CriminologyJustice

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.

Lawrence W. Daly

www.onedaly.com

206-650-0229

onedaly@onedaly.com

Kent, WA

Posted in Arrest, crime, Criminology Amp Justice, Detective, Law, law enforcement, Lawrence W. Daly, Pareto Principle, police, Sexual assault | No comments

Taking a Look at Your Home Insurance Policies Ahead of The Hurricane Season

Posted on 1:09 AM by Unknown

There's been a lot in the news about how the BP oil disaster the Gulf of Mexico has already seen landfall in some beach communities and turned the air around there into an unbreathable toxic cocktail. Well, while that's certainly one way for a natural disaster (or man-made one) to go, but chances are much higher that if a disaster should ever strike your community, it should be the regular kind - a hurricane, a wildfire or an earthquake. And these days, right at the start of the hurricane season, the home insurance companies are at pains to remind us that some forecasts predict that it could be rough this year. While you may have plans in place to protect yourself and your family when something like this happens, you also need to make sure that as a homeowner, you have the best interests of your property in mind long too before the wind begins to howl around your windows.

Florida has had a long and painful history with hurricanes, and you'll see most homes there showing the effects of the lessons they've learned from it. Everywhere you look in Florida, homes have extra strong construction and storm shutters. There have been warnings for years that what with global warming the eastern seaboard could see some pretty rough hurricane action soon. Sadly though, most areas of the country haven't really learned their lessons as well as Florida has. And neither has the west coast, with the exposure they've had to wildfires. The home insurance industry frequently puts out public service advertisements with information on how to protect your home in the event (so that they won't have to pay as much damages as they otherwise would have to); let's look at some of the best pieces of advice they have in mind for you.

Storm shutters and impact resistant glass are your best insurance policy against storm damage. And remember that if the hurricane begins to blow into your house through an opening of some kind, it makes it doubly dangerous. Garage doors for instance, absolutely have to be properly secured when it starts. But there is a certain amount of misinformation abroad about home insurance policies that can be just as dangerous as the hurricane. Most people who have policies against hurricane damage believe that , they are protected against anything that comes out of a hurricane. That's not quite true; if a hurricane brings in so much rain it floods your town and causes flood damage to your home, your home insurance company will wash its hands off it. The floods are consequential damages as far as they're concerned.

And there's more love from the home insurance companies too. The National Flood Insurance Program that's run by the government gives each homeowner $250,000 in aid to cover building losses, and $100,000 for damage to personal property. The insurance companies only ever agree to compensate you for any losses you incur flooding in over these thresholds. So if you have flood damage to your home that comes up to, say, $251,000, your home insurance policy for flooding will give you exactly $1000. And the government isn't going to give you anything right away either, because their program just ran out of money. So you best insurance policy at this time against calamity would be to shore up your house to meet all hurricane codes. Where's the point trusting the home insurance companies anyway?

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Posted in Criminology Amp Justice | No comments

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Today’s Investigative Special Report – January 3, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations”

Posted on 9:00 PM by Unknown

by Lawrence W. Daly

“Is Being A Law Enforcement Officer Anything Like Die Hard’s John McClane?”

Since 1989 one of the favorite Christmas movies has been Die Hard starring Bruce Willis who plays an officer of the NYPD, tries to save wife Holly Gennaro and several others, taken hostage by German terrorist Hans Gruber during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles. The villain Hans Gruber played by Alan Rickman becomes entangled with Officer McClane and the action begins.

John McClane (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The hero of the movie is Officer McClane who one by one eliminates Gruber’s group of villains until there are no more, including the death of Gruber at the end of the movie. Anyone watching the movie would instantly want to find a job in law enforcement and be just like Officer McClane.

The show became a big hit with many other sequels being produced over the years. McClane is a rough and tough individual who is a very determined law enforcement officer. No one can out do him and no one can beat him. He is simply the best at what he does.

Most law enforcement officers give their all every day. They report to duty and do their best and try to give the community what they expect from them which is to protect and serve them.

When law enforcement responds to a complaint that a possible crime is occurring then the thought process of what investigative steps they should initiate comes from an educated and trained mind which is always processing the “what ifs” scenarios. These types of “lessons learned” comes from the astronomical amount of training hours each officer receives in the law enforcement academy, seminars, conferences, webinars, and many other learning venues.

