The researcher attempts to establish the significance of video evidence analysis in the investigation of murder cases against the police. The evidence obtained could be crucial and admissible in court and ultimately resulted in the successful prosecution of an accused person. In order for investigators to conduct an effective investigation, it is important that they become familiar with the application of video evidence, its purpose, benefits and shortfalls. In order to achieve the intended goals and objectives of video evidence, the investigators should know how to collect, package, process and analyse video evidence. The clarification and processing of the crime scene of video evidence as well as the identification of a suspect at the scene of crime is very much important and without video evidence it would be difficult to convict an accused person in a court of law. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Rape is a serious crime and is a huge problem in Ethiopia. It has a devastating effect on the victim and society as a whole. The Ethiopian news is peppered with reports of this crime. Anorganized and sophisticated way in which the perpetrators of rape can be identified is by the use of modus operandi information. The aim of this research is to evaluate how modus operandi can be used as a perpetrator identification technique in the investigation of rape cases in the Gulele policing area. For any investigation to be successful, the investigator must have the objectives of crime investigation in mind. In the investigation of crime, the collection of evidence is important and there are two basic important principles, namely Locard’s principle and the chain of custody that investigator must comply with. These will ensure that evidence is admissible during a trial. Evidence is found on a crime scene. In rape cases, the body of the perpetrator and the victim can be seen as the crime scene. For evidence to be applicable to the investigation, it must first be identified and then individualised. It is important for investigators to be familiar with the concept of modus operandi, and the influencing factors. The purpose of this research is to provide practical recommendations on the best practices for the use of modus operandi. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The main purpose of this research is to assess the utilisation of the Local Criminal Record Centre (LCRC) in rape crime scenes. First responders need to attend to the crime scene and secure it as soon as possible. Other role-players such as the Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences (FCS) investigator and LCRC fieldworkers should be activated by the first responder to the rape crime scene. Ideally, role-players should be activated as soon as the case is reported to the first responder. Members of the LCRC are responsible for recording the crime scene by taking photographs, making video recordings and drawing sketch plans of the scene. The LCRC is also responsible for processing the rape scene for physical evidence such as fingerprints, blood, hair, semen and saliva. The crime scene is a major source of information as far as physical evidence is concerned. The body of the victim is also a major source of physical evidence. It is therefore essential to have the rape victim examined by a medical examiner and the crime scene to be processed by the LCRC fieldworker timeously, in order to secure physical evidence that could be used to individualise a suspect. The discovery of physical evidence could place the suspect on the scene of crime and link such suspect to the crime committed. The physical evidence could also assist in corroborating the version of events from the victim. The physical evidence could also be used to exclude suspects as well. This dissertation seeks to highlight the importance of having the LCRC processing rape crime scenes for physical evidence and to emphasise the responsibility of the first responders to activate LCRC fieldworkers to process the scene of incident timeously, in order to maximise physical evidence recovery. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The use of technology and science in the investigation of crime plays a major role in the resolution of complicated cases that cannot be solved by means of other available evidence during the prosecution of rape cases. The study details the importance of semen in investigation of rape cases and emphasizes that semen discovered during the investigation must be analysed in all cases of rape and used as evidence in court. The use of semen as evidence in the investigation of rape cases is a modern intervention aimed at producing evidence that is reliable and relevant. / Criminology and Security Science / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

