In this research, the first report statement is evaluated, in order to establish whether the information contained in the first report statement is considered during rape investigations. The researcher explored how investigators and public prosecutors utilise the first report statements in order to ensure an effective criminal justice system. The researcher made use of (a) an empirical design, because of the limited information available on the research topic, and (b) a qualitative research approach – which enabled real-life observations. Simple random sampling was used to select 28 investigators of rape and sexual offence related cases, four (4) prosecutors attached to sexual offences courts, and one (1) advocate from Gauteng North High Court. Data was obtained through interviews, a literature study, and case docket analysis. / Police Practice / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigations)

The research attempts to review the significance of personal description in the investigation of armed robbery cases in the Paarl policing cluster and to explore the value of identifying armed robbery suspects. The purposes of conducting this research were to evaluate the existing procedures that investigators use regarding personal description of armed robbery suspects with the intention of determining its strengths and weaknesses as well as by looking at how this procedure can be improved. Also, this research explored how investigators utilised the personal description as a technique in identifying the armed robbery suspects internationally, thereby establishing the best practices. Moreover, to recommend new procedures in obtaining a personal description of armed robbery suspects. Furthermore, to empower the South African investigators and other investigators in terms of how personal description can be recorded accurately in the case dockets and be effectively used in tracing the suspects of armed robbery cases. / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminal Justice)

The problem that was identified is that physical surveillance is not generally used by general detectives in the South African Police Service as a technique during their investigations. According to the researcher’s experience, this can be due to lack of understanding or experience or may stem from ignorance. A lack of training on the use of physical surveillance as a method to obtain information for the investigation process was also identified as a problem. This study therefore investigated the role and use of physical surveillance within the forensic investigation process. The focus of the research was on basic static (stationary), foot and vehicle surveillance as these types of surveillance are usually conducted in conjunction with each other. An empirical research design was used to conduct the research. A qualitative research approach enabled the researcher to obtain first-hand information from interviews with general detectives. Information was also obtained from a thorough literature study and from the researcher’s own experience on the topic. To conduct effective investigation, it is important for investigators to be familiar with the concept of physical surveillance, its elements, its influence and its values. A physical surveillance operation is a forensic tool used to gather evidence, to recover stolen property, and to identify and arrest the perpetrator. The use of physical surveillance during investigations serves the purpose of gathering evidence and information that can be used as intelligence. Successful forensic investigation requires skill and places extraordinary demands on detectives to utilise all available methods and techniques. The recognition of the use of physical surveillance as a method of evidence gathering is of outmost importance. The research has revealed that general detectives do not acknowledge the importance of physical surveillance as a method to obtain information for the investigation process. It is of vital importance that all detectives be properly trained with the necessary knowledge and skills to make use of this valuable investigative tool. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

It was the objective of this research to determine how physical surveillance can be utilised in combating robberies, to find out whether city police utilise physical surveillance as an investigation tool in combating robberies, as well as to assess the value of such surveillance in criminal investigations. To achieve such aims and objectives, the researcher has collected data from interviews with participants, published books, internet sources, journals, newspapers, previous researches and crime statistics. The researcher interviewed the crime suppression officers from WCPS who are dealing with investigations and physical surveillance operations, by using a semi-structured-interviews. The researcher has also employed a qualitative approach and collected a sample by using a simple random sampling method. The study has indeed determined that crime suppression members and investigators are ignoring the use of physical surveillance when robberies have been committed. The research has also revealed that the officers also lack the necessary training and expertise on how to employ surveillance during their investigation and recommendation are made at the end of the research, for such training to be offered to them regularly. / Criminology and Security Science / M.A. (Criminal Justice)

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / In the last few decades, forensic science has played a significant role in bringing criminals to justice. Shoe and tire track impressions found at the crime scene are important pieces of evidence since the marks and cracks on them can be uniquely tied to a person or vehicle respectively. We have designed a device that can generate a highly accurate 3-Dimensional (3D) map of an impression without disturbing the evidence. The device uses lasers to detect the changes in depth and hence it is crucial to accurately detect the position of the laser. Typically, the forensic applications require very high resolution images in order to be useful in prosecutions of criminals. Limitations of the hardware technology have led to the use of signal and image processing methods to achieve high resolution images. Super Resolution is the process of generating higher resolution images from multiple low resolution images using knowledge about the motion and the properties of the imaging geometry. This thesis presents methods for developing some of the image processing components of the 3D impression scanning device. In particular, the thesis describes the following two components: (i) methods to detect the laser stripes projected onto the impression surface in order to calculate the deformations of the laser stripes due to 3D surface shape being scanned, and (ii) methods to improve the resolution of the digitized color image of the impression by utilizing multiple overlapping low resolution images captured during the scanning process and super resolution techniques.

This dissertation consists of five chapters, each of which focuses on various aspects of the forensic discipline of Firearms and Toolmarks. This dissertation for the most part attempts to highlight the exposure of projectiles to blood and the degradation over time of the fine detail, which is necessary for microscopic examination. This study should be of interest to students and qualified role-players in forensic science, the criminal justice system, the law community and the general population globally. Chapter 1 identifies the research problem and the necessary steps that were taken to ensure that the research methodol.ogy applied is relevant and reliable. Chapter 2 focuses on various factors that have to be considered in damage to bullets and investigation procedures that should be followed to ensure that physical evidence is preserved for submitting to a forensic science laboratory. Chapter 3 investigates the degradation effects of fired bullets exposed to various materials in a laboratory environment and the timelines associated with the degradation effects. Chapter 4 evaluates the examination procedures for fired bullets and the contributing factors that may influence the striation marks on bullets needed for microscopic examination. It also examines the scientific method used for firearm identification, and explores the admissibility of physical evidence in a court of law. The final chapter, Chapter 5 discusses the findings and recommendation of this research study. / Criminology / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

D.Phil.

