspects. They then will go into the crime scene and make photographs, notes, and sketches of the entire scene and then examine everything. The investigator then collects evidence and takes it to the proper chain of custody for processing. From the information gathered at the crime scene through victims, witnesses, and evidence the investigator develops theories about what had happened and determines motive from each individual suspect. Through interrogation the investigator will eliminate theories, motives, and suspects until the most likely scenario and person is all that is left. The detective will then go to the prosecutor to see if there is sufficient evidence and information for a conviction and if so an arrest of the suspect is made.

http://openclipart.org/clipart/people/magnifying_glass_01.svg License: PublicDomain Keywords: people Author: AbiClipart Title: Magnifying Glass (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

All the investigative techniques are the same in the event of a rape or homicide but further steps and care needs to be taken. In a rape the investigator is responsible for transporting the victim to a hospital or an assault lab where physical evidencecan be collected. No matter the age of the victim a councilor needs to be present during the second interview of the victim, but if the victim is a minor a child councilor is a definite must and a parent may also need to be present. Other than those additions to the interview process no one else should be present, just like any other interview the less people present the more comfortable the victim is going to be when it comes to talking about the crime that has been committed against them. Something else to note in a rape case is the inconsistency in statements does not necessarily mean that the victim is lying, when a person has been subjected to trauma of that extent, events can blur together, things can be hard to remember, or the sheer embarrassment brought on by the crime can keep a victim from telling the entire set of facts of the crime. Also, the investigator should be one that is familiar with sex crimes and has experience interviewing those victims. In a homicide the biggest different in investigative techniques is that the victim can’t verbally tell you what happen to them, but with a thorough medical examination of the body the victim may be able to tell you how everything happened. As said by The National Institute of Justice (2009), an examination of the body can give unbiased information about the “victim’s physical attributes, his/her relationship to the scene, and possible cause, manner, and circumstances of death.” Most of the information in regards to a suspect is going to come through interviewing family and friends of the victim. In both a homicide and rape there is much more physical evidence that needs to be collected and processed.

National Institute of Justice logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are ethical issues that need to be taken into account when it comes to an investigation. Just as with other professions you do run across law enforcement personnel that aren’t the most truthful. When an investigator is certain of which suspect perpetrated a crime but doesn’t have enough evidence to charge him/her with it things can be frustrating. If a less than honest investigator is put in this situation there can be the temptation to fabricate or falsify evidence, not turn in information or evidence that may indicate a different suspect, or misrepresent themselves to the suspect in order to obtain incriminating evidence (www.cwu.edu). All of these things are unethical and cause problems for the prosecutor in court proceedings. Some of these unethical behaviors can be committed inadvertently from a very honest investigator as well. Take not reporting information or evidence that may indicate another offender, for example. The investigator may run across information or evidence that doesn’t seem important to the investigation and disregard it without taking the necessary procedures to record and preserve it. Another issue that may cause problems for the prosecutor would be the mishandling of evidence. Whether it hadn’t been sent through the proper chain of custody or it was improperly stored, contamination becomes an issue. This can become an issue at trial, and the evidence will then lose its integrity. Just one unethical event can happen in the investigation of the case that can cause the entire investigation to be called into question. An offender may get off because of this either at the initial trial or through a court of appeals.

There are other issues that can cause ethical dilemmas, such as, when an inexperienced investigator is sent to investigate a victim of a rape and doesn’t proceed with the necessary sensitivity that a rape victimneeds, improperly conducting the interview. This could cause vital information to be lost because the victim just wants to be finished the interview. There are also ethical issues when it comes to interrogating a suspect. An investigator may intimidate a suspect into confessing to a crime that he/she may or may not have committed. The investigator may put the suspect in conditions less than optimal or promise them thing such as a reduced sentence in order to obtain the confession. The defense can bring these things up at trial, which will pose a problem for the prosecutor. Once an investigator has fumbled an investigation in any form their integrity in future investigations and in past convictions can and most likely will be called into question.

