1. I am currently trying to find the best way to show how reading case files has enriched my knowledge of criminal investigation.
2. This video on criminal investigative careers showed me all of the different professions that are actually involved in the criminal investigation field. I want to get the opportunity to get in touch with each job that is involved in the investigative field.
3. Here are notes that I took from that video and now I would like to begin trying to get in touch with each of the experts mentioned in the video to get to know their side of the investigative process.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Friday, November 9, 2012
Blog # 5b: Science Fair Proposal
1. Criminal Investigation
2. Proper interrogation methods are necessary to solve cases. Inadequate interrogation methods will result in inadequate information.
" In every criminal investigation process, interviewing and interrogation are the most important means to obtain needed information about a crime. Both require a combination of art and skill that must be cultivated and practiced. Not all people who possess information needed by the investigator are willing to share it. This is true in both interviews and interrogation...The successful interviewer/interrogator must fully understand the techniques of interviewing and interrogation and have the ability to evaluate the psychological reasons why people are willing or reluctant to impart information."
Swanson, Charles R., Neil C. Chamelin, and Leonard Territo. "Chapter Overview."Criminal Investigation | . McGraw Hill, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
3. If police stations employ the Reid technique in their interrogation process, then those cities will show higher conviction rates.
4. I want to research the conviction rates of at least 22 cities, then call the police stations of those cities and compare if the cities with the higher conviction rates use the Reid technique. I will use graphs to (hopefully) show that the Reid technique improves conviction rates.
5. Behavioral/Social Science
2. Proper interrogation methods are necessary to solve cases. Inadequate interrogation methods will result in inadequate information.
" In every criminal investigation process, interviewing and interrogation are the most important means to obtain needed information about a crime. Both require a combination of art and skill that must be cultivated and practiced. Not all people who possess information needed by the investigator are willing to share it. This is true in both interviews and interrogation...The successful interviewer/interrogator must fully understand the techniques of interviewing and interrogation and have the ability to evaluate the psychological reasons why people are willing or reluctant to impart information."
Swanson, Charles R., Neil C. Chamelin, and Leonard Territo. "Chapter Overview."Criminal Investigation | . McGraw Hill, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2013.
3. If police stations employ the Reid technique in their interrogation process, then those cities will show higher conviction rates.
4. I want to research the conviction rates of at least 22 cities, then call the police stations of those cities and compare if the cities with the higher conviction rates use the Reid technique. I will use graphs to (hopefully) show that the Reid technique improves conviction rates.
5. Behavioral/Social Science
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Blog #9: Working EQ and Possible Answers
1. What is the most important skill needed when investigating criminals?
2. I am not going to revise my EQ at this time
3. Some possible answers to my working EQ are:
- An analytical mind
- Proper evidence collection
- An understanding of the criminal mind
2. I am not going to revise my EQ at this time
3. Some possible answers to my working EQ are:
- An analytical mind
- Proper evidence collection
- An understanding of the criminal mind
Monday, October 22, 2012
Sunday, October 14, 2012
Blog #7: Independent Component 1 Plan Approval
1. For my independent study component, I plan to analyze the different firearms that investigators would carry in the field. I will research certain aspects of each firearm such as capacity, sight radius, and weight. I would also like to visit a shooting range to experience the use of these firearms first hand.
2. I believe that this component will fulfill the 30 hour requirement because of the research and presentation put into the data of the different firearms as well as time spent at the shooting range.
3. This component would serve as foundation research for my working EQ to understand how much thought must go into an investigator choosing his or her tools in the field.
2. I believe that this component will fulfill the 30 hour requirement because of the research and presentation put into the data of the different firearms as well as time spent at the shooting range.
3. This component would serve as foundation research for my working EQ to understand how much thought must go into an investigator choosing his or her tools in the field.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Blog #6: Second Interview
Second Interview Questions
1. How long have you been involved in criminal investigation?
2. How many different roles have you had in the investigative process and what have they been?
3. What is the most important thing you have learned from your years in criminal investigation?
4. What made you want to get involved in criminal investigation?
5. What do you feel is the most important achievement you've accomplished in this field?
1. How long have you been involved in criminal investigation?
2. How many different roles have you had in the investigative process and what have they been?
3. What is the most important thing you have learned from your years in criminal investigation?
4. What made you want to get involved in criminal investigation?
5. What do you feel is the most important achievement you've accomplished in this field?
Monday, September 24, 2012
Blog #4: Project Reflection and Working EQ
The Pentagon:
1. The most positive thing that has happened thus far because of my senior project has just been my insight into the criminal justice field. I have gotten to see how criminal investigation really works as opposed to what we are shown by the media. I also have an understanding of how extensive an investigation is. From the responding officer to the DA who prosecutes, many people are involved.
2. My interview helped me better understand my topic because he told me what I might want to major in later to help me do better in this field as well as narrow down what profession i really want in the investigative process.
3. What has worked for me best in my project is the amount of people willing to answer questions I have about this field. Many police stations have community outreach so that they can keep the public informed of them. Almost everyone I have talked to in this field has been very open about wanting to inform me about what it is they do.
4. The thing that hasn't worked so well is the volunteer hours because many officers are reluctant to let volunteers get too close to real police work because of the dangers.
5. By the end of senior year I hope to know exactly what profession in the Criminal Investigation I want to pursue. Since so many are involved in each investigation, i would like to know exactly which step in the investigation I want to be a part of. I would like to talk to the District Attorneys that work with the police departments so that I can follow the legal side of the investigative process. I want to know what mindset I would have to obtain to be a successful criminal investigator.
a) What should I keep in mind while investigating?
b) How to I show all of the different skills needed to solve an investigation?
c) Which step of the investigation process should I focus the most on?
