One of the facts of life facing a criminal investigator is that evidence is a subject of interpretation and in court, truth is negotiable. Criminal investigations are usually conducted after the fact. The street cop may depend on JDLR-Just Don’t Look Right or in legalese Reasonable Suspicion. Reasonable suspicion is based on facts or circumstances and is formed by the officer’s training and experience.
Collection of Evidence
But an investigator knows a crime has been committed and needs to identify the culprit and collect evidence sufficient to prove that person or persons committed that crime, and even prove that a crime was committed.
The collection of evidence has rules for admission into a criminal proceeding. It has to fit the crime, and although TV and movies disparage circumstantial evidence, there are convictions based solely on it. All evidence has to be documented, the source, date and time obtained, relevancy and numerous other legal requirements. For physical evidence, a chain of possession and disposition is required. Verbal evidence, interview or interrogations have specific rules for admission to court. And though evidentiary rules vary from state to state, there are general guidelines applicable to all courts.
Types of Evidence; Physical, Verbal, Photographic & More
Evidence must support that a crime has been committed and that a specific individual or individuals committed the alleged act. Physical evidence includes finger prints, blood and other human excretions like saliva. Tools for tool mark comparisons, computers and electronic devices, etc. Verbal evidence can be recordings or interviews and interrogations. Photographic and video are prime source of evidence with high court appeal but have their attendant legal requirements for admission. You can film a person on a street corner, but the not interior of the home through an open window, in compliance with ‘expectation of privacy’ requirements. An investigator has to know the rules. Experience, education and training are the keys to successful investigations.
Legal Definition of the Crime
First we have to define the crime, and then see if there is sufficient reasonable cause to conduct an investigation. Fraud, a crime that depends on false representation, deceit and trickery has elements that vary drastically from robbery. Robbery is in general described as taking goods or money in possession of another, from his or hers person through means of force or intimidation. Two very different types of crimes, with different elements, and specifics vary from state to state. In robberies the perpetrator may be unknown but the circumstances and facts are. In fraud you usually have a suspect but have to figure out what and how of the elements of the crime and how he did it. Embezzlement and theft of proprietary or intellectual property all have their definitions and in turn what evidentiary requirements are need to support prosecution. Most likely fraud, embezzlement and intellectual property theft will be crimes high on a private investigator list. But missing children and adults present their own investigative challenges. Many missing children are parental abductions and a primary element is to prove that the abducting parent has no parental rights or that circumstances indicate a danger to the child.
Suspect Identification Methods
So we have defined the crime and now need to collect the evidence and may need to identify the suspect. Fraud, embezzlement and intellectual theft usually infer that the primary evidence will be documents and of course a statement articulating how the person discovering the crime came to the conclusion that a crime or possible crime had been committed. You have to describe the normal SOP or standard operating procedure for a base and springboard for your investigation. One problem is compliance to SOP. Many organizations may have formal written policy and procedures. But employee interpretation and individual compliance may vary considerably from the formal requirements. At most we can expect a general compliance to any written mandate.
Civil & Criminal Private Investigations in Greater Miami, Sunny Isles, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton & Miami Gardens Florida
Call the professionals at Advanced Private Investigator & Security of Fort Lauderdale Florida. We are uniquely qualified to conduct civil and criminal investigations.