Detectives at crime scenes (Photo credit: Boston Public Library)

According to Morris and Zuluaga (2006), steps can be taken to eliminate the ethical problems that may arise through the course of an investigation. After the victims, witnesses, and suspects (if applicable) have been identified and the facts of the case have been given an investigator should evaluate the situation for any moral or unethical problems that may become present in a case. The principles that may be jeopardized and their necessity in the case should be clarified. The investigator should evaluate possible ways to get around these problems or come up with a solution to the dilemma. This should all be clearly noted in case it becomes an issue at trial, there will be proof that the situation was thought about and the best means to take care of the situation was executed.

When a person chooses to become an investigator, there are several things that need to be taken into account. An investigators main goal is to solve the crime and get a perpetrator off the street. There are several thing, if not handled properly, can keep this from happening. Once proper investigative techniques have been learned then ethical situations need to be evaluated. Now that certain situations have been listed, as well as how these things can affect the investigation, and then the prosecution of the suspect an investigator can use the steps mentioned to keep these from being an issue.

References

Morris, E. & Zuluaga, C. (2006). Investigating Ethical Crimes. International Journal of

Education and Development using Information and Communication Technology

(IJEDICT). Vol. 2, Issue 1, pp. 22-33. Original Article @: http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu//viewarticle.php?id=116&layout=html

National Institute of Justice. (2009) A Guide to Death Scene Investigation: Documenting and

Evaluating the Body | National Institute of Justice. Retrieved February 23, 2010, from

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/topics/law-enforcement/crime-scene-guides/death-

investigation/document-body.htm

Osterburg, J.W. & Ward, R.H. (2007) Criminal Investigation: A Method for Reconstructing the Past (5^th ed.) Newark, NJ. Mathew Bender & Company, Inc.

www.cwu.edu/~jefferis/PEHL557/phel557_ethics.html

Posted in crime, Detective, homicide, National Institute of Justice, Rape, Real evidence, Sexual assault, victims | No comments

Monday, April 8, 2013

Components of a Criminal Investigation

Posted on 9:00 PM by Unknown

by Tabetha Cooper

English: A crime scene. . (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Before becoming a criminal investigator, there are several things that you need to know. There are many concepts that need to not only be learned but must also be applied properly. Being able to use the concepts of the methods of inquiry, the proper mindset to be an investigator, the scientific method, the different sources of information, is a necessity when striving to be a great investigator.

Knowing the methods of inquiry is the first step to learning how to apply them. The methods of inquiry are determining if a crime has been committed, as well as where, when, why, and how it committed, and what was used to do it. After the answers to most of these questions have been answers it is important to find out who committed the crime. After it has been decided that a crime has indeed been committed, an investigator must find out the additional information such as where, when, why, and how it happened in order to lead the investigators to potential suspects and eventually to the perpetrator of the crime. Finding out this information starts at the scene. Once at the scene it can be determined if the crime was actually committed at that location. If it was, you can then try to determine when it happened. You can also search the location for physical evidence that can lead you to the answer of what exactly happened, why it had happened, and how it happened. You can also talk with witnesses and victims if there are any in an attempt to receive the answers to these questions. According to an article called Crime Detection (2010), victims and witnesses provide most of the facts regarding when, where, how, why, and who committed a crime.

English: A U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Command special agent processes a crime scene on an Army installation. Thirty new sexual-assault investigators will be assigned to various major Army installations worldwide to assume the lead in forming special victim investigative units in support of the Armyâ€™s Sexual Harassment/Assault Prevention and Response Program known as SHARP. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A great investigator has a certain mindset that enables them to have a good work performance. According to Osterburg and Ward (2007), an investigator must be intelligent, curious, energetic, sensitive, discrete, tactful, persistent, honest, outgoing, well spoken, and have observational skills. With intelligence a criminal investigator will have the ability to think in unconventional ways, use technical devices, and be able to testify appropriately in court. Curiosity, energy, persistence, discreteness, tactfulness, and observational skills are great resources when investigating a crime. Sensitivity, honesty, outgoingness, and being well spoken are crucial aspects for an investigator when it comes to talking to victims or the families of victims. Most investigators prove that they have this particular mindset prior to becoming an investigator, while working as a law enforcement officer. It will be apparent on the first case an investigator works whether or not he is going to have the essential skills to be a detective.