The first responder must mentally process all of the potential dangerous scenarios which he may face as he responds to the complaint that a crime may have just occurred or is occurring. The education and training will provide answers too what the possibilities should be if confronted with a hostile situation. If the officer is confronted with a perpetrator who is hostile the officer must immediately gain the advantage in this situation, possibly using deadly force to protect others and him.

In dealing with perpetrators over the years the law enforcement officer must understand why a perpetrator does what he does and if the actions by the perpetrator seem reasonable and logical then the officer must consider why he is doing what he is doing. The officer must immediately take advantage of the perpetrator during the contact with him, from the initial contact to the possible interrogation. The officer must position himself in such a manner that he is thinking six steps ahead of this individual.

If the officer can visualize what his expectations and goals are with the perpetrator this may provide the officer with a game plan in how to control the perpetrator. There is no reason for the officer to lose control of any situation with the perpetrator. Being on guard at all times, the officer must maintain control of the perpetrator.

The officer must take the investigation from the viewpoint that he will produce positive results, hopefully resolving the complaint without having to affect an arrest. Conflict resolution should be the main goal the officer should attempt to reach during the initial investigation. When it comes to allegations of child sexual assault allegations the first responder should take the necessary information from the complainant and any witnesses at the alleged crime scene and forward the information to his supervisor who will then send the investigation to the Sexual Assault Unit (SAU).

It is prudent and a necessity that the officer demonstrates that what he is doing is to make sure he is taking the proper steps to obtain positive results. The initial fact finding investigation must be result(s) oriented. The officer who eventually is assigned to investigate the case wants the first responder to demonstrate initiative and to perform any investigative steps he can take at the time he has all of the parties at the crime scene.

When the follow-up officer receives the paperwork to investigate the allegations and there has been little to nothing done, this demonstrates that this first responding officer doesn’t understand what his role is and what investigative steps should have been taken.

Crime Classification Manual (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Once the first responder has thoroughly and completely performed his responsibilities the assigned officer will then complete the investigation taking the proper steps to uncover the truth. Keeping this in mind the officer, if competent and intelligent, will consider a multitude of alternative hypothesis to pursue, eliminate, and culminate with a final hypothesis.

In interviewing the alleged child victim the child should provide the investigator with enough information about what happened between her and the alleged perpetrator. Depending on the child’s age, obtaining specific and factual information may be difficult, as young children may have difficulty in detailing what exactly took place. If the interview is futile this may indicate that the child was not sexually assaulted or the child was sexually assaulted and is incapable of disclosing the sexual assault.

When a law enforcement officer is assigned a case where the non-offending parent states that her three year-old child disclosed that the offending parent sexually assaulted her, this should immediately concern the investigator that something may be a mist. This scenario has always been a complex set of circumstances as the reliability and credibility of the “origin” or “genesis” of the disclosure is placed into question.

The type of questioning the non-offending parent utilized to allow the child to tell her story may cause the statements not to be allowed in a court of law. There are hearsay exceptions, but if the non-offending parent lead or suggested the child into disclosing that she was sexually assaulted this may be problematic for law enforcement and eventually the prosecutor who has to make the decision to file criminal charges.

Another complex issue is when the officer receives a report that a child has disclosed that she was sexually assaulted to the non-offending adult (generally the mother or grandmother) and during the interview the child does not disclose to the forensic child sexual assault interviewer the same information this may become problematic.

The forensic interviewer may become frustrated and turn the interview into a coercive, misleading, leading, suggestive, multiple choices, and many other inappropriate question fests. Law enforcement and prosecutors who are generally not trained in the art of forensic child sexual assault interviewing believe that what the child said is the “truth” no matter what interview methods and techniques were utilized to obtain the information.

Law enforcement officials do not evaluate their forensic interviewer and how the statements of the child came about. Instead the officials become part of the inappropriate interview process. The inappropriate interview process has a ripple effect to it; the child and her testimony become “damaged goods.”

