Law Enforcement Investigations

Unit 1 Basic Investigations

• At the end of Lesson 1, the student will know how to respond to any incident that has the potential for an arrest by following a basic investigative sequence that focuses on fairness in the process and the outcome.
• One of the most important tasks assigned to a law enforcement officer is conducting an impartial investigation to bring a suspect to justice.
• Objective investigative work is one of the main ways officers earn the public's trust.
• The quality of an investigation undergoes great public scrutiny, so officers must conduct each investigation with attention to accuracy, detail, and professionalism.
• When you respond to a call for service, always preserve life first and then work to preserve the scene for investigation.
• Follow basic investigative steps and use a systematic approach to each investigation
• When approaching a scene entrance safely, do not stand directly in front of the door to avoid a fatal funnel situation.
• Immediately identify yourself and state the purpose of your visit.
• Move to and maintain a position of advantage, such as somewhere you cannot be attacked from behind.
• Stay out of the doorways, and visually assess the scene, taking note of the number of people present.
• Initial response to a call and how you approach a scene influences the level of cooperation from victims, witnesses, and anyone on the scene.
• Use communication techniques to calm the situation and maintain control.
• Once the scene is relatively calm, determine if anyone is sick, injured, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
• Use first-aid skills to tend to any medical needs.
• Determine if a crime actually occurred through observation and answering questions such as ''Who is the victim?'', ''Are there any impartial witnesses to the crime?'', and ''Does the victim have a relationship with the suspect?''
• Additional questions to ask are ''Does domestic violence or special classification of crimes apply?'', ''Does the victim want to prosecute, or will the state press charges?'', and ''Did you complete paperwork detailing all of the known facts?'
• Notify your supervisor if you are making an arrest or if you need more resources, such as crime scene technicians, detectives, or medical assistance.
• Victims of crimes have certain rights.
• Marsy's Law requires that officers provide all victims and their families the following information, victims have the right to due process and to be treated fairly and respectfully, freedom from intimidation, harassment, abuse, and accurate and timely notice of the case's public proceedings.
• Victims have the right to reasonable protection from the accused and any person acting on behalf of the accused within the judicial process, prevent the disclosure of information or records that could be used to locate or harass the victim or their family, consult with the prosecuting attorney, be informed of all post conviction processes and procedures, return of property no longer needed as evidence, and full and timely restitution.

Brochures

• You must give crime victims a Victims' Rights Brochure or an information card at the crime scene or during the investigation.
• The brochure provides the availability of crime victim compensation, crisis intervention services, bereavement counseling, social service support referrals, community-based victim treatment programs, the role of the victim in the criminal or juvenile justice process, the stages of the criminal or juvenile justice process, and the right of the victim to be informed, present, and heard during criminal or juvenile justice proceedings
• Victims of domestic violence must also receive a Notice of Legal Rights and Remedies for Victims of Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, Repeat Violence, Sexual Violence, and Stalking brochure at the earliest opportunity.
• The brochure discusses definitions of domestic violence, sexual violence, dating violence, repeat violence, and stalking and what Florida's domestic violence law means and how it can help victims.
• It also discusses what to do if the abuser violates an injunction, the victim information that is exempt from public inspection, and who the victim should contact for more information.
• Victims of sexual battery must also receive a Sexual Battery-Your Rights and Services brochure, published by the Florida Council Against Sexual Violence, provides a definition of sexual battery, the rights of victims and the compensation, resources, services available to them, possible compensation for medical care, and information on what evidence may be collected.
• The student should be able to decide which brochure to provide a victim, witness, or family member.
• You may also be legally required to transport victims and witnesses of certain crimes, such as domestic violence, sexual battery, or child abuse.

