These are the notes that helped me achieve an A* in criminology unit 3, some smaller notes, paragraphs and model answers included.
These were completed under the 8 hour time constraints and achieved an A*. These are very useful for revision and comparisons against a realistic response. :)
Who are SOCO’S?
Crime scene investigators,(CSI), are also known in some forces as scenes of crime
officers, other known as SOCOs, are employed by the police service to preserve and
protect a crime scene. They also recover evidence for the investigation so it can be
used for a trial. Large police forces employ dozens of SOCOs so they have a 24/7
on-call service for any crime scenes. Their key role is to collect and process
evidence, as well as from post mortems and car accidents. Making sure the
evidence leaves in an uncontaminated condition is crucial as it could be considered
inadmissible in court. Usually, they search for fibres, gunshot residue, fingerprints or
blood; however other duties may include: recording scenes with photos or videos,
recovering DNA, keeping written records, updating information systems, giving
evidence in court, and handing over evidence to the necessary personnel.
Evaluation of SOCOs: strengths, limitations, ACE
The world of crime solving has benefitted immensely from advances in forensic
science such as DNA, fingerprints and data analysis, due to these sophisticated
discoveries miscarriages of justice become far less likely. Another strength of
SOCOs is that they have been highly trained and know how to deal with hazardous
and non hazardous materials, this means they know how to preserve a crime scene
better than others may be able to. The availability of SOCOs is very high as they
operate on an on-call system, all out of office hours are covered by a SOCO. Most of
the departments cover the hours between 7am and 10pm and one SOCO one call
from 10pm-7am, this is effective as there is always one person to go and analyse a
crime scene if it can not be preserved between days. However, there are multiple
limitations of SOCOs such as the cost. SOCOs are paid between £16,000 and
£37,000 a year depending on location and expertise, it can be extremely expensive
and time consuming to fund and a final outcome or conviction may not even be
reached. No matter the expertise of a SOCO there can also be unintentional
contamination such as pedestrians, weather, or whether or not a tent has been set
up to preserve the evidence, this could mean the outcome is drastically affected. A
simple error could result in the wrong person being convicted for a crime they did not
commit, due to their work hours it can be extremely tiring and emotionally and
physically demanding.
Expertise-
CSI’s are experts in their field as they undergo training and have to have a degree in
a science. Showing they have a high level of expertise as they have received training
to carry out their profession correctly and effectively.
,Availability-
CSI’s are available 24/7 as they work on call. This is extremely important due to
crimes being able to be committed at any time, so it is beneficial that they can get
there in order to preserve and examine the crime scene thoroughly. This also helps
to stop contamination.
Cost-
Each CSI gets paid a salary, incur additional costs to the investigation
Who are forensic scientists?
Forensic scientists provide the scientific evidence for trials to help defence or
prosecution. This involves collecting DNA evidence, analyse handwriting, analyse
fluids, and recovering data. They also must give impartial and scientific advice in
court. There are multiple different specialist areas of forensic scientists such as
computing, toxicology, psychology and dentistry. This means they must complete
duties such as blood and DNA grouping, analysing fluids, blood patterns, recovering
computer data, and giving impartial and scientific evidence in court. They have to
consider context while analysing a scene to make sure they do not make mistakes
when there is an innocent explanation, this means they have to take their job role
very seriously and strictly.
Evaluation of Forensic scientists: strengths, limitations, ACE
Due to the amount of different fields in forensic science they can deliver special
expertise to help decide if an offender is guilty or innocent, DNA profiling and
advanced analysis methods have benefitted them greatly. However, there are also
limitations to being a forensic scientist such as the availability of staff needed for a
crime scene, there is a critical lack of employees and resources which means they
have to work on-call and at a very short notice. In 2005, there were only 3400
forensic scientists in the whole country. In 2021, a forensic science regulator stated
how Police forces are having to ration toxicology work due to the lack of capacity in
the system for the volume of work, meaning less convictions for drunk drivers.
Forensic scientists are paid between £18,000 and £45,000 a year depending on
expertise and location, but no matter what work is done they may not be able to seal
a conviction or even find an offender. Multiple apprenticeships are offered in forensic
science but usually an undergraduate science degree is required as well as a
masters in a forensic specialist degree. Moreover, if a lot of attention and
cautiousness is not given to analysing evidence it can lead to miscarriages of justice
such as the case of Adam Scott, who’s DNA was taken in a spitting incident then
was not disposed of and was mixed with genetic material of a rape victim in
Manchester which resulted in him being held in custody for five months.
,Who are police officers?