The scientific method is applied in every case that comes across an investigator’s desk. The scientific method is “an analytical technique by which a hypothesis is formulated and then systematically tested through observation and experimentation” (Garner, 1999). To make this explanation simpler, in the aspect of how it is applied to a criminal investigation, it can be broken down into five steps. First a problem needs to be stated, in the case of an investigation it is determining whether or not a crime has been committed, and if so what type of crime. Then a hypothesis needs to be made, such as, a murder has been committed with what appears to be a knife, but it appears this is a dump site and we still need to find a crime scene. After the hypothesis has been made the collection of data through observation and experimentation is the next step, in a criminal investigation, this is where an investigator goes through the crime scene and collects evidence and interview witnesses and/or victims. After the data has been collected the next step would be to interpret it. This is when a criminal investigator would send the evidence they have collected back to the local laboratory to be analyzed and would go over the testimony from witnesses/victims and call some of them to the station for a more extensive interview. The last step of the scientific method is to draw a conclusion, which in a criminal investigation is when an investigator has determined who has committed the crime, with certainty. In a scientific experiment as well as a criminal investigation the “starting point is induction but the process is completed through deductive logic” skills (Osterburg, 1981).

English: Footwear impressions left at a crime scene (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The article Crime Detection (2010) states that there are three important sources of information for criminal investigators, physical evidence, people, and records. Physical evidence is the items collected at a crime scene or through additional investigation of a crime. Weapons, bodily fluids, hair samples, fibers, impressions, fingerprints, bullet casings, and tool marks are just a few things that fit into the classification of physical evidence. People as sources can come in the form of victims, witnesses, or informants. Victims are the people that the crime happened to and witnesses are the people that have seen the crime first hand. Informants can either be people on the street that have heard details of a crime and use the information to help themselves when facing legal repercussions of their own, people who know something about a crime and are willing to tell what they know for monetary gain, people who know thing and out of jealousy or rage are willing to divulge that information, or just concerned citizens who know something and are doing what is right. Useful records include employment records, background records, tax records, phone records, utility records, military records, computer records, bank records, MO files, Rogue Galleries, wanted files, rap sheets, criminal files, penal records, and probation/parole files.

Every investigator wishes to be the best at their job. It has been determined that in order to do so there are several things that have to be known. Now that you have been introduced to the methods of inquiry, the required mindset of an investigator, the scientific method and how it applies to criminal investigations, and sources of information, you can evaluate yourself and determine if you have what it takes to become an investigator. If think you do, let the learning begin!

References

Crime Detection,.(2010). History.com Retrieved Feb. 4, 2010, from http://www.history.com/encyclopedia.do?articleID=206774

Editor & Chief Garner, B.A. (1999). Black’s Law Dictionary. West Group, St. Paul, Mn. Retrieved Feb. 4, 2010

Osterburg, J.W. (June 1981). Journal of Police Science and Administration. Vol. 9 Iss. 2 pg. 135-142, Retrieved Feb. 5, 2010, from www.ncjrs.gov/App/Publications/abstract.aspx?ID=78300

Osterburg, J.W. & Ward, R.H. (2007) Criminal Investigation: A Method for Reconstructing the Past (5^th ed.) Newark, NJ. Mathew Bender & Company, Inc.

Posted in crime, Crime scene, criminal investigation, Criminology Amp Justice, Detective, Modus operandi, Real evidence, Scientific method, United States | No comments

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Today’s Investigative Special Report – January 4, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations” “What Law Enforcement Has To Do Each Day – Maneuver Through Many Twisted Roads To Find The Truth In Child Sexual Assault Investigations”

Posted on 9:00 PM by Unknown

By Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

Forensic Expert – Senior Author

When you first receive your driver’s license you soon realize that if you don’t learn how to maneuver through the twisted roads, dark streets, wet and raining streets, barricades, barriers, holes in the road, drunk drivers, pedestrians, and many other obstacles, than you won’t be driving very long. The first sign of trouble is when you fail to abide by the rules of the road and find your vehicle is no longer in the condition it was prior to you getting behind the wheel. Over a period of time habits form which for the most part are good. However, it is the formidable bad habits which cause turmoil for those who allow specific situations to get twisted.