Unit 2 Crimes Against Persons

• At the end of Lesson 1, the student will know how to respond to an incident involving assault and battery and determine when to make an arrest and whether an assault or battery charge merits reclassification.
• An assault involves verbal or no-verbal threats.
• For assault, document that the suspect intentionally and unlawfully threatened, by either word or act, to do violence to a victim.
• For assault, document that the suspect appeared to have the ability to carry out the threat and that the suspect created in the mind of the victim a well-founded fear that violence was about to take place.
• For aggravated assault, document that the suspect committed all the elements of assault, plus made the assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill, or with an intent to commit a felony.
• For battery, document that the suspect actually and intentionally touched or struck the victim against their will or intentionally caused bodily harm to the victim. Aggravated battery includes the element of intent or knowing that you will cause great bodily harm.
• For aggravated battery, document that the suspect committed battery, plus either intentionally or knowingly caused great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the victim, or used a deadly weapon.
• For a felony battery, document that the suspect actually and intentionally touched or struck a victim against their will and caused significant injury, great bodily harm, permanent disability, or permanent disfigurement to the victim. Domestic battery by strangulation is a felony battery that is battery against a family or household member or someone with whom the victim is in a dating relationship.
• Reclassification can occur when the victim is 65 or older or is an employee of a public or private school, a sports official, an emergency medical care provider, a firefighter or police explorer, a public transit employee, a criminal justice officer, a traffic accident investigation officer, a security officer employed by the board of trustees of a community college
• To reclassify the crime properly, establish that the victim was performing job duties at the time of the assault or battery and the suspect knew or should have known the victim was one of the workers listed in chapter 784, F.S., at the time of the assault or battery.
• A warrantless arrest for assault can be made if The assault occurs in your presence, occurs during a violence situation or upon a law enforcement officer.

Domestic Violence

• Domestic violence is defined as any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury. Family or household member means spouses, former spouses, people related by blood or marraige.
• In Florida, when you arrest a person during a domestic violence incident, instead, the charge may be assault, aggravated assault, battery.
• Consider ''Compare physical evidence to statements'', ''Compare injuries to statements'', ''Compare statements from the victim, witness, and suspect'', and ''Consider evidence or patterns of assault and coercion; include physical, sexual, and psychological abuse'' to make an arrest for domestic violence.
• Dating violence is violence between people who have or have have / had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.
• Document evidence carefully or document the lack of evidence in a domestic violence situation.
• Be sure to let victims know that they can go to the courthouse and file for an injunction.
• If you determine the circumstances of the custody dispute are civil in nature, maintain the status quo and document the incident on the appropriate report.
• A no contract order has been issued if it prohibits any oral or written communication with the victim, physical or violent contract with the victim, or presence within 500ft. of a residence.
• Child domestic battery is a situation when a child commits an act of violence against siblings, parents, or other family members.
• Determine if the violent behavior is an isolated event.
• Florida law requires you to document any allegation of domestic violence with a written report.

Stalking

• At th end of this lesson, you will know how to respond to incidents involving staking and sexual cyberharassment and determine the appropriate course of action and charges, if necessary
• Determine if an indicent is staking by identifying if chapter 784, F.S (outlines staking).
• Staking involves unwanted and repeated attention, contact, or harassment by the uspect toward the victim. Aggrivated staking is to be issued when a person has malicious intent, has repeatedly followed and the victim makes a credible threat to be a harm.
• Cyber stalking is the use of electronic devices directly or indirectly, of words leading subatantial emotional distress to that person and serving no licitamate purpose.
• Some juveniles may have has impressions that the internet has a way to abuse others. Gather the stalking, such as frequency, method, and any electronic device
• Ask the vitcim copies in screen shots of social media or paper copies.

Child Abuse

• Document the suspect for intentional inflicted physical or mental injury / an act that could harm a child.
• Physical injury defines as death, permanent, temporary, or disfigurement.
• Child neglet occurs when caregiver cant provde nutrition, medical services essential for well being.
• Explain the difference betwen a childs abandonment versus surrendering.
• Be sure to define ''abandon'' with no maintainicce and positive relationship.
• A child will have traunatice brain damage when 6 years or younger and may not intend.
• When you investigate a child abuse or anything you must document it.
• Separate abuse from victim or they will see hear on another

Elderly Abuse

• Abuse of an elderly or adult is subjected when one person subjects an elderly.
• Abuse to where it would be reasonably harm / death, and must be willful .
• Neglect occurs when a suspect fails willfully to mainatin services necessary to mantain physical / mental.
• It must cause a substantial risk to a death.
• Adults are more dependednt on others and its on their own will due to them being in creased.
• Elderly may lack to reporting crimes. because the victim is a caregiver. its consider a famility matter
• Report this crimes to the police and its required

Kidnapping

• At the end of this lesson, you will know how to respond to incidents involving a child custody dispute, interference with custody, luring or enticing of a child, false imprisonment, and kidnapping while using multi-agency resources as appropriate.
• Interfercene are the following document that the suspect knowingly or recklessly took the minor without the parents lawful.
• it is if they knew or not.
• A person 18 or older intiates or attempts child younger than ages 12. False imprisonment is a domestic voulinces where they threalter / threatend
• if an indicent is to be restranted a crime can also involve removing a viticm but false crime.
• A Kidpping has the tent but not limited to commiting other felonies

Missing Persons

• At the end of this lesson, you will know how to respond to an incident involving a missing or missing endangered person and when to begin the process for activating an AMBER Alert, Silver Alert, Purple Alert, or Blue Alert.
• A missing child a younger person 18. residence must be unkown.
• A missing adult is over 18 , residence unknown.
• Be sure to check with local law enforcement in a juristical situation can recommend activity .
• Silver alerts aids enforcement with aids in the reason notify under dementia which under 18 The alert is for mental.corgnive, or phyiscal ability who is not althemerz for dementia. Follow the missing person for 24- 48hours
• The national center and or mising people are to be reportred

Sexual Battery

• At the end of this lesson, you will know how to respond to incidents involving a sexual offense aginst child ,adult elderly using transofrm response.
• sexual battery can be non consnsual oral penetration to sexul organ and by an other and no object.
• Not the vitictm failed to offer the assistance to a person or coercion.
• Mental injury from child abuse is an injury to the intellectual or psychological health of a child.
• For aggravated child abuse of a child younger than 18, document that the suspect:
• committed aggravated battery upon a child, willfully tortured a child,.maliciously punished a child,..willfully caged a child or knowingly committed child abuse
• Chapter 784, F.5 addresses set offenses including
• a person 24 years of age or older who engages in sexual activity with a minor aged 16 or 17.
• Department of justice classifies childs porgarpahy is of eploitiaty and on federal There must be identified during child,and its not the use of an illegal
• If you respond to a call involving child pornography on the computer don't not touch it

Trafficking

• Is defined as a way with a person in the purposed of exploitatation is suspect reuit or transfor with labor is suspect to the vicitm of a force or threst with manipation.Coercion
• This may include violence from family and members Human trafking you maybe suspect and can can be enough
• Livilng and working can be anusual.Victms lack indentification of the visia and pasprot because trackifers as

Death

• Understand the manner and cause of death.
• Cause of death be immediately apperent as great blood loss is.
• Death by injury can result in death.
• Death, rigor mortis Postmorteam is cool of all of this Death of of Florida The medical report
• Is essenintal that you secure a The scene

• Is it essential that you secure and protect the integrity of the scene. • is essential that you secure and protect the integrity of the scene.

• How there respond after the incidennt. and the family responses.
• Is there any respnses that can have deah

Robbery

• Occurs when the suspect takes money or property from the victim, to tempoarily drive for another. Uses violence
• If the the robot while ared changed the offense to Armed Robbert
• A rob by sudden snapshing, the problem is to the vitims
• In ckarjaking the document the suspect takes the motor and Was then at any point
• Approach properly by following a BOLO report

Learn the basic investigative sequence that focuses on fairness in the process and the outcome. Objective investigative work is one of the main ways officers earn the public's trust. The quality of an investigation undergoes great public scrutiny.