The alleged child victim, witnesses, forensic interviewer, law enforcement officers, and the physical, biological, and trace evidence (after the investigation is allegedly completed) will be examined and evaluated by outside law enforcement professionals who may come to the immediate conclusion that the forensic interviewer over stepped her boundaries, contaminated and tainted the interview with the child.

Further, that the witnesses were motivated to bring false witness against the alleged perpetrator in retaliation of some previous and formidable dispute; which left everyone upset with him and reason(s) to make the false claims; using the child as a pawn.

The dialogue between the alleged child victim and the forensic interviewer is generally digitally recorded and videotaped and a transcript of the interviews will be transcribed and can be reviewed by professional child sexual assault interviewers to determine if the forensic interviewer abided by the specific forensic protocol and procedure the criminal justice system in her community utilizes.

English: Plantation Pines, FL, June 26, 1998 -- Law enforcement officer aids in the mandatory evacuations in Plantation Pines, Florida. Photo by Liz Roll (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The specific role of the investigator is to obtain the truth. The investigator must take in everything which has occurred in the case and weigh all of the evidence to determine if there is a reasonable and logical explanation for the alleged disclosures and how they were obtained. The statements made by the alleged perpetrator should be given the same weight as those of the alleged child victim and the complainant and witnesses.

The officer has many tools available to use during the fact-finding process. A tool which is commonly utilized by law enforcement is the polygraph. There are many people in the criminal justice system which gives the polygraph no weight at all and others who believe in the utilization of it giving it great weight.

In law enforcement the polygraph is utilized for many purposes, but most importantly to convince the alleged perpetrator that it is time to come forward and take responsibility for the sexual assault of the child. In many child sexual assault cases the polygraph has turned the perpetrator into what is known as a “runner.” A “runner” is someone who is contacted by law enforcement reference a child sexual assault, is interrogated, denies the allegations, and after a specific amount of time the officer asks the alleged perpetrator if he would take a polygraph.

In this situation the alleged perpetrator agrees to take the polygraph at a later date and time and the officer agrees and schedules the polygraph sometime during the week. During his absence away from the officer, he contacts an attorney and the attorney advises him not to take the polygraph. The alleged perpetrator or the attorney then calls the officer to inform him of the bad news, that there will be no polygraph.

The above scenario could have been avoided if the officer would have had the alleged perpetrator polygraphed at the initial contact at the law enforcement agency. In comparing this scenario with a purchase of a boat or car, the salesman knows if the individual who wants to purchase a car leaves the lot without purchasing a car the salesman will never see him again.

Alleged perpetrators if properly interviewed can make or break an investigation being performed by a law enforcement officer. The officer must control how the investigation has to be handled. If the officer has to be a car salesman to push an alleged perpetrator towards taking a polygraph then he needs to take advantage of the date, time, and most importantly the place.

Too often the witnesses and the alleged perpetrator try to control every aspect(s) of the investigation. The officer must confront these types of individuals and explain to them the investigative process. The process includes the officer being a neutral, objective, competent, and intelligent officer who takes no sides during the fact finding investigation. This investigative attitude by the officer may surprise some victims, witnesses, or perpetrators, but this investigative attitude has to be an investigative ideology which is made and kept in stone.

Being Officer John McClane looks like it would be exciting, fun, and thrilling. However, there is more to being a professional law enforcement officer than shoot-em up and kill all the bad guys. Being a law enforcement officer takes an individual who has morals, courage, intelligence, and a strong character. An investigation of child sexual assault is complicated where the decisions by the officer can bring reliability and credibility to the allegation or prove it them to be false.

There are many forensic child interview policies, protocols, and processes which will produce positive results when interviewing an alleged child sexual assault victim. The forensic interviewer must abide by these rules as straying from them because a child doesn’t confirm what an upset non-offending parent believes their partner or spouse did to the child will only bring about more questions about the competency of the interviewer.

The first responder must do everything and anything he can when he is assigned to answer a complaint. Failing to deal with the tasks and responsibilities of the job will cause an alleged child victim to be re-victimized or an innocent man to be sent to jail, losing his freedom. If law enforcement officers do what is asked of them by their community and enforces the laws of the city, county, state, and federal and performs a complete and thorough investigation during each complaint minor or serious, then the community and its citizens will continue to appreciate those who wear the uniform.