1. The most positive thing that has happened thus far because of my senior project has just been my insight into the criminal justice field. I have gotten to see how criminal investigation really works as opposed to what we are shown by the media. I also have an understanding of how extensive an investigation is. From the responding officer to the DA who prosecutes, many people are involved.
2. My interview helped me better understand my topic because he told me what I might want to major in later to help me do better in this field as well as narrow down what profession i really want in the investigative process.
3. What has worked for me best in my project is the amount of people willing to answer questions I have about this field. Many police stations have community outreach so that they can keep the public informed of them. Almost everyone I have talked to in this field has been very open about wanting to inform me about what it is they do.
4. The thing that hasn't worked so well is the volunteer hours because many officers are reluctant to let volunteers get too close to real police work because of the dangers.
5. By the end of senior year I hope to know exactly what profession in the Criminal Investigation I want to pursue. Since so many are involved in each investigation, i would like to know exactly which step in the investigation I want to be a part of. I would like to talk to the District Attorneys that work with the police departments so that I can follow the legal side of the investigative process. I want to know what mindset I would have to obtain to be a successful criminal investigator.
a) What should I keep in mind while investigating?
b) How to I show all of the different skills needed to solve an investigation?
c) Which step of the investigation process should I focus the most on?
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Blog #5a: Problem Statement
1. Topic: Criminal Investigation
2. a) One problem involved in this topic is evidence contamination. When collecting evidence from a crime scene, the investigators sometimes contaminate the evidence or miss something completely.
b) I would hope to take any common mistakes that people would make while collecting evidence and apply it towards making evidence collection more efficient and thus the entire investigation process.
3. a) A big problem during the investigative process is the interrogation step. When questioning someone involved in an investigation, there is always a possibility for them to give you false information or just refuse to cooperate.
b) With information learned from solving this problem, I hope to make the step of interrogating someone involved in a crime a much simpler, more reliable step.
2. a) One problem involved in this topic is evidence contamination. When collecting evidence from a crime scene, the investigators sometimes contaminate the evidence or miss something completely.
b) I would hope to take any common mistakes that people would make while collecting evidence and apply it towards making evidence collection more efficient and thus the entire investigation process.
3. a) A big problem during the investigative process is the interrogation step. When questioning someone involved in an investigation, there is always a possibility for them to give you false information or just refuse to cooperate.
b) With information learned from solving this problem, I hope to make the step of interrogating someone involved in a crime a much simpler, more reliable step.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Blog #3: Interview Preparation
1. For my first interview, I plan to talk to Angie Wilkinson, my summer mentor. She is a field sergeant with the Walnut Sheriff's station and has been involved with law enforcement for about 30 years. She is very knowledgeable on the topic and knows many people involved in the process of criminal investigation.
2.
- Who else would you recommend I talk to?
- What do you typically look for when investigating any crime?
- What about law enforcement appealed to you?
- Explain the process that is taken when a crime has occurred and there are no suspects.
2.
- Who else would you recommend I talk to?
- What do you typically look for when investigating any crime?
- What about law enforcement appealed to you?
- Explain the process that is taken when a crime has occurred and there are no suspects.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Blog #2: Topic Choice
My topic is criminal investigation and, in all honesty, I'm not completely sure what caused me to chose this topic. It is just something that I've been interested in to understand the reasons behind people's actions. When something bad happens, I want to be able to understand how and why something like that happened. Understanding why some people do things that others know to be wrong is an important step in understanding all humans and how we think.
Learner: I plan to interview and learn from different people in the criminal investigative field. I want to gain as much knowledge of the criminal investigative and justice process. By learning about each step from the initial evidence gathering up to the prosecution, I hope to gain a great understanding of how to best prevent crime
Communicator: In all steps of the criminal investigative process, you are required to work with others. During an investigation, items such as evidence and testimonies change hands a lot and you are required to communicate with different departments to ensure that no evidence is compromised. When certain crimes cross jurisdictions or qualify as several offenses, then you must be able to coordinate with various people to ensure the investigation is handled properly.
Technology: When investigating crimes, you have to be able to keep up with the latest technology to make collecting evidence easier and moe efficient. From collecting DNA samples to comparing fingerprints, investigating crimes requires a steady understanding of technology and its applications to narrowing down suspects.
iPoly citizen: When investigating crimes, you try to hold the public's interest above all else. Investigating essentially requires people to bring their different insights to a problem and solve it with their combined knowledge. I would look at any problem I face from all sides much like an investigator would.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Blog #1: Summer Mentorship Component
Assignment:
Literal (Know):
- 10 hour Mentorship Log (w/ contact info)
Literal (Need to Know):
Interpretive:
Applied:
Literal (Know):
- 10 hour Mentorship Log (w/ contact info)
Literal (Need to Know):
- What traits are necessary in identifying crime?
- What is the most important thing to consider in responding to crime?
- Which profession can make the biggest difference in preventing crime?
- How much does one have to understand the criminal mind in order to help stop it?
- Which steps taken while stopping a crime affect the final prosecution?
Interpretive:
While this wasn't exactly the profession I wanted to shadow for my
topic, this experience gave me valuable information and insight into the
criminal justice field. I learned about the real day-to-day duties of a police
officer as well as what is required of them back at the station. I gained a
good, beginners insight into the criminal justice field.
After completing my mentorship component, I realized that my topic
idea wasn't specific enough when I started. I knew that I wanted to do
something that involved understanding the criminal mind, but I wasn't nearly
specific enough. I know that I wouldn't want to do my topic solely on police
work, but I do plan to take what I learned about understanding crime from my
volunteer hours and apply it towards my topic. Completing these hours just put me in the right direction for my topic and now I know for sure that I want to pursue a topic more geared towards criminal law.
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