CDI 3 – Specialized Crime Investigation 2 with Simulation on Interrogation and Interview

MODULE 7: INTRODUCTION: GUIDE TO CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION Page 1 of 9

LESSON PROPER

CONTINUATION ON BASIC IN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, AND GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF

INVESTIGATION
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
a. Richard Bandler and John Grinder recognized that communication could be enhanced if the words and
actions of the interviewer and interviewee were similar. thus, if the interviewer could "mirror the words and
actions of the witness or suspect, rapport would be more easily established.
b. Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) embraces three simple concepts.

• First, neuro comes from the idea that behavior originates from neurological processes
involving the five senses seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and feeling. It is through these
senses that we experience life.

• Then we communicate our life experiences through language, the linguistic element.

• Programming- refers to how we organize our ideas and actions to produce results.
c. An interviewer/interrogator who understands these concepts and can get in "sync" with the witness or
suspect by mirroring or matching mannerisms, actions and words can make communication barriers
disappear, foster trust and create the flow of desired information
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INTERVIEWING: PROCESSES AND TECHNIQUES

• Regardless of the time, place, or setting of the or interview, or ultimately the type of witness
or victim interview, there exists some standardization in technique.

➢ An interview has a beginning, a middle its main segment and an end.

• The cognitive interview technique was developed in the hope of improving the
completeness and accuracy of eyewitness accounts while avoiding some of the legal
pitfalls that surround the use of hypnosis.

➢ The first step is to ask the witness to reconstruct the general circumstances
surrounding the incident.

➢ Second the investigator asks the witness to report everything remembered about the
incident and all surrounding circumstances.

➢ Step three is to have the witness recall the events in a different order.

➢ The fourth technique is to have the witness change perspectives.

PRE -INTERROGATION LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

The Supreme Court, in a five to four decision, spelled out the requirements and procedures to be
followed by officers when conducting an in-custody interrogation of a suspect.

• The right to remain silent.

• The right to be told that anything said can and will be used in court.

• The right to consult with an attorney prior to answering any questions and the right to have
an attorney present during interrogation.

• The right to counsel. If the suspect cannot afford an attorney, the court will appoint one

Why People Confess

• First, there are those guilty parties psychologically need to “get it off their chest."

• The second category comprises those who are not guilty but who act under some urge to
confess.
INTERROGATION: PROCESSES AND TECHNIQUES

• Effective interrogators, like interviewers, must be skilled in psychology, persuasiveness, and

acting. Good interrogators must also be good seducers; they must be able to make others do what
they want them to do.
BEGINNING THE INTERROGATION

1. Just as in interviewing, it is important to establish rapport with the person to be questioned. And just
as in interviewing, neuro-linguistic programming techniques can help.
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2. Composing and Asking Question: General Principles

There are certain basic rules an interrogator should keep in mind when composing and asking questions.
For example:

➢ Questions should not be complex.

➢ Questions should be short, direct and confined to one topic.

3. Recognizing and Coping with Deception

Deception is not always easy to detect, but, in general, there are both verbal and nonverbal cues
that can be examined to determine whether a suspect is telling the truth or is being deceptive.

• Verbal Signals. Verbal signals are generally easier for a deceptive subject to control than
nonverbal signals.

• Nonverbal Signals: Body Language. There are generally far more nonverbal signals and
behavior than there is verbal.

4. Statement Analysis
The investigator should carefully review a verbatim transcript of the suspect's statement to analyze
the information.

INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES AND APPROACHES

• Approaches and questions differ with the type of suspect being questioned.
1. Logical approach- is based on common sense and sound reasoning.
2. Emotional approach appeals to the suspect's sense of honor, morals, righteousness, fair play,
justice, family pride, religion, decency and restitution.
3. Sympathetic approach- gives the suspect a way out of a predicament can often be successful
and because the suspect is offered the opportunity to save face, confessions are sometimes
forthcoming.
4. When a suspect's guilt is uncertain, the interrogator should begin with an indirect approach,
assuming that the interrogator already possesses all necessary facts.
5. The"Mutt-and-Jeff," or good-guy/bad-guy, approach to interrogation works in some cases.
6. Playing one person against the other sometimes works when there are at least two suspects,
both of whom swear they are telling the truth during separate interrogations.
THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING

✓ Regardless of the amount of their preparation and experience investigators or interrogators can
conduct a fully successful interview only if they are good listeners.