Lawrence W. Daly

www.onedaly.com

206-650-0229

onedaly@onedaly.com

Kent, WA

Posted in Alan Rickman, Bruce Willis, Criminology Amp Justice, Hans Gruber, John McClane, Law, law enforcement, Law enforcement officer, Lawrence W. Daly, Sexual assault | No comments

Crime and Justice Community Open for Discussions

Posted on 8:33 AM by Unknown

For those interested in discussion, Criminology & Justice Digital Media has opened a +Crime & Justice Community on Google Plus. New Topics posted daily.

Open to all. See you there! CJ Admin

Posted in Comments, crime, Criminology, Criminology Amp Justice, Digital media, Google, Google+, research, Social Sciences | No comments

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Today’s Investigative Special Report – January 02, 2013 “Dealing With Todays Law Enforcement Specialized Investigations” “By Who Rules Does Law Enforcement Use To Enforce The Law When Investigating Child Sexual Assault Allegations?”

Posted on 9:00 PM by Unknown

By Lawrence W. Daly, MSc

Forensic Expert – Senior Author

In the land of the mysterious and great Oz the rules in which those who dare to venture into this dreamland must abide by them. These rules were established to control people who were good and evil. If you violated the laws then one of the Sergeant of Arms would come into your domain and discipline you; there are consequences to your violation and behavior.

In your community like the dreamland of Oz there have been rules established years ago to control the conduct and behavior of its citizens. Law enforcement was established to enforce the rules and monitor if everyone’s conduct and behavior conformed to the communities wishes. Everyone was responsible to do the right thing, but as most people know there are just some people who violate the rules just because this is the nature of the beast.

English: JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 24, 2011) Sexual Assault Response Coordinator Jan Logan updates Sexual Assault Prevention and Response program instructions in her office at the NAS Jacksonville Fleet and Family Support Center. Logan has been selected as the 2011 Exceptional Sexual Assault Response Coordinator for the U.S. Navy. (U.S. Navy photo by Kaylee LaRocque/Released) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

After establishing

specific States, Counties and Local communities laws were created, voted on, and became the law of the land. No more dreamland of Oz, no more neighbors keeping one another accountable but laws; serious laws which were enforceable and there was a punishment for breaking the laws. In promulgating these laws child protection laws were established such as it is illegal to sexually and physically assault or neglect a child.

In the beginning law enforcement turned their backs on the sexual and physical assaults believing that what happens in a home, stays in the home, and it is up to the father, for the most part to enforce the rules. The problem with this hierarchy is the father was generally the violator of the rules and children endured the wrath sexually and physically or neglect.

It took centuries for law enforcement to step up to the plate and begin enforcing crimes against children. Society was no longer tolerating the crimes that were happening to children. The attitudes of the community had been to leave well enough alone and let the families deal with the problem. However, the child advocates said enough was enough and child sexual and physical assaults or neglect were no longer tolerated.

Today, law enforcement aggressively enforces any and all crimes against children. The education and training is not adequate as of yet, but each year the doors to a variety of education and training has become available worldwide. Still there is much to learn and the more educated, trained, and experienced a law enforcement officer becomes the increase in the credibility and reliability of the child assault investigation will become.

There are an “enormous amount of issues” as child sexual assaults are complicated. There is no such thing as an easy investigations, even if the alleged perpetrator has confessed. Some law enforcement officers would complete the case and submit it to the prosecutor for the filing of criminal charg

Center for Sexual Assault Victims (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

es. An excellent investigator needs to think at least ‘six steps’ ahead of the investigation. Just because the alleged perpetrator confessed doesn’t solidify the case as a good defense attorney could have the confession thrown out of court for a technicality that the officer committed. There needs to be a thorough and complete investigation and this can only be accomplished if the officer puts in the necessary effort. Putting the case into the “autopilot” category will come back to haunt the criminal charges which were alleged against the alleged perpetrator.

In the interviewing of the alleged child sexual assault victim the issues can become “enormous” due to the fact that the child interviewer failed to follow the scientific investigative child interviews. The enormity comes from the difficulty in knowing what approach the forensic law enforcement investigator/interviewer is the correct and appropriate interview style.

