Roles and Responsibilities.

Roles and Responsibilities of an Investigation Team.

Click here to view the roles and responsibilities of the investigation team that worked in the O.J. Simpson case.

When it comes to an investigation, there are always different members of an investigation team involved. All of the team members have a specific role and responsibilities that they carry out, which as designed to help progress an investigation into a case. When it comes to the case of the Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman murders, there were many team members involved. 

The Police.

Police are always involved with an investigation into a crime. Most commonly, the first involvement for the police is a patrol officer responding to a crime that has been reported. The first attending officer is always the first person to begin the crime investigation. This is known as the initial response stage into a crime. A first attending officer has many roles and responsibilities to carry out. These include: responding to radio calls from the station, assisting the victim (if still at the scene), and offering help/assistance to any witnesses. A first attending officer is always the person who is alerted by the police control room to head down to where the crime scene is. The police also play a role of keeping any eye witnesses and suspects present, but take them away from the actual crime scene. This is a very important stage because statements are used to help gather ideas of who the suspect may be, as can also be used as evidence against the suspect in court and during the arrest. The police are also responsible for isolating the area where the crime has taken place, and also to protect the crime scene to stop any evidence from being taken or damaged. After the crime scene has been secured, the first attending officer will then notify other members of the police, investigators, specialised units and even superior officers. The last role for the police is to ensure a sign-in sheet is provided for anybody who is entering into the scene. This prevents any unauthorised people from entering the crime scene.

 

The Role of Police in other investigations.

The police are involved in all criminal investigations. The role they play in different types of investigation is different depending on what the crime is that they are investigating. For example in cases such as a burglary, the police are unlikely to cordon off the scene; however as part of a terrorist attack they may be required to cordon off a very large area. If the police need to call for backup, then witness and victim statements aren’t always taken straightaway. In serious cases, the police must call for backup immediately. In every case, the police are first to assess the scene and figure out what may have happened.

Detectives.

Another member of the police force who is involved at a crime scene would be a detective. A detective holds a higher position in the police than a patrol officer. The Detective will respond to a crime scene after the first attending officer has called for backup and superior officers to attend the scene. The detective is involved in the preliminary investigation and the follow up investigation stages of the investigation process. The roles and responsibilities of a police detective include; to visually inspect and search the crime scene, this is in order to assess or try to get an idea of what has occurred at a crime scene, and also to ensure no suspects or other people are present at the scene who shouldn't be. After the scene has been isolated by the first attending officer, the detectives should ensure that the crime scene is secured, and secured to a wide enough area, extending the radius of the crime scene and the cordon if necessary. Detectives are required to assist at the crime scene by identifying evidence which needs to be examined by a scene of crime officer. This can be done before the arrival of a scene of crime officer or alongside the scene of crimes officer, after they have arrived at the scene. Supervising the scenes of crime officers is another role of a detective in a criminal investigation, this role requires the detective to make sure that no evidence is being contaminated by the scenes of crime officers and also to make sure that all evidence being collected is accounted for and correctly labelled and processed in the chain of custody.

 

Roles of the Detective in other Investigations.

Detectives can be involved in many types of criminal investigations. However, they are not likely to be involved in minor investigations such as burglaries. A detective will be involved in an investigation when requested so by the police after they attend to a report of a crime. This will only be in the event the police feel the investigation is serious enough to require detectives to help with the investigation.  In investigations where the detectives are the most senior members of the investigation team, they will usually take the lead in the investigation and organise the other members of the investigation team.

Roles and Responsibilities of Specialist Departments in Criminal Investigations.

In a serious investigation such as murder investigations and other investigations where the lives of people are at risk, specialist departments such as the major crime squad will become involved. Examples of roles and responsibilities of Specialist units and departments within criminal investigations include: Developing an investigation plan, due to the specialist nature of these departments they are better suited for developing an appropriate investigation plan to move the investigation into a major crime forward. The specialist departments involved in a criminal investigation will usually take over from the police detectives and will be in charge until the investigation is concluded. During the time of an investigation the specialist departments will attempt to gather as much information about a crime as possible to allow them to identify suspects or persons of interest in a case. In the majority of cases, members of specialist departments will carry out the stages of the investigation; the investigation plan, setting up an incident room, investigating leads, researching and analysing intelligence systems, gathering and analysing facts, identifying patterns and links, process of elimination and ethical considerations.

