Criminal Investigation Fundamentals

Study Notes

Criminal investigation is a multi-faceted problem-solving challenge that requires preserving the crime scene, collecting evidence, and developing an investigative plan to identify and arrest responsible individuals.
Effective criminal investigation demands both task skills and thinking skills, which need to be consciously developed and utilized.
Trained thinking and response may be difficult to develop and incorporate into personal repertoires, but it is essential for effective investigation.

Criminal investigation is an art that deals with identifying and locating offenders, and providing evidence of their guilt through criminal proceedings.
It is not a science, but instead relies on intuition, inspiration, and chance.
The primary goal of criminal investigation is to determine the truth: what happened and who is responsible for a criminal incident.

A criminal refers to a person who has committed a crime, been arrested, prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced to prison.
A general rule states that no person shall be regarded as criminal unless they have committed a crime, been given due process, and been found guilty by a competent court.
Investigation refers to the process of conducting an official detailed examination or inquiry to discover something or somebody.
Crime is an act or omission punishable by law, deserving punishment or penalty.

The term "investigation" derives from the Latin word "Vestigare," which means to track, trace, probe, observe, study closely, inquire into something systematically, and search for truthful information.

According to the PNP manual, criminal investigation refers to the collection of facts to accomplish a threefold aim:
- Identify the guilty party
- Locate the guilty party
- Provide evidence of their guilt

Criminal investigation can be considered both a science and an art.
As a science, criminal investigation applies scientific knowledge based on fixed principles, such as the principle of individuality in dactyloscopy (fingerprinting).
As an art, criminal investigation relies on intuition, inspiration, and chance.
The criminal investigation process involves analyzing investigated and gathered facts about persons, things, places, and subjects of a crime to identify the guilty party, locate their whereabouts, and provide admissible evidence.