The research is concerned with how the post-mortem report can be used as a source of information in the investigation of murder cases to identify crime, individual crimes and trace suspects, etc. The understanding of the post-mortem report, and the information which can be obtained from it, will assist the police investigators to handle murder cases in a professional way. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the existing manner in which police investigators use post-mortem reports in their investigations, with the intention of determining its strengths and weaknesses, and considering how the usage can be improved. Secondly, the researcher wanted to explore how investigators use postmortem reports as a source of information in their investigations. To accomplish this, the researcher perused international and national literature in an attempt to explore the field. The researcher wanted to apply the new research knowledge in order to develop good practice in the field. This has been done by recommending new procedures to enhance performance and to improve the conviction rate in court cases. / Police Practice / M.Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Crime in South Africa is very close to getting out of control. There is a dramatic increase especially in violent crimes such as murder, hijacking, business robberies, house robberies, rapes and armed robberies where innocent people get killed daily. This has the public shivering in fear. The South African Police Service are responsible for the prevention and investigation of all crimes committed. The Detective Service has the unpleasant task of hunting down the criminals that are responsible for committing these crimes. When a crime is committed and a suspect is arrested, the detectives must use all techniques and methods available to them to connect the suspect with the crime. The positive linkage of a suspect with a crime can lead to a conviction in court and one less criminal on the streets of South Africa. One technique that can be used is pointing out of a crime scene. This research is all about the pointing out of crime scenes. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Democratic and accountable policing is one of the hallmarks of democracy. In a healthy democracy, a police service exists to protect and support the rights of its community by successfully listening to those who are laying complaints and resolving to assist them by bringing the perpetrators to the grinding wheels of justice. Encouraging and ensuring that police officials utilise the most modern means of investigation such as the DNA technology, provides the necessary balance to the exercise of professional discretion and heightened conviction rate by the police officials. The utilisation of biological evidence in investigation of rape cases is such a modern intervention – a way of providing insulation against internal and external interference with the proper and successful investigation of rape cases. / Forensic Investigation / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Serious and violent crime in South Africa (SA) has been on the rise in the last few years. The SAPS has been stretched to the maximum in its efforts of trying to stabilise the situation, and has applied various tactics and strategies to eradicate crime. This included, among other things, changes to the basic training programme and reintroduction of specialised units. The success or failure of any criminal investigation will still often depend on the detection and analysis of physical evidence found on the crime scene. Crimes such as rape will always leave behind physical evidence in the form of body-fluids. The detectives need not be experts in order to detect or analyse this physical evidence, but should be experienced enough to know which experts or investigative aids must be used to ensure maximum recovery of the evidence. The purpose of this study was to determine how the Biological Body-fluid Dog (BBFD) can assist detectives in the investigation of rape cases. The researcher has chosen a unique investigative aid in the form of man’s best friend, namely “The Police K9” (canine). The literature shows that trained police dogs have achieved outstanding success in numerous fields around the world, i.e. from narcotic busts, detection of explosives, to countering terrorist threats, to the most chilling search-and-rescue operations. The SAPS has sent its search-and-rescue dogs to many countries abroad to assist in natural disasters. Dogs have been trained by various police agencies for various purposes, but the BBFD dog is unique to the SAPS, and is trained to detect only human blood and semen. The use of K9s in the complex forensic science environment can never be doubted or overlooked. The main problem facing the Booysens SAPS was the low arrest and conviction rate in rape cases, due to a lack of evidence. The researcher hopes to broaden the detectives’ knowledge and skills regarding the objectives of crime investigation, with special focus on detection of physical evidence at rape crime scenes. The BBFD dog is trained to detect minute amounts of body fluid on any type or size of surface, including veld, bush areas, vehicles, carpets, grass, bedrooms, etc. / Police Practice / M.A. (Criminal Justice)

Crime in South Africa is very close to getting out of control. There is a dramatic increase especially in violent crimes such as murder, hijacking, business robberies, house robberies, rapes and armed robberies where innocent people get killed daily. This has the public shivering in fear. The South African Police Service are responsible for the prevention and investigation of all crimes committed. The Detective Service has the unpleasant task of hunting down the criminals that are responsible for committing these crimes. When a crime is committed and a suspect is arrested, the detectives must use all techniques and methods available to them to connect the suspect with the crime. The positive linkage of a suspect with a crime can lead to a conviction in court and one less criminal on the streets of South Africa. One technique that can be used is pointing out of a crime scene. This research is all about the pointing out of crime scenes. / Police Practice / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)

Democratic and accountable policing is one of the hallmarks of democracy. In a healthy democracy, a police service exists to protect and support the rights of its community by successfully listening to those who are laying complaints and resolving to assist them by bringing the perpetrators to the grinding wheels of justice. Encouraging and ensuring that police officials utilise the most modern means of investigation such as the DNA technology, provides the necessary balance to the exercise of professional discretion and heightened conviction rate by the police officials. The utilisation of biological evidence in investigation of rape cases is such a modern intervention – a way of providing insulation against internal and external interference with the proper and successful investigation of rape cases. / Forensic Investigation / M. Tech. (Forensic Investigation)