Paper on Transformations in Criminal Investigation: Adapting to New Laws, Technologies, and Collaborative Strategies

The development of new laws has made the responsibilities of criminal investigators change over time. In an example where the process includes obtaining digital evidence, the crimes have also changed because it is much like that of gathering physical evidence and the police has to first obtain a search warrant to lawfully seize the evidence. The police have had to develop new expertise and tactics for investigation as well as determine the training and technical assistance that will be successful.

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The laws have enhanced the use of new investigative tools. Their responsibilities have changed in terms of using social media. Web-based applications, internet devices, and the dark web count as key elements to investigative strategies. The various nature of crimes leads to crossing jurisdictional boundaries while looking for evidence (Braga, 2011). Some examples of crimes with effective investigations include the distribution of illegal drugs, human trafficking, child pornography, and arson cases. These crimes are legally necessary by involving other agencies of personnel with expertise.

The current laws have made sure that the police collaborate with the community because they can significantly influence crime prevention, reduction, and solving cases. Modern policing has focused on community and problem orientation. The idea is such that the criminal investigator works with the community to identify a specific problem and then works to address it.

Similarly, evidence-based policing has focused on research and examining more practices that impact the investigation activities. Science and technology have significantly contributed to criminal investigators because the task of the investigators is bulky and not quite as exciting as the media portrays it. The investigators have to reveal their skills to manage risk and minimize harm through the process of monitoring crimes.

The present definition of criminal investigation encompasses a wide range of specialties whose aim is to determine how events occurred as well as establish a pattern that will prove the guilt or innocence of the accused individual. The process of criminal investigations and the roles of criminal investigators become more complex where the criminal event is discovered after the act already took place.

Compared to early policing, the ability of forensic experts to identify the suspects and examine physical evidence has increased. A great contributor to the process is scientific discoveries in various disciplines that have been helpful in the development and evolution of aspects such as physical matching, fingerprints, hair and fiber, and analysis of DNA.

One law that has had an effect upon crime scene investigators is the one on standards and professional development where the investigators have had to get thoroughly trained on their roles. Every investigator is required to complete the Management of Serious Crime Course before they can begin their tasks as a professional (Braga, 2011). Joining these programs is necessary to improve the professional competence of the police officers and the rest of the staff tasked with conducting investigations.

This way, their role changes from not only maintaining law and order but going to the specifics that include acting strategically by developing grounds to identify and also arrest the people responsible for the criminal acts as well as eliminate those that have been wrongfully suspected. Criminal investigators are now able to appropriately respond to different situations where they are needed to protect the lives and safety of individuals.

The law also provides for the inspection and accountability of criminal investigators. It is such that the services are routinely subjected to both external and internal review. The police officers are required to do continuous public monitoring of the assigned fields. The officers are also monitored in terms of their performance through a site that ensures comprehensive comparison (Braga, 2011). The website has tools that allow the viewer to select and compare individual forces with one another. This way, they get to learn more about how to conduct investigations and consult the ones with high scores.

Their professional development is also inclusive of risk management and minimization of harm. The efforts by investigators should focus on strategic crime control and prevention. The crime investigators have to include a proactive arm within the team. They need to use intelligence and analysis to prevent the targeted criminal network. The law also requires that the investigators apply the necessary methods when it comes to preventing crimes. They are allowed to use activities such as heightened uniform patrols as well as frustration and disruption approaches to investigate crimes and prevent them from occurring.

The main changes have been strategic and have included moving from the Department of investigations towards crime control. That has included improvement of crime and intelligence data collection as well as implementation of appropriate internal management structures. There are relevant performance measures that show the extent to which the officers are capable of preventing crime. Generally, the current method of investigating crimes is different from the traditional investigative activities that are focused on broader strategic crime orientation. It is necessary for crime investigators to have rich insights concerning recurring crime problems that they can use more creatively to deal with underlying conditions and situations.

Reference

Braga, A. A. (2011). Moving the work of criminal investigators towards crime control. Harvard Kennedy School Program in Criminal Justice Policy and Management.