A straightforward, engaging, and relevant analytical examination of the criminal investigation process and the
role of evidence in this process, this text provides a substantial and necessary foundation on which students can
base an understanding of the criminal investigation process.
Criminal Investigation is based on the fundamental premise that an understanding of criminal evidence is the foundation
upon which all other knowledge of criminal investigation should be built. Other texts focus primarily on the techniques
of evidence collection but in so doing, they miss other very important material -- namely, the value of evidence
in establishing proof -- that may only be covered in college-level criminal investigation courses. Criminal Investigation
examines the problems, strengths, and weaknesses of various forms of evidence, and explains why proper evidence
collection procedures are important. An understanding of these issues requires thorough analysis of them. It
is in these ways that Criminal Investigation provides an analytical perspective.
New To This Edition
The second edition of Criminal Investigation is completely updated in terms of investigative case examples,
legal court cases, published research, and statistical information. The text offers timely, up-to-date, information
on which to base an understanding of criminal investigation.
Includes several new or re-organized sections to cover hot topics (e.g., federal law enforcement and the Department
of Homeland Security Ch. 1, reactive and proactive investigative strategies Ch. 3, behavioral evidence Ch. 9, and
implications of the USA Patriot Act Ch. 14).
Offers significantly expanded discussions of critical material (e.g., the value of DNA evidence and the role
of crime labs in criminal investigations Ch. 6, the value of videotaping interrogations Ch. 8, psycholinguistics
Ch. 9, Violent Criminal Apprehension Program Ch. 10).
Table of Contents
1. The Investigation of Crime.
Criminal Investigation and Evidence Defined.
Types of Criminal Investigations.
Information Theory and the Criminal Investigation Process.
The Role of Chance, Accident, and Discovery in Criminal Investigations.
The Role of Logic, Analysis, and Inference in Criminal Investigations.
Criminal Investigation in the Context of the Criminal Justice System.
Levels of Investigations.
2. The History of Criminal Investigation.
The Importance of History in Understanding the Present and Future.
The Evolution of the Investigative Task: English Developments.
The Evolution of the Investigative Task: American Developments.
What Comes Next?
3. The Structure and Content of Criminal Investigations.
Forms of Police Action.
Stages of the Reactive Criminal Investigation Process.
Other Reactive Investigative Strategies.
Outcomes of Reactive Investigations.
Undercover Investigations.
Outcomes of Undercover Investigations.
Other Proactive Strategies.
Outcomes of Other Proactive Strategies.
4. The Role of Evidence in Criminal Investigations.
The Meaning of Criminal Evidence.
Standards of Proof.
Types of Evidence.
The Functions of Evidence.
5. The Law and Criminal Investigations.
Important U.S. Supreme Court Cases.
Basic Legal Terminology.
The Rules and Admissibility of Evidence.
Constitutional Constraints on the Collection of Evidence.
6. Physical Evidence.
The Role of Physical Evidence in the Criminal Investigation Process.
The Role of Physical Evidence in the Criminal Justice Process.
The Crime Scene and Associated Procedures.
Types of Physical Evidence.
DNA Analysis and Its Impact on the Usefulness of Physical Evidence.
The Role of Crime Laboratories in Criminal Investigations.
7. Interviews.
Interviews Defined.
Types of Witnesses.
Types of Information Obtained from Witnesses.
Methods of Eyewitness Identification.
Value of Eyewitness Identifications in Establishing Proof.
The Memory Process and the Identification Task.
Why Is Eyewitness Identification Evidence often Inaccurate?
Guidelines for the Collection of Eyewitness Evidence.
Investigative Tools in Interviewing.
8. Interrogations.
Interrogations Defined.
The Psychology of Persuasion.
The Role of Police Deception in Interrogations.
The Ingredients of a Successful Interrogation.
Steps in the Interrogation of Suspects.
The Issue of False Confessions.
Investigative Tools in Recognizing Deception.
The General Public as a Source of Information in Criminal Investigations.
Crime Analysis and Mapping.
Computer Data Bases and Information Networks.
Psychics.
11. Issues in the Investigation of Violent Crime.
Homicide.
Rape and Other Assaults.
Robbery.
Kidnapping and Other Abductions.
12. Issues in the Investigation of Property and Other Crimes.
13. The Documentation and Presentation of Evidence.
The Adversarial Process.
Reasons for Errors in Justice Outcomes.
The Role of Investigative Reports.
The Role of Testimony in Court.
The Role of the Jury.
14. The Future of Policing, Crime Detection, and Criminal Investigation.
History as a Guide to the Future of Policing.
The History of Policing.
The Future of the Police.
Technology and the Future of Crime Detection and Criminal Investigation.
The Implications of Technology on Policing, Crime Detection, and Criminal Investigation.