Police have vital roles in law enforcement and criminal investigation, they are called
out to the crime and witness it first hand before anybody else. Their primary aim is to
‘preserve life and victims of crime’ and this could conflict with their other aim of
avoiding contamination of evidence and protecting the scene of the crime. They may
take witness statements, and make sure victims are safe and have places to go.
Police departments also have a range of specialist units such as traffic, mounted
police, air support, or underwater search teams.
Evaluation of police officers: strengths, limitations and ACE
Police officers are in a good position to respond and preserve a crime scene quicker
than any other agency, they also have the power to arrest and detain anyone who is
possibly connected to the crime. However, the police have been continually criticsed
for failing to secure crime scenes, incompetence to handle evidence, or forcefully
getting confessions. This can be seen in the case of Colin Stagg, he was arrested for
the murder of Rachel Nickell in 1992, police knocked on doors and questioned 32
men and produced a photofit who people identified as Colin Stagg. Stagg was
unemployed, a virgin and walked on the common where Rachel was killed a lot. A
woman called police over a man who responded to her lonelyhearts ad and the
sexual fantasies he had told her. A witness also picked him out of an identity parade,
the police believed it was him. The police knew they had a lack of evidence, so got a
female detective to pretend to be friend him and talk to him in hopes he would
confess his fantasies and admit to the murder. After five months of letters, phone
calls and four in person meets and he admitted his violent sexual fantasies. He said
he fantasises about Rachel’s killing but denied all responsibility for it. He was
arrested and the judge threw out the honey trap evidence and Colin Stagg was
allowed free from his year in jail on remand. In 2008, the real killer serial rapist
Robert Napper confessed to the crime.This case shows the police can act
inappropriately and can attempt to cover up failings. More limitations include the lack
of funding the police receive, between 2010 and 2018 20,000 police officers were cut
which meant that in some police departments across England there would not be a
sufficient amount of police to respond to emergencies. However, in march of 2022 it
shows that there are 142,526 police officers and 43 territorial police forces across
England and Wales which is a good increase. Sometimes in the midst of handling
evidence and preserving a crime scene cases of negligence can appear, such as the
Alpine quadruple murder case where a young girl was left in a boot of a car with the
bodies of her parents for 8 hours due to the police not wanting to check in fear of
contaminating the crime scene. The beginning salary for police constables is
£21,402 and £41,130 at the top of the scale which is most commonly achieved after
7 years. Police officers in London and the south of England receive additional pay
allowances up to £6,735. In 2020, changes required all Police Officers to be
educated from degree level this can be obtained through university or a police
apprenticeship, there are different opportunities to specialise in particular types of
, policing such as drugs, firearms, counter terrorism, underwater search or dog
handling.
What is the Crown prosecution service?
CPS is an independent body with over 2000 lawyers. Its role is to prosecute criminal
cases that have been investigated by police and other investigators across England
and Wales. Due to the CPS being an independent body it means that they do not
have to make decisions depending on the government or police. Their duty is making
sure the correct people are prosecuted. As well as this they decide what cases
should be prosecuted and advise the police in early stages of investigations.
Availability-
A service is in place called ‘CPS direct’ which operates a 24/7 service which is easily
accessible over the phone at any point. The police can also utilise this service
meaning suspects can be charged sooner without CPS delaying them.
Expertise-
It is made up of professionals, the main staff are solicitors and barristers who have a
strong knowledge of law and court and know how to advise the police correctly.
Clerks also help get documents ready and prepared for court.
Cost-
A lot of staff is required to help CPS run efficiently, so running the service is
expensive. However it can also help reduce the cost of court as less cases are
thrown out court due to the CPS’ work to make sure all the work is ready for court.
Who are Pathologists?
Pathologists are doctors who work with the causes and effects of disease, it is
relevant to forensics as they are often called in to help identify causes of death.
Forensic pathologists often specialise in examining brains, hearts, eyes and bones
but this depends on the severity of each case. There are also ‘home office registered
pathologists’, there are around 35 to 40 pathologists who work in groups across
England and Wales who are on call to provide a 24/7 service to help police and
coroners in ‘suspicious’ deaths. If police are dealing with a death and require medical
advice or want to retrieve forensic evidence pathologists may be called to the scene,
but this is always with the consent of a coroner.
Expertise-
They must first train as a doctor and undergo a lot of training to ensure they are fit for
such a significant role. Having this training allows them to perform their job role to a
high standard. This training helps lead to strong evidence including the time of death
and the cause which can lead to a suspect being guilty or not guilty.
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