A imprescindibilidade da atuação do magistrado na fase preliminar da persecução penal como garantidor dos direitos fundamentais do investigado é inegável. A consecução desse mister acarreta, porém, o comprometimento da imparcialidade objetiva do juiz para o julgamento do mérito. A atribuição das funções de atuar na fase de investigação preliminar e durante o processo a julgadores distintos foi o caminho que muitos ordenamentos trilharam para lidar com essa problemática. A mesma solução foi adotada pelo Projeto de Código de Processo Penal brasileiro PLS nº 156/2009, ao prever a figura do juiz das garantias, responsável pelo controle da legalidade da investigação criminal e pela salvaguarda dos direitos individuais. Essa figura, consentânea ao principio acusatório consagrado pela Constituição Federal de 1988, assegura a imparcialidade de forma muito mais efetiva, preservando o distanciamento do julgador dos elementos colhidos durante a investigação criminal. / The indispensability of the judges involvement in the preliminary stage of criminal prosecution as a guarantor of the inquired person fundamentals rights is undeniable. However, this intervention compromises the impartiality of the judge on the judgment of the merits. The allocation of duties to act to different judges in the preliminary investigation phase and during the case was the way that many law systems have fallowed to handle this problem. The same solution was adopted by the Bill of the Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure PLS nº 156/2009. The Bill provides the figure of the guarantee judge, which controls the legality of the criminal investigation and ensures the protection of individual rights. The guarantee judde, in accordance to the accusatory principle settleed in the Federal Constitution, assures a more effective impartiality preserving the distance of the judge from elements collected during criminal investigation.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:24:17Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Emerson Ghirardelli Coelho.pdf: 985442 bytes, checksum: bc78b1b02933b3fc45c09c87d3b5cbfa (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-03-07 / The crisis affecting the Brazilian criminal justice system is often attributed to the inefficiency of the Judiciary Police and the ineffectiveness of the police investigation as a means of investigation of criminal acts. However, the problem takes another relevance when we analyze the criminal investigation in depth in accordance with the democratic principles and constitutional values. We pass, then, to realize that the shortcomings of the investigation procedures are not structural in nature but rather due to interpretive paradigms built under the aegis of political exception regimes. This reveals the need to put in place a contemporary criminal procedure hermeneutics, in which proper criminal investigation, constitutional and legally produced, is regarded as fundamental rights protection instrument, unfolding as real tool for promoting human dignity. Grounded on these assumptions should follow the doctrinal and jurisprudential construction and legislative reforms aiming to improve the extra-judicial phase of the criminal prosecution, consolidating the police investigation as true procedural criminal procedure of a garantista nature, aimed at achieving the constitutional ideal of due process, a principle of the Democratic State of Law / A crise que acomete o sistema de Justiça Criminal brasileiro muitas vezes é imputada à ineficiência da Polícia Judiciária e à ineficácia do inquérito policial como meio de apuração de fatos delituosos. Contudo, a problemática toma outro relevo quando analisamos a fundo a investigação criminal à luz dos princípios e valores constitucionais democráticos. Passamos, então, a perceber que as deficiências do procedimento investigatório não são de cunho estrutural, mas sim decorrentes de paradigmas interpretativos edificados sob a égide de regimes políticos de exceção. Isso nos revela a necessidade de colocar em prática uma hermenêutica processual penal contemporânea, em que a devida investigação criminal, constitucional e legalmente produzida, seja encarada como instrumento de proteção de direitos fundamentais, desvelando-se como verdadeira ferramenta de promoção da dignidade humana. Alicerçadas nessas premissas devem seguir as construções doutrinárias e jurisprudenciais e as reformas legislativas que visem aprimorar a fase extrajudicial da persecução criminal, consolidando o inquérito policial como verdadeiro procedimento processual penal de cunho garantista, voltado a concretizar o ideal constitucional de processo justo, princípio este basilar do Estado Democrático de Direito

A imprescindibilidade da atuação do magistrado na fase preliminar da persecução penal como garantidor dos direitos fundamentais do investigado é inegável. A consecução desse mister acarreta, porém, o comprometimento da imparcialidade objetiva do juiz para o julgamento do mérito. A atribuição das funções de atuar na fase de investigação preliminar e durante o processo a julgadores distintos foi o caminho que muitos ordenamentos trilharam para lidar com essa problemática. A mesma solução foi adotada pelo Projeto de Código de Processo Penal brasileiro PLS nº 156/2009, ao prever a figura do juiz das garantias, responsável pelo controle da legalidade da investigação criminal e pela salvaguarda dos direitos individuais. Essa figura, consentânea ao principio acusatório consagrado pela Constituição Federal de 1988, assegura a imparcialidade de forma muito mais efetiva, preservando o distanciamento do julgador dos elementos colhidos durante a investigação criminal. / The indispensability of the judges involvement in the preliminary stage of criminal prosecution as a guarantor of the inquired person fundamentals rights is undeniable. However, this intervention compromises the impartiality of the judge on the judgment of the merits. The allocation of duties to act to different judges in the preliminary investigation phase and during the case was the way that many law systems have fallowed to handle this problem. The same solution was adopted by the Bill of the Brazilian Code of Criminal Procedure PLS nº 156/2009. The Bill provides the figure of the guarantee judge, which controls the legality of the criminal investigation and ensures the protection of individual rights. The guarantee judde, in accordance to the accusatory principle settleed in the Federal Constitution, assures a more effective impartiality preserving the distance of the judge from elements collected during criminal investigation.