✓ Listening is as valuable in interview and interrogation as is questioning.

✓ To be effective, one must be an active listener too. It has been estimated that 65 percent of
communication is nonverbal.
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DOCUMENTATION

1. DOCUMENTING THE INTERVIEW

• The majority of routine cases involving interviews, handwritten notes made by the investigator
during and immediately following the interview generally serve as sufficient documentation.

• Note taking during the interview raises two primary concerns for the interviewer.
1. First, it may occasionally be distracting or suspicious to a witness; witnesses may be reluctant
to give information knowing that it is being documented.
2. Second, the interviewer should avoid becoming preoccupied with taking notes, for it creates
the appearance of inattentiveness.

• The best form of documentation is a sound recording or a sound and visual recording of the
interview.

2. DOCUMENTING THE INTERROGATION

• Documenting an interrogation consists of three main phases: Note taking, Recording, and
Obtaining Written Statements
AII three of these phases are geared to accomplishing two basic functions.
1. To retain information for the benefit of the interrogator and the continued investigation.
2. To secure a written statement or confession from the accused for later use as evidence in
court.

• The three most widely accepted methods of keeping notes during an interrogation are:

• Mental Notes, Written notes, and Notes taken by a third party.

• Police use of audio-video technology to document interrogations became widespread in the 1990s.

ADMISSIBILITY OF CONFESSION AND ADMISSION

• Judicial admissions
An admission, verbal or written, made by the party in the course of the proceedings in the same
case, does not require proof. The admission may be contradicted only by showing that it was made
through palpable mistake or that no such admission was made.

• Prior to 1936 the only test for the validity and admissibility of a confession or admission was its
voluntariness.

• The Free-and-Voluntary Rule. The first notable into incidence of Supreme Court intervention into
interrogation practices came about in Brown vs. Mississippi. In this 1936 case, the Supreme court
held that under no circumstances could a confession be considered freely and voluntarily.

GENERAL PRINCIPLE IN INVESTIGATION

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Investigation is the collection of facts to accomplish a three-fold aim:

• To identify the suspect;

• To locate the suspect; and

• To provide evidence of his guilt.

In the performance of his duties, the investigator must seek to establish the six (6) cardinal points of
investigation, namely:

• What specific offense has been committed;

• How the offense was committed,

• Who committed it;

• Where the offense was committed;

• When it was committed; and

• Why it was committed.

PROTOCOLS IN INVESTIGATION

• Jurisdictional Investigation by the Territorial Unit concerned the Police Station, which has territorial
jurisdiction of the area where the crime incident was committed, shall immediately undertake the
necessary investigation and processing of the crime scene, unless otherwise directed by higher
authorities for a certain case to be investigated by another units/agency.

INVESTIGATION TEAM: ORGANIZATION AND EQUIPMENT

SCENE OF CRIME OPERATION (SOCO): is a forensic procedure performed by trained personnel of the
PNP Crime Laboratory through scientific methods of investigation for the purpose of preserving the crime
scene, gathering information, documentation, collection, and examination of all physical evidence.

• All investigators in any police unit must be a graduate of prescribed investigation course with a
rank of at least PO2 (pre-requisite to assignment)
Composition:

• Team Leader

• Photographer

• Composite Illustrator/Artist or Sketcher

• Evidence Log Recorder/Custodian

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• Evidence collector

• Driver/Security;

• Forensic Specialist

TYPES OF SEARCHES USED BY THE CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR

1. Quadrant or Zone search method - In this method, one searcher is assigned to a quadrant,
then each quadrant is cut into another set of quadrants.

2. Strip or Line search method - In this method, the area is blocked out in the form of a
rectangle. The searcher proceeds slowly at the same pace along path parallel to one side of
the rectangle. When a piece of evidence is found, the finder announces his discovery, and the
search must stop until the evidence has been cared of. A photographer is called, if necessary.
The evidence is collectedand tagged and the search proceeds at a given signal. At the end of
the rectangle, the searcherturns and proceeds along new lanes as shown in the above
illustration.

