It is said that "one picture is worth a thousand words". This implies that pictorial testimony has more value than ten witnesses. The witnesses may give different views on the same issue, and, furthermore, they may forget some of the facts. Due to human error, omission, and defects such as old age and sight problems, they are contributing factors for people to give different accounts of the same events. The study entails the various roles of photography, such as recording the crime scene and that photography is considered as evidence in court. Investigators may use them for both suspects' and witnesses' interviewing. Furthermore, witnesses and victims may use them to refresh their memories, and the court uses them to prove the matter at issue. This indicates that photographs have a major role to play in the judicial and investigation processes. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The researcher attempts to establish how CCTV footage can be used as a surveillance technique, for evidence gained in that way to be admissible in court. To conduct effective investigation, it is important for investigators to be familiar with the application of CCTV footage, its purpose, its benefits and shortfalls. To achieve the goals and objectives of the practice of CCTV footage, investigators must know how to utilise the value of its evidence, and how to use it to identify suspects. The clarification and application to the crime situation, the identification of the perpetrator or suspect of a criminal act is mostly impossible, if CCTV footage is not available to assist in identification and tracing of suspects. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Text in Afrikaans / Alhoewel die lokvalstelsel as misdaadbekampingsmetode lank reeds bestaan, is die toepassing daarvan nog altyd kontroversieE!I. Hierdie omstredenheid is die laaste paar jaar op die voorgrond gedryf deur 'n Regskommissie-ondersoek, sowel as deur die aanvaarding van 'n Handves van Menseregte. Ondersoek word ingestel na hierdie omstredenheid deur te kyk na die inhoud en toepassing van die stelsel, sowel as na die rol wat private persona, die polisie en die hot by die stelsel speeL Die gevolgtrekking waartoe gekom word, is dat die omstredenheid van die stelsel te danke is aan die feit dat dit verband hou met pro-aktiewe regshandhawing, wat in wese bestaan uit die gebruik van misleiding ten einde die pleging van 'n misdaad teweeg te bring. Die probleem met pro-aktiewe regshandhawing is dat dit 'n geleentheid skep vir die uitoefening van polisiediskresie wat grootliks sonder beheer geskied, met potensiele wanoptrede aan die kant van regshandhawers en die ondermyning van die publiek se vertroue in die billikheid van die strafregspleging. Ondersoek word gevolglik ingestel na metodes om diskresie-uitoefening by die lokvalstelsel te regverdig, aangesien daar wei ruimte is vir diskresionere magte wat behoorlik begrens, gestruktureer en gekontroleer is. Die vernaamste metodes van beheer oor diskresie­ uitoefening by die lokvalstelsel, naamlik die uitsluiting van getuienis en weerstand in 'n strafgeding, word grondig ondersoek met verwysing na die Engelse-, Amerikaanse- en Kanadese reg. Dit is egter die uitgangspunt van hierdie proefskrif dat wetgewende strukturering van diskresie-uitoefening by die lokvalstelsel die mees effektiewe oplossing bied vir meeste van die problema van die stelsel. Die enigste aanvaarbare basis waarop die lokvalstelsel kan funksioneer, is om deur middel van wetgewing die trefwydte van toelaatbare lokvaltegnieke en die beperkinge waarbinne regshandhawers regsonderdane mag beweeg om misdade te pleeg, te definieer. Daar is dus 'n behoefte aan die kodifisering van standaarde waaraan voldoen moet word voordat enige lokvaloperasie behoort te begin. / Although the system of trapping has long been used as a method of preventing crime, its employment has always been controversial. In the recent past, this controversy has come to the front due to an investigation by the South African Law Commission and the acceptance of a Bill of Rights. This thesis investigates this controversy by looking at the contents and application of the system, as well as the role which private persons, the police and the court play in the system. The conclusion arrived at, is that the controversy surrounding the system is due to the fact that it has to do with pro-active law enforcement, which consists of the use of deception to induce the performance of a criminal act. The problem with pro-active law enforcement is that it creates an opportunity for the exercise of police discretion which is mainly uncontrolled, with potentialmisconduct on the part of law enforcement officials and the subversion of public trust in the reasonableness of the criminal justice system. Consequently, methods by which the exercise of discretion in the system of trapping can be justified are investigated, since there is room for discretionary powers which are properly circumscribed, structured and controlled. The main methods of control over the exercise of discretion in the system of trapping, namely the exclusion of evidence and a defence in a criminal proceeding, are fully investigated with reference to English, American and Canadian law. Having considered the above, the conclusion is advanced that legislative structuring of the exercise of discretion in the system of trapping offers the most effective solution for most of the problems underlying the system. The only acceptable basis on which the system can function, is to define the scope of acceptable trapping techniques and the confines within which law enforcement officials may prevail on someone to commit a crime. This must be done by means of legislation. Accordingly, there is a need for codification of standards which have to be complied with before any trapping operation may commence. / Criminal & Procedural Law / LL.D. (Criminal & Procedural Law)