Following the Dicks aka Watching the Detectives (Photo credit: pixieclipx)

Being a law enforcement officer and investigating crimes, the road to the discovery of ascertaining what the truth is can be similar to being behind the wheel of a vehicle where over a period of time, the officer will face twists and turns which he previously had never seen or dealt with in the investigation of child sexual assaults.

Sometimes an officer is incapable of understanding what the investigation has in store for him. Sexual assaults of any kind against any person is criminal and those who commit these types of crimes need to be identified, apprehended, prosecuted, and incarcerated until the day they die. When someone violates someone’s body without the proper age or consent they need to be held accountable and responsible for their behavior and actions.

As a law enforcement detective assigned to investigate a child sexual assault allegations(s) there is no way of the detective determining what the testimony and evidence will be at the initial phase of the complaint being reported to him. Basically, the detective will receive a report from the first responder which generally has only the basic information in the report and maybe some hand written statements which are cursory at best.

After receiving the assigned investigation, generally the first call by the detective is to contact the complainant and receive a full set of the circumstances and facts. This will provide the detective with information which will assist him in understanding of what he is dealing with.

This is not the only investigation the detective will be handling in his assignment in the Special Assault Unit (SAU). The usual case load for detectives assigned in SAU ranges from 20-35 cases depending on the competency and inte

Detectives at crime scenes (Photo credit: Boston Public Library)

lligence of the detective. Some detectives have great difficulty in handling a major case load.

One of the aspects of being a competent and intelligent detective is dealing with many tasks at one time, sometimes referred to as multi-tasking. Some organizational psychologists (OP) have suggested that superior minds can handle seven to eleven tasks at the same time. Some OPs disagree with this point stating there is no such thing as multi-tasking because an individual is capable of only handling one task at a time. In fact studies perform by OPs have found research which indicates that individuals are actually less effective when attempting to do more than one tasks at a time. Further, they suggest that an individual should identify the 20% of their tasks that are really effective, and do them one at a time.

The Pareto Principle has some significance in the OPs research reference the 80/20% theory. They state as does the Pareto Principle that 20% of the work an individual does give 80% of the impact and effectiveness of what they are trying to accomplish. Some detectives who attempt to look busy are in fact being ineffective, unless the individual is capable of improving and implementing the 20% rule.

OPs suggest that individuals who deal with multiple responsibilities i.e. major caseloads create a system where they deal with the most important tasks first. As a detective the first responsibility when they begin their day is to ascertain if there are any in-custody cases waiting to deal with.

Most law enforcement agencies assign detectives to specific areas of the city, county, state, or federal. If an individual is arrested during the evening the individual will be placed into lock-up until the assigned district detective can talk to him in the morning. If the district detective is already dealing with multiple in-custodies, the supervisor will generally shift the work load to those who

English: Image is similar, if not identical, to the New Jersey State Detective patch. Made with Photoshop. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

are not as busy and are able to assist in handling the new in-custodies.

Trying to investigate all of the cases the detective is assigned to can be simply maddening. Therefore, the structure of the detectives days, times, and responsibilities should be organized as follows:

1. Upon arriving at work the detective will need to contact his supervisor and determine if there are any in-custodies which need to be dealt with immediately. If criminal charges are to be filed the detective will need to find probable cause within a 48 to 72 hour timeframe. Each jurisdiction may have a different way of dealing with in-custodies reference the time frame the detective is required to have a majority of the investigation completed, which supports or doesn’t support that a crime occurred. There are many aspects of the criminal case that the detective is responsible and accountable for. Failure to meet these legal requirements may have a negative, twisted, and unfortunate set of circumstances to it e.g. the alleged perpetrator being released.