3. Spiral search method- In this method, the searchers follow each other along the path of a spiral,
beginning on the outside and spiraling in toward the center.
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4. Grid or double strip search method - The grid or double strip method of search is a modification of
strip search method. Here, the rectangle is traverse first parallel to the base then parallel to the
side. This is ideal for Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) Operation.

5. Wheel search method - In this method of search, the area is approximately circular. The searchers
gather at the center and proceed outward along radii or spokes. The procedure should be repeated
several times depending on the size of the circle and the number of searchers. One shortcoming of
this method is the great increase in the area to be observed as the searcher departs from the
center. Another is the possibility of evidence contamination or destruction with the likelihood that
the searchers will step on them as they converge at the center.

SOCO EQUIPMENTS AND OTHER LOGISTICAL SUPPORT

1.SOCO Team Element’s Uniform – The individual elements uniform shall be constituted by the
following:
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1.1 SOCO Uniform _ It shall be the (PNP - Uniform and Equipment Standardization Board) UESB
approved uniform.
1.2 Personal Equipment Rig
1.3 Firearm
1.4 UV Blacklight/ 3 ALS/Polylite
1.5 Hand Gloves/shoe covers
1.6 Poncho (Raincoat with reflector)
2. Team Equipment - The SOCO Van must contain the following basic equipments
2.1 Search Light
2.2 Medical Litter - This shall be utilized by the SOCO Team in moving the injured from the crime
scene to the vehicle that would transport it to the nearest hospital in the absence of first aid
responders.

2.3 Medical First Aid Kit – This shall be standardized equipment as part of the SOCO capability to
respond to medical emergencies.

2.4 Radio Communication Equipment -This shall be the standard issued communication
equipment to afford communication between the SOCO Team and the Crime Laboratory
Office.

2.5 SOCO Kit

2.6 PBI Kit

2.7 One (1) Long Firearm -The SOCO Van shall have one (1) long firearm with one (1)
corresponding basic ammunition load as team defense equipment to be handled by the
security personnel

PROCESS OF CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION

1. Upon the Arrival at the Crime Scene

• A crime scene investigation begins well before the CSI enters a structure. Usually the radio
dispatch message is brief and seldom reveals the full nature of the incident. As the CSI turns onto
the street in question, his first obligation is to "turn on" his powers of observation. He may make a
mental note of what he sees, hears and smells-or better still-records them on a digital voice
recorder.

2. Secure and Protect the Scene

• Before even stepping inside the structure, ingress and egress to it must be controlled. The crime
scene investigator will establish the boundaries of the scene.

3. Initiate Preliminary Survey

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• The crime scene investigator before entering the structure an exterior survey is needed.

• Once indoors, the CSI will make a visual survey of the actual room which the incident reported took
place. This is a good time to also take overall photos of the scene.

• During this entire survey period, the crime scene investigator is taking notes and/or recordings of
his sensory observations.

4. Evaluate Physical Evidence Possibilities

• The very nature of what appears to be obvious should trigger the thought-processes of the Crime
Scene Investigator. What happened here, when did it happen and what sort of evidence should be
present?

5. Conduct a Detailed Search

• Go over every square inch of the scene in an attempt to locate even the smallest particle of
evidence.

6. Record and Collect Physical Evidence

• As potential evidence is located it should be recorded on the crime scene sketch as well as in
photographs.

• Crime scene evidence is useless unless it is properly marked and packaged and a Chain of
Custody is begun from the time it is picked up. Use the proper type of containers for all evidence
collected.

• The digital age takes note of electronic devices such as computers and cell phones. This type of
evidence requires special handling and only experts trained in working with digital items should be
permitted to handle and collect these items.

7. Conduct a Final Survey

• Be certain that every package containing physical evidence is collected leaving nothing behind.
Make a final walk-through to be certain that all potential evidence is bagged and tagged.

8. Release the Crime Scene

• While it is normal for others having an interest in the property to want to regain access, the CSI
should not be rushed, coaxed or bullied into releasing the scene until the job is done.