The process of investigation, which begins when a crime is reported and ends after a suspect has been convicted or discharged by a court of law, is a mammoth task which requires cooperation between various stakeholders, such as investigators and prosecutors. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of the specialised commercial crime investigators in the prosecution process. The study evaluated and explored the status of the current roles played by these investigators with the intention of recommending changes that could improve investigator practice. Two research questions were posed. First, the researcher endeavoured to find answers to a question regarding what the prosecution process entails. Secondly, the researcher sought to establish the roles of the specialised commercial crime investigator in the prosecution process. It was envisaged that the answers to these questions could be obtained from specialised commercial crime investigators and prosecutors deployed in the commercial crimes courts. On this basis two samples were chosen, with nine investigators from the Gauteng North office of the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit and four prosecutors from the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Gauteng North. Some of the findings were that the investigators in trying to fulfil their roles of investigations have an adverse impact on the investigation and successful prosecution of offenders, which in turn lead to recidivism and apathy among the communities being served by the police and the justice system in general. The image of the police, particularly that of the commercial crime investigators, is often negated and the justice system is portrayed as a failure in addressing the problem of crime. The conclusions drawn from the data were that the roles of investigators in the prosecution process are mandatory as they are legislated rather that persuasive and that investigators cannot rely on prosecutors to handle all aspects of investigation once a case has been handed over to the prosecution. Apart from a lack of knowledge about these roles, it was established that some investigators deliberately ignore their roles in this relationship. It is proposed that dedicated training should be afforded to investigators and prosecutors above their existing training, with a focus on how to take part in the prosecution process. Investigators should be informed that their responsibilities in the prosecution process are a result of legislation and that failure to satisfy the legislation will carry adverse consequences for the investigation itself, the prosecution and the other stakeholders. / Criminal and Procedural Law / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigations)

Contexte et objectifs. Plusieurs études sur l’homicide ont été réalisées avec l’objectif d’épauler les policiers lors de leurs enquêtes. Le lien entre l’agresseur et la victime représente le principal déterminant des types de meurtres. L’utilité de ces études a toutefois été remise en question tant par les policiers que par la communauté scientifique. En combinant la perspective du script et l’approche dimensionnelle, le but du présent mémoire est d’améliorer les connaissances sur le processus de commission de l’homicide. Méthodologie. Différents scripts de l’homicide seront proposés afin de reconstituer le processus de commission du crime et de mieux comprendre les dynamiques expressives et instrumentales qui y sont rattachées. Les données utilisées dans le cadre de la recherche ont été recueillies auprès de 100 dossiers d’homicide de femmes et d’enfants répertoriés entre 1988 et 2011. Résultats. Les scripts permettent de dresser divers constats. Tout d’abord, lorsque la victime a subi d’importants sévices, le meurtrier est généralement un proche, indépendamment du motif initial de l’agresseur (p. ex. commettre un vol ou tout simplement tuer la victime). La sévérité des sévices dépend également de la présence d’armes sur les lieux du crime et du degré de résistance de la victime. Finalement, les scripts ont démontré que la nature de la relation entre la victime et l’agresseur influence le lieu où le meurtre prend place. Conclusion. Les résultats obtenus s’inscrivent dans une perspective différente en ce sens où, sans négliger la question de la personnalité, des variables contextuelles, hors du contrôle de l’agresseur, ont une incidence sur le niveau de sévices infligé à la victime. Le profile pourrait dès lors intégrer des aspects situationnels afin de pister les enquêteurs. / Context and objectives. Several studies were conducted to support criminal investigations (especially for homicide cases). The level of injuries is generally used to infer the relationship between the suspect and the victim. Such an approach has however been questioned by investigators and the scientific community. The present study combines the script perspective and a dimensional approach to offer a procedural analysis of the homicide process. Methodology. Data were collected from 100 homicide investigations that took place between 1988 and 2011. Scripts were developed to detail the crime commission process leading to expressive and instrumental homicides involving a female or a minor victim. Results. Results indicate that the level of injuries sustained by the victim must be considered in relation to other variables in order to infer its relationship with the suspect. First, when the victim has suffered significant injuries, the murderer is usually a relative, regardless of its initial motive (e.g. burglary or simply killing the victim). Second, the level of expressiveness depends on the presence of crime facilitators (the type of weapon) and the victim’s resistance to the aggressor. At last, high level of injuries are mainly observed when the killing takes place in a private place. Conclusion. The present results suggest that situational factors should – alongside personality variables - be integrated to profiles. Different levels of injuries are sometimes dependent upon contextual contingencies such as the presence of weapons on the crime scene and the victim’s resistance.