Role of Specialist Departments in other Investigations.

Specialist Departments will only be involved in major crimes. These crimes include major fraud crimes, murder or terrorist attacks. The bomb squad are likely to be involved in crimes involving explosions such as a terrorist attack. Specialist departments will be required as part of a criminal investigation when more specialist investigation methods and work is required. When involved, specialist departments will take the lead in an investigation and will be involved in organising the investigation, investigating leads and interviewing suspects.

Roles and Responsibilities of Scene of Crime Officers in Criminal Investigations.

Scenes of crime officers are those who attend crime scenes after a crime has been committed and look for, and collect evidence to be examined. Scenes of crime officers will attend crime scenes when requested by the lead investigator of a case. SOCO’s will be involved in the gathering and analysing facts stage of a criminal investigation. Scenes of crime officers have many roles and responsibilities within criminal investigations, these include: identifying evidence, on attendance at a crime scene the SOCO will scour the area for any potential evidence such as fingerprints, hairs or fibres or in a murder perhaps a murder weapon. Preventing contamination of evidence at a crime scene, scenes of crime officers do this by wearing personal protective equipment such as goggles, gloves and a full body protective suit, this is done to prevent the SOCO themselves from contaminating the evidence. They also do this by establishing a common approach pathway to establish a safe pathway into the scene that will allow access without evidence from being contaminated. The purpose of them identifying evidence is to enable them to build up a portfolio of evidence to identify a suspect for the crime. After identifying evidence, another role of a SOCO is to collect the evidence, it has to be done correctly. Putting evidence in the correct bags to prevent the evidence from being contaminated or damaged. It also has to be collected using the correct method for example dusting and lifting fingerprints.

 

Role of SOCO’s in other investigations.

Scenes of crime officers will be involved in criminal investigations when requested to be by the lead investigators. In every type of investigation a scene of crime officer attends, their roles and responsibilities will be to identify and collect evidence for the case. However the type of evidence a scenes of crime officer collects is the factor which differs depending on the type of criminal investigation. For example as part of an investigation into a murder, the scenes of crime officer would collect any blood evidence or potential murder weapons. Whereas if working as a scenes of crime officer at a terrorist attack the evidence they collect will be linked to determining what occurred and who carried out the attack, so for example collecting components of a bomb.

Roles and Responsibilities of Forensic Scientists in Criminal Investigations.

Forensic scientists are involved in investigations when evidence has been collected at crime scenes by the scenes of crime officers and needs analysing in the laboratories. Forensic scientists are the people who have the role of analysing evidence. They are involved in the gathering and analysing facts stage of the criminal investigation. The roles and responsibilities of a forensic scientist within an investigation include: Analysing chemical, biological or physical evidence which was collected from a crime scene. A forensic scientist is an individual who usually stays within a laboratory to analyse evidence which has been collected at a crime scene. They do this to gather information which could be important to the investigation. Analysing the evidence includes performing DNA tests on bodily fluids such as blood or analysing fingerprints. After analysing the evidence collected from a crime scene, the forensic scientist is given the role of writing up a report detailing the findings of the analysis of the evidence, this is an important role as if the case eventually goes to court, the report written by the forensic scientist will be used as evidence.

Role of Forensic Scientists in the OJ Simpson Case.

The evidence collected in the case of the murder of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman was analysed by forensic scientists in the Los Angeles Crime Lab. The forensic scientists in this case were able to identify the blood found on the glove at Simpson’s property to have Simpson’s blood, Nicole’s blood and Ron’s blood. They were also able to identify blood found in Simpson’s ford bronco as that of Nicole and Ron. The blood was identified because a DNA test was performed on the blood, and was then matched up to the victims.

Role of Forensic Scientists in other Investigations.

The role of a forensic scientist is not very likely to change, depending on the type of criminal investigation they are involved in. This is because their roles and responsibilities will involve analysing evidence which has been collected at crime scenes. The only thing that will change in the role of a forensic scientist in different investigations is the type of evidence they examine. This will change because the evidence collected at crime scenes differs depending on the crime which has been carried out.

Roles and Responsibilities of Pathologists in