This document is for anyone in year 13 - criminology unit 3 ac1.1 and ac1.2 (EXAM BOARD - WJEC). This uses great detail to evaluate and assess the personnel and investigative techniques used in criminal investigations.
evaluate the effectiveness of the personnel involved in criminal investigations
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A/AS Level
WJEC
Criminology
Crime Scene to Courtroom
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Unit 3 - AC1.1 evaluate the effectiveness of the personnel involved in criminal investigations[10]
Police officers:
Police officers are usually the first people to arrive at a crime scene and therefore makes their role
important in a criminal investigation. They have to make sure that the crime scene is blocked off and
make sure it isn’t contaminated by people entering the scene. Police officers may also have to arrest
any suspects during the investigation. Police is also responsible for collecting all the necessary
information to give to the CSI as well as collect statements from any witnesses. The arrest of any
present suspects is also done by the police.
In order to become a police officer, you will need GCSE qualifications. You will need to provide at
least 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9-4 (A*-C) to get a level 3 course and pass a few other tests. University
or specialist degrees are not needed for this job role. Some advantages of the qualifications needed
is that more people will be able to get access to this job role as anyone above 18 years old would be
able to get employed. This will allow the streets of UK to be a lot more safer and closely monitored
by more officers. Some disadvantages of this job role being very accessible is that people who are
not very dedicated into keeping the population safe. Also, police officers may lack forensic
knowledge which is vital in keeping a crime scene intact. They might make the mistake to touch
things that should be left where they were which can lead to contamination.
The salary is usually paid by the state and it can be between £23,000-£38,000. The salary increases
depending on the years worked as a police officer and with allowances included given in line with
Home Office guidelines. The starting salary of £23,000 is appealing to people especially those of
younger ages which can be an advantage as it is more likely people will apply for this vital job role.
Younger people are more agile and can work quicker. A disadvantage of the salary that only
increases to £38,000 is that people would be put off of working as a police officer for a long period of
time as well as they might not take the job seriously as time goes by.
As of 2017, there were 121,929 police officers which makes it 21,000 less than there were in 2010.
There is a 5% decrease in Police Community Support Officers and a 15% decrease in Volunteer
Special Constables. The advantages of these statistics is that it shows more people are able to apply
for this job due to availability. However, the disadvantage of this is that the nation as a whole may
not be safe due to the lack of officers and a lot more violent crimes might take place as the
population is increasing.
A real life case where we see police officers being ineffective is the Stephen Lawrence case. The
young black teenager was stabbed and beaten by 5 white teenagers. The metropolitan police saw
this case as drug related and disregarded the repeated names of suspects that were being brought
into the police station by many people. A few months after the crime happened, the charges were
dropped again the 5 suspects.
Scenes of crime officers (SOCO):
The crime scene investigators gather any evidence left at the crime scene and work with the police
to section off and keep the crime scene or any evidence from being contaminated. Video and
pictures are also taken of the things they decide are important for the investigation. They keep any
written records or statements and may also give evidence in court or attend post-mortems. The
work hours can be irregular and at any time of the day.
The qualifications needed to become a SOCO are at least 5 GCSEs at grades 9-4 (A*-C) including
maths, English and any science subjects. A degree in forensic science, biological sciences or
, chemistry is also required. An advantage of those qualifications is that only people with a vast
knowledge can get employed which can heighten the change of the case being solved correctly. A
disadvantage could be that the years it will take to get the degrees required may put people off of
applying to this job.
The salary of a SOCO can range from £16,000-£35,000 excluding the promotions that can be gained
from working in extreme weather conditions and crime scenes. An advantage of this pay is that it
can motivate people to work for a longer time in the field as the salary can increase to more than
double of the starting salary. A disadvantage is that people may not want to opt for this job as the
starting salary can be very low especially with the qualifications required.
The UK only has 43 SOCO employed which can be an advantage for those who want to become a CSI
as there will be more spaces available and not high amount of competition for this job role. However
a disadvantage is that there isn’t enough CSI for the amount of crime taking place in UK and
therefore crimes might not be solved properly.
A real life case where crime scene investigators were ineffective is the Amanda Knox case. Amanda
Knox was wrongly accused of killing her roommate due to a crucial piece of evidence being left out
at the crime scene and easily contaminated as it was placed in plastic bags or paper that wasn’t
sanitary enough. The crime scene was also not preserved properly and the right clothing wasn’t
worn when the investigation took place. A bra strap was found 46 days after the crime happened.
Forensic scientists:
A forensic scientist looks at physical evidence and prepares it for the courts to use it. The kind of
evidence they study can range from bodily fluids such as blood, saliva and semen to tyre marks and
glass fragments. Forensic scientists try to link suspects to evidence to help solve a case.
The qualifications needed to become a forensic scientist are a degree or postgraduate award in
forensic science or a science based degree such as chemistry, biology, life sciences, applied sciences
or medical sciences. The advantage of being required these qualifications is that people will need to
have very wide knowledge on everything needed in the job and evidence can be stored and
prepared much better which can further help the cases. However, the disadvantage is that people
may not want to go ahead with getting the degrees as it can take a long time to complete.
The salary of a forensic scientist is higher than a CSI’s with a starting salary of £20,000–£45,000. The
starting salary is good for someone who just finished their degree and can motivate people into
staying in the job to reach up to the highest amount of £45,000. On the other hand, for some people
the starting salary can seem quite low, especially for those with post graduate degrees as they have
done more years of study.
The number of people employed as forensic scientists is between 3000-4000 in UK. This number is
quite high as one forensic scientist can work on more than one case at once. However, that doesn’t
necessarily mean that all cases are easy to solve. Some may take years to solve which can delay
other cases being looked into especially that the crime rates of violent crimes keep increasing.
A real life case where forensic scientists were ineffective is the Adam Scott case where he was kept
in prison after being accused of raping a woman in Manchester. The accusation happened as a
sample of Adam Scott’s DNA was contaminated at LGC Forensics. When this was discovered, the
charges were dropped.
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