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Criminal Investigation

A Method for Reconstructing the Past

By
  • James Osterburg, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois
  • Richard Ward, Associate Vice President for Research and Special Programs, University of New Haven

This text presents the fundamentals of criminal investigation and provides a sound method for reconstructing a past event (i.e., a crime), based on three major sources of information - people, records, and physical evidence. Its tried-and-true system for conducting an investigation is updated with the latest techniques available, teaching the reader new ways of obtaining information from people, including mining the social media outlets now used by a broad spectrum of the public; how to navigate the labyrinth of records and files currently available online; and fresh ways of gathering, identifying, and analyzing physical evidence.

Paperback, 672 Pages

Published: March 2013

Imprint: Anderson Publishing

ISBN: 978-1-4557-3138-1

Contents

  • Dedication

    Acknowledgments

    Preface

    SECTION 1 - THE FOUNDATION AND PRINCIPLES OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

    PART A - SOURCES AND USES OF INFORMATION

    1. The Investigator: Responsibilities and Attributes; Origins and Trends

    2. Physical Evidence: Development, Interpretation, Investigative Value

    3. The Crime Scene: Discovery, Preservation and, Collection, and Transmission of Evidence

    4. People as Sources of Investigation

    PART B - SEEKING AND OBTAINING INFORMATION: PEOPLE AND RECORDS

    5. Records and Files: Investigative Uses and Sources

    6. Interviews: Obtaining Information From Witnesses

    7. Informants: Cultivation and Motivation

    PART C - FOLLOW-UP MEASURES: REAPING INFORMATION

    8. Surveillance: A Fact-finding Tool - Legality and Practice

    9. Eyewitness Identification: Guidelines and Procedures

    10. Interrogation of Suspects and Hostile Witnesses: Guidelines and Procedures

    PART D - THE INFLUENCE AND IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY

    11. The Influence of Technology on Crime Investigation

    12. Crime Analysis and Coming Attractions in the Investigator’s Toolbox

    SECTION II - APPLYING THE PRINCIPLES TO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

    13. Managing Criminal Investigations

    14. Reconstructing the Past: Methods, Evidence, Examples

    15. Crime and Constitutional Law: The Foundations of Criminal Investigations

    16. Evidence and Effective Testimony

    17. Homicide

    18. Robbery

    19. Sex Crimes

    20. Burglary

    21. Arson and Explosives

    SECTION III - SPECIAL TOPICS

    22. The Global Picture: Increasing Threats and Emerging Crime

    23. Terrorism and Urban Disorder

    24. Enterprise Crime: Organized, Economic, and White-Collar Crime

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