It takes years of experience not to be seen as stumbling or being clumsy in the officer’s investigative approach to the child sexual assault allegations. The officer must take a step back upon receiving the first responders report and determine specifically what aspects of the case need to be addressed immediately, when to interview the alleged child victim and perpetrator.

Most law enforcement agencies teach their officers to make contact with the non-offending parent, who is generally the reporter of the crime, and set up an interviewer with the alleged child victim. A written or digitally recorded statement may have been taken by the first responder. These interviews generally do not have many details in the statement because the attitude by the first responder

Center for Sexual Assault Victims (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

s is the assigned district detective can ask the extensive questions which need to be asked in a comfortable and non-threatening environment.

Depending on the age of the child she is rarely interviewed by the first responder for many reasons, but generally because the officer does not believe they are competent to do such an interview, aren’t comfortable in interviewing children, would rather leave the responsibility of interviewing the child to forensic child sexual assault experts, and so forth.

In the assessment and evaluation stage of the investigation which is generally performed at the beginning of the investigation before the officer takes the first investigative step, he should always prepare a report on his ‘gut’ feelings about the case in chief. If he feels that the information seems to be credible and reliable then maybe interviewing the alleged child victim would be the best investigative approach.

Cover of Michael Jackson

Sometimes the officer may need to perform some background interviews on the alleged child victim. If there was ever a major investigative step neglected across America in law enforcement is the failure to perform a background on a child. Officers do not even think this is an investigative option. In the Michael Jackson criminal trial the prosecutor was asked why they hadn’t performed a background on the 14 year old alleged victim as the information the media had been given was he was a liar. The prosecutor stated, “It is not my job to do a pedigree on child victims.” The response by the media should have been, “Then if you won’t do it or those working under you, then who will?”

Too often law enforcement and prosecutors fail to understand that the “enormous” eye sore in their case is their child victim. Imagine your child victim is 15 years old has an acrimonious relationship with her father, and when disciplined by her father that she would lose her mobile telephone for a week, she reports to her school counselor that her father has been raping her since she was five. Really, she is disciplined and then there is an allegation of sexual assaults dating back 10 years. Still law enforcement is not trained to use common sense and if their attitude is “children don’t lie” they will not go fact-finding for the truth.

Going back to whose responsibility is it to do the investigation on the child victim the answer is clear, it is law enforcement’s and the prosecutor’s responsibility. Why should an alleged perpetrator hire an attorney to prove his innocence when law enforcement had the ability and responsibility to perform this task?

When everything is said and done the prosecutor who receives the investigation from the officer doesn’t want the officer to deliver an investigation which is riddled with an “enormous amount of unresolved issues.” These issues will stifle the prosecutor in filing criminal charges if this is the best course of action. Taking the investigation off of “autopilot” and doing their job in a responsible, competent, and intelligent manner is all the community is requesting of their officers. Anything short of this type of investigation is simply unacceptable.

English: A teal ribbon, which is an awareness ribbon for Ovarian cancer and Sexual assault (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The laws created to protect children from any type of assaults or neglect. Rules were established which make everyone responsible and accountable for their individual actions. Law enforcement however good the officer is in investigating the allegations must adhere to the belief that one rule is they can never take away an individual’s Constitutional Rights to “due process.” When the officer provides the alleged perpetrator with “due process” then the officer is demonstrating he understands and respects the rules of the Constitution. Laws and rules govern the actions of law enforcement for the sole reason of following the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States.

Everyone wins if the law enforcement officer does ‘exactly’ what is asked of him by their community and administration. The proficiency and effectiveness of the officer will take time, he will make his share of mistakes, make bad decisions and judgments, but it is imperative that he is competent and intelligent when performing their job.

It is unlikely that no one will complain about the strength and conviction of the officer’s belief in his fact finding process and conclusions. If he has followed the protocols, procedures, and process then others will believe in his decision making. In the end a criminal charge which is filed or not filed should be the goal by all the interested parties depending on the testimony and evidence, not feelings or tears. Law enforcement must at all times follow the rules and laws of the State, County, and Local legislative mandates and laws.