This study explores the utilisation of the identification parade as a technique for the identification of suspects. The intention of the study is to empower the investigators with knowledge they can use during their investigations. An identification parade is the most common police identification procedure. When conducted properly, it is considered more accurate than other methods. Crime in South Africa is a serious concern and it impacts negatively on many lives. The fear of crime, the loss of life and the socioeconomic impact of crime, etc., create the impression that the battle against crime has been lost. The limited knowledge among the police investigators contributes to making the reduction of crime more difficult to achieve. This study aims to develop good practice by recommending new ideas on how identification parades should be conducted with the view to enhancing the performance of police investigators. / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation))

A crescente complexidade de determinados crimes impõe aos órgãos estatais responsáveis pela persecução penal, notadamente a polícia investigativa e o Ministério Público, que busquem novas estratégias para o seu esclarecimento. Desse modo, a inovação técnica e tecnológica deve ser analisada como necessária à adequada investigação criminal. O presente trabalho, buscando equilíbrio entre garantismo e eficiência persecutória, propõe-se a estabelecer parâmetros jurídicos para que tal necessidade de inovação seja, ao mesmo tempo, praticável e razoavelmente limitada, sobretudo pelos direitos humanos e fundamentais. / The increasing complexity of certain crimes requires the state agencies responsible for criminal prosecution, notably investigative police and prosecutors, to seek new pursue strategies. Thus, the technical and technological innovation must be analyzed as necessarily required for proper criminal investigation. In the present work, seeking balance between fundamental law garanties and persecutory efficiency, it is proposed to establish legal parameters for such a need for innovation. At the same time, these parameters shall be feasible and, especially with regard to human and fundamental rights, fairly limited.

Over the years, innovations such as community-oriented policing, problem-oriented policing, and hot spots policing have enabled the police to make substantial crime control and reduction gains. However, empirical research has shown that police occasionally misuse these strategies in practice. One possible solution is the co-implementation of these strategies with crime analysis. Yet, little is known about this relationship in practice. Using national survey data collected by the Police Executive Research Forum in 2008 from a sample of over 1,000 United States police agencies this thesis explores this relationship. Results of bivariate analysis between agency commitment to and integration of crime analysis within operations and the use of innovative strategies revealed positive relationships. Additionally, bivariate analysis between agency use of accountability mechanisms and innovative strategies revealed a strong positive relationship. Multivariate regression analysis revealed the use of accountability mechanisms and commitment to crime analysis as strong positive predictors of police agency innovation. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2014. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Foram analisadas 80 amostras de casos forenses criminais do Laboratório de DNA do Instituto de Criminalística de São Paulo. O DNA foi extraído de materiais cadavéricos, vestígios de crimes sexuais e de locais de crimes. A quantificação se deu por PCR em tempo real e a amplificação por PCR, em 2 reações triplex, dos miniSTRs non-CODIS D10S1248, D14S1434 e D22S1045 (NCO01) e D1S1677, D2S441 e D4S2364 (NCO02), com posterior eletroforese capilar para detecção dos produtos fluorescentes. Avaliou-se o grau de conservação das amostras e a qualidade dos perfis genéticos obtidos. Houve concordância nas dificuldades entre diferentes amostras quando comparado com as abordagens tradicionais. Confirmou-se a sensibilidade e robustez dos sistemas utilizados, bem como a vantagem em se aumentar o número de regiões analisadas, principalmente em casos complexos, mas foram constatadas desvantagens de procedimentos tipo in-house. É necessário o estudo das frequências alélicas destes loci para a população brasileira, que possam ser incorporadas nos cálculos