2. Return any telephone calls which came in during the other shifts. Prioritize which person needs to be contacted immediately and so forth.

3. Schedule times during the day to check their email accounts. The detective should select specific times of the day where they should check their emails. This task priority is what OPs call “Batch Tasking.” It may not work for some people and their job may require that the email accounts are open all the time or checking the emails randomly, but making them a priority all day long in order to accomplish their responsibilities.

4. If there are no in-custodies the detective needs to select days for being in the office and out of the office in the field. Working in the office the detective can check with the State Laboratory, Property Room, and any other miscellaneous tasks. Working out of the office the detective should select specific days to make contacts with witnesses and perpetrators which are involved in the cases he is carrying in his caseload.

5. Victim interviews may need to be conducted on a daily basis depending on the urgency of the detective’s case load. This task should be conducted on one day of the week where the detective can schedule these interviews back to back to be efficient and perform other tasks in-between interviews.

6. There are times where the detective can request patrol to arrest an alleged perpetrator and transport them to the station for interrogation purposes. This is something this author does not advocate because the contact with the alleged perpetrator needs to be positive and effective. Moreover, if the detective makes the arrest it may provide him with the opportunity to establish a relationship and begin the interrogation process from the initial meeting to the interrogation room to the booking process. Having a law enforcement officer who works patrol who knows nothing about the facts of the case can cause the alleged perpetrator to become frustrated, when he begins to ask questions of the patrol officer about why he is being arrested and taken to the police station. If the alleged perpetrator is a habitual criminal he will possibly request an attorney prior to the detective being able to interrogate him. These twists and turns are decisions the detective will have to make, but he will also have to live with it. There are no second chances when it comes to dealing with alleged pedophiles. As they say this is probably not their first rodeo, so the detective must weigh his arrest options very carefully.

7. The detective must make time for organizing paperwork and presenting cases to the prosecutor for the determination if a criminal charge will be filed. Most States require that the prosecutor receives any investigation thirty days after it has been received by law enforcement.

Sometimes it is important for the detective to take time away from the job to gather his thoughts about what he has accomplished and wants to accomplish during the day. When the facts become twisted the response to these types of problems will need a microscopic type of examination and evaluation in order to overcome any barriers, obstacles, and so forth.

Most detectives are individuals who are experienced and understand what specifically is required of them. However, some officers when faced with obstacles, twisted facts, unavailable victims and witnesses, and no leads will put the case to the side failing to be creative and innovative in any attempt to find the truth. Leads aren’t given to investigators, they have to be created, developed, and pursued with an open and objective attitude that with each twist and turn the truth may be exposed.

The detective’s supervisor must make the decision to assist him in becoming motivated and successful or allow him to fail over and over until the stress and anxiety limits the detectives time in SAU. Being assigned in SAU is at times emotionally so stressful the detective will request to be transferred as soon as their caseload becomes more than they can handle. The decision to remain in SAU or transfer when the nuances and subtleties become difficult to deal with is something each officer has to deal with. The reasons to remain in SAU or leave is not only a professional decision, but unlike other investigative assignments a personal decision.

Simply some law enforcement officers are better suited finding an investigative assignment in a different division. Handling the many twists which are a common thread in child sexual assault investigations may lead the detective to understanding and determining the truth. Complainants have high expectations, sometimes unrealistic expectations which will either push the detective into performing his job or move him into utilizing the avoidance method and technique.

The daily structure(s) of being a SAU detective can sometimes be difficult emotionally, mentally, and physically. Sometimes the light at the end of the tunnel may seem unreachable. However, if driven to overcome the complex twists and turns in any investigation will be rewarding to the detective and make his time in SAU beneficial personally and professionally.

The detective’s management hierarchy and the community he works for will hold him to a higher standard than any other job. Their expectations are justified and necessary as they must rely upon him to perform his job competently and intelligently. Anything else is inexcusable and demeans the law enforcement community in which he works.