AC1.2

Assess the usefulness of investigative techniques in criminal investigations

Introduction to the world of forensic evidence

Investigative Technique 1 - Forensics

Investigative Technique 2 - Intelligence databases

Investigative Technique 3 - Surveillance techniques and observation

Investigative Technique 4 - Eye-witness Testimony

An interesting podcast on the reliability of memory and EWT (start at 10.41 mins)

Cognitive Interview

Investigative Technique 5 - Expert Witness Testimony

Investigative Technique 6 - Profiling Techniques

Introduction to the world of forensic evidence

Find out more about Edmond Locard watch the video below.

Edmund Locard: The Father of Forensic Scienceundefined

Some of Lee's 'dollhouses of death' to explore yourselves: http://www.deathindiorama.com/explore.html

Investigative Technique 1 - Forensics

The Buck Ruxton case - the first case in the UK in which insects were successfully used to help solve a crime

Child killer Colin Pitchfork’s release from prison put on holdJudge rules decision to release man convicted in 1988 of murdering two 15-year-old girls should be reviewed

Burglary gang foiled by leader's size five feetPolice found an "Aladdin's cave" of goods stolen from more than 70 homes across the Midlands.

Former crime scenes officer at centre of 90 tainted cases revealed as civilian, 48, who spent 15 years at two forcesStephen Beattie, who was employed by both Staffordshire Police and Cleveland Police between 1996 and 2011, was arrested on suspicion of perverting the course of justice and theft (file picture).

Crowbar killer jailed for wife's murderAnn Marie Pomphret was struck 30 times by her husband at the stables they owned in Warrington.

10 Times Identical Twins Tried Getting Away With Crime - ListverseIdentical twins have tried gaming the law ever since they learned they could. Visual differences are often difficult to pinpoint. DNA does not help,

The kidnapping of Shannon MatthewsOn the 19th of February, 2008, nine-year-old Shannon Matthews was reported missing by her concerned mother, Karen Matthew

Investigative Technique 2 - Intelligence databases

www.met.police.uk/police-forces/metropolitan-police/areas/about-us/about-the-met/gangs-violence-matrix/

Our 19 databasesEvery search of our 19 databases is a potential break in a case for police worldwide.

Koalas Have Human-like Fingerprints

Reality check: Would Sally Anne Bowman's killer have been caught under Tory DNA policy?Gordon Brown says Conservative plans to restrict the retention of DNA profiles would hinder criminal justice

Police gangs matrix 'shared victim data'A database of London gang members was illegally sharing details of innocent people, a watchdog says.

Investigative Technique 3 - Surveillance techniques and observation

Surveillance Cameras and the State - All you need to know - Politics.co.ukAn overview of the use of surveillance in the UK, and an outline of the debate surrounding the effectiveness and rules governing CCTV.

What is the Undercover Policing Inquiry?One of the most important public inquiries in recent years is beginning in London after years of delays.

'I didn't mean to do it': Father accused of killing six of his children in a house fire 'made remark to his wife' as they were being secretly recorded in a prison vanThe jury were played the tape of Mick Philpott speaking to partner Mairead, but his defence team have disputed the evidence saying the audio is too muffled to tell what he said.

CCTV issued in hunt for Birmingham attack suspectThe spate of stabbings in the city centre sparked a massive police manhunt for the suspect.

The undercover cop, his lover, and their sonWoman who had undercover policeman's child says she she is not satisfied with Scotland Yard's explanation.

'Kevin's identity was stolen by police after he died'The Met Police faces legal action after undercover officers used four dead children's identities.

Investigative Technique 4 - Eye-witness Testimony

Should Eyewitness Testimony Be Enough to Convict Someone of a Crime?Eyewitness testimony carries weight in a courtroom, but is one person's account enough evidence to convict someone of a crime?

Forensic Failures: Eyewitness Testimony & The Ronald Cotton TrialEyewitness testimony is far from being a form of scientific evidence and is in fact based on perhaps one of the most flawed tools available: human memory. Despite this, the testimony of eyewitnesse…

The Ronald Cotton Case

An interesting podcast on the reliability of memory and EWT (start at 10.41 mins)

Think with Pinker - Sentence first, verdict afterwards - BBC SoundsLife and death decisions in the courtroom.

The Turnbull Guidelines and Mistaken Identification at Criminal Trials - claims.co.uk ™The guidelines; Scope of the Turnbull Guidelines; Supporting evidence; The accused’s silence.

Cognitive Interview

By Saul McLeod, updated 2019

Findings concerning the unreliability of eye-witness accounts have led researchers to attempt to devise methods for improving retrieval. One of these methods is the cognitive interview (Fisher & Geiselman, 1992).

The Cognitive Interview is a questioning technique used by the police to enhance retrieval of information about a crime scene from the eyewitnesses and victims memory.

Because our memories are made up of a network of associations rather than discrete and unconnected events, there are a number of ways that these memories can be accessed. The cognitive interview exploits this by using multiple retrieval strategies.

Investigative Technique 5 - Expert Witness Testimony

Sally Clark, mother wrongly convicted of killing her sons, found dead at home· Family says she never recovered from court case · Cause of death to be determined by coroner

Freddy Patel condemned for 'natural causes' report on murdered sex workerGeneral Medical Council says pathologist, later criticised for his postmortem of newspaper seller Ian Tomlinson, acted irresponsibly when examining first victim of 'Camden Ripper'

Read this article about Freddy Patel in the Anthony Hardy Case and Sir Roy Meadows in the Sally Clark case to evaluate the role of the pathologist in this case

Alice Ruggles murder trial RECAP: Judge sums up evidence before jury start deliberationsLance Corporal Trimaan Dhillon denies murdering Alice, who was found fatally injured at her Gateshead flat last October

Investigative Technique 6 - Profiling Techniques

What actually happened to Joanna Yeates, the young woman murdered at Christmas 7 years ago?The 25-year-old's body was found on Christmas Day 2010 after an 8 day search - but initially police accused the wrong man.

Two brainsJohn Crace talks to David Canter, the man police forces around the world turn to for advice.

How criminal profiling led to a police honeytrap for innocent manIn July 1992, 23-year-old Rachel Nickell (pictured left) was murdered on Wimbledon Common. Detectives turned to 'profiler' Paul Britton to help solve the gruesome case.

11 crime scene clues as cops fear maniac butchered five couplesELEVEN crime scene clues have led cops to believe that the deaths of five couples could be the work of a serial killer. A 179-page report handed to cops last month claims a murderer could be on the…

Possible serial killer - Are the deaths of these five couples linked?