SEC430 Bus Radio Theft Investigation
aussieinmissBus Radio
SEC430 Bus Radio Theft Investigation
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Bus Radio Theft Investigation
In this scenario the crime occurred and was investigated over a four year period and involved the theft of two way radios from buses from the Kelsey Unified School District. The thefts occurred within one to four weeks of being installed and the thefts are occurring at night at the bus compound. The investigation of the theft of the two way radios begins at the crime scene. The crime scene is an essential aspect of any crime investigation and contains vital information that will provide clues to the detectives in order to determine who committed the crime. Once the crime is reported the crime scene will be secured by responding officers until the investigation can begin.
When conducting the investigation of the bus compound investigators will interview witnesses and explore the buses and bus compound in order to gather evidence. The interviews were conducted with Sully Smiley the security guard, Barnett Bennett a long time employee, Sally Foley the transportation secretary, and Sally’s husband. Sully Smiley is the security guard responsible for securing the bus compound. Police gathered information about the alibi’s of the witnesses and questioned their knowledge of the event. In order to develop potential leads the police need to interview witnesses.
Once the interview has been conducted the police will need to verify the alibi of all of the witnesses and conduct criminal background checks. If any of the witnesses have a history of theft they would become a person of interest in the investigation. When interviewing the witnesses the police need to observe their body language as well as the statements the witnesses are making. When the investigator understands and practices effective interviewing techniques, the results of each interview can dramatically increase, in both the quantity and the quality of information obtained (Goerman, 2010). Investigators will need to accurately record everything the witness reports by listening to everything the witness says.
Next in the investigation process is the gathering of evidence. In this case footprints were located on the steps on one bus and a coke can on the steps of another buses. Police also located a fingerprint on the steering wheel of one of the buses. This physical evidence can provide vital clues that point at the guilt offenders or provide clear evidence of their guilt. When gathering the evidence the proper uniform, evidence collection techniques will need to be applied to ensure the evidence does not become damaged or lost.
In the evidence collection process first investigators need to document the evidence with sketches and photographs and then carefully collecting the evidence using the best known forensic practices. The fingerprints and shoe prints will need to be carefully lifted before being placed in a clean and dry evidence bag and the coke carefully placed in an evidence bag for forensic analysis and to lift any potential fingerprints. Once the evidence is bagged it needs to be carefully labeled with name, date, time, and location of the evidence. Documentation is essential to protecting the chain of evidence in order to ensure the evidence can be used in court (Tidball, 2011).
Through the information obtained based on the physical evidence and the answers to the interview questions the investigators can develop an idea of how and when the crime occurred. For example the security guard conducts his rounds at 11:45pm and again at 6am. Because the two way radios were not missing on the security guards patrol at 11:45pm but where missing at 6am the crime occurred between 12-6am. The police will need to learn where the witnesses and any persons of interest where during these times.
Another important clue gleaned from Travis Stevenson was the robberies occurred within weeks of the two way radios being installed implying someone from the bus compound is responsible for the thefts or assisting someone else in the thefts. This information is critical to investigators for developing person of interests of criminal suspects. The alibis of all of the workers and the security guard will need to be verified. Sally’s alibi has been verified by her husband and she does not have a key to the bus yard. This information could eliminate Sally and her husband from the suspect list.
The investigators would need to question the security guard about any suspicious activity he may have noticed on the nights the two way radios were stolen as well as question the witnesses to see if they had discussed the installation of the new two way radios with anyone outside of work. Next investigators will need to develop the physical evidence in order to determine if it points to a specific suspect. Physical evidence can be invaluable to the criminal investigation and provide definitive evidence of a suspect’s guilt. The fingerprints can directly point to a suspect and the footprints can tie a suspect to the crime. The coke can that was located may contain DNA evidence or may have fingerprints on the exterior.
Documentation is essential in every aspect of the investigation. When creating a file investigators will need to include the interviews conducted with witnesses, copies of their statements, photographs of the crime scene as well as all notes taken by the investigator. The file should include any forensic reports and the criminal background checks conducted on the witnesses. Much like when documenting steps taken to collect forensic evidence documentation provides the court with a clear picture of the events and provides documentation of the steps taken by the investigators.
In any crime the investigation is essential to discovering who was responsible. Investigators develop evidence through witness testimony and gathering physical evidence at the crime scene. Through their investigatory skills evidence is developed that points to a specific suspect. If there is enough evidence to show probable cause that a crime was committed the suspect will be arrested and tried in a court of law. If evidence is collected illegally or is not properly documented the result can be the evidence is excluded from the court process resulting in a guilty offender going free. The investigation is essential to developing enough evidence to prove the guilt of the offender and ensuring evidence is not excluded from the court process.
References
Goerman, R. (2010). How to Interview the Witness. Retrieved November 5, 2012 from
http://robertgoerman.tripod.com/id21.html
Tidball, C. (2011). The importance of Chain of Custody and Preservation of Evidence. Retrieved
November 5, 2012 from
http://findingmillions.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/the-importance-of-chain-of-custody