estatísticos dos laudos. / 80 forensic casework samples from the DNA Laboratory of the Criminalistics Institute of São Paulo were analyzed. DNA was extracted from corpse, sexual assault and crime scene evidence. The extractions were quantified using real-time PCR, amplified by two triplex PCR reactions of the non-CODIS miniSTRs D10S1248, D14S1434, D22S1045 (NC01) and D1S1677, D2S441, D4S2364 (NC02), followed by capillary electrophoresis to detect the fluorescent products. The sample preservation and quality of the genetic profiles obtained were evaluated. The results were compared to the previous obtained with the routine techniques employed in the laboratory and there was concordance in the relative difficulties. The sensibility and robustness of the systems employed were confirmed, as well as the advantages in increasing the number of loci studied, mainly in complex cases, although the in-house procedures were considered a disadvantage. The establishment of brazilian population allele frequencies for these loci is necessary for the statistical calculations of the forensic reports.

Contexte et objectifs. Plusieurs études sur l’homicide ont été réalisées avec l’objectif d’épauler les policiers lors de leurs enquêtes. Le lien entre l’agresseur et la victime représente le principal déterminant des types de meurtres. L’utilité de ces études a toutefois été remise en question tant par les policiers que par la communauté scientifique. En combinant la perspective du script et l’approche dimensionnelle, le but du présent mémoire est d’améliorer les connaissances sur le processus de commission de l’homicide. Méthodologie. Différents scripts de l’homicide seront proposés afin de reconstituer le processus de commission du crime et de mieux comprendre les dynamiques expressives et instrumentales qui y sont rattachées. Les données utilisées dans le cadre de la recherche ont été recueillies auprès de 100 dossiers d’homicide de femmes et d’enfants répertoriés entre 1988 et 2011. Résultats. Les scripts permettent de dresser divers constats. Tout d’abord, lorsque la victime a subi d’importants sévices, le meurtrier est généralement un proche, indépendamment du motif initial de l’agresseur (p. ex. commettre un vol ou tout simplement tuer la victime). La sévérité des sévices dépend également de la présence d’armes sur les lieux du crime et du degré de résistance de la victime. Finalement, les scripts ont démontré que la nature de la relation entre la victime et l’agresseur influence le lieu où le meurtre prend place. Conclusion. Les résultats obtenus s’inscrivent dans une perspective différente en ce sens où, sans négliger la question de la personnalité, des variables contextuelles, hors du contrôle de l’agresseur, ont une incidence sur le niveau de sévices infligé à la victime. Le profile pourrait dès lors intégrer des aspects situationnels afin de pister les enquêteurs. / Context and objectives. Several studies were conducted to support criminal investigations (especially for homicide cases). The level of injuries is generally used to infer the relationship between the suspect and the victim. Such an approach has however been questioned by investigators and the scientific community. The present study combines the script perspective and a dimensional approach to offer a procedural analysis of the homicide process. Methodology. Data were collected from 100 homicide investigations that took place between 1988 and 2011. Scripts were developed to detail the crime commission process leading to expressive and instrumental homicides involving a female or a minor victim. Results. Results indicate that the level of injuries sustained by the victim must be considered in relation to other variables in order to infer its relationship with the suspect. First, when the victim has suffered significant injuries, the murderer is usually a relative, regardless of its initial motive (e.g. burglary or simply killing the victim). Second, the level of expressiveness depends on the presence of crime facilitators (the type of weapon) and the victim’s resistance to the aggressor. At last, high level of injuries are mainly observed when the killing takes place in a private place. Conclusion. The present results suggest that situational factors should – alongside personality variables - be integrated to profiles. Different levels of injuries are sometimes dependent upon contextual contingencies such as the presence of weapons on the crime scene and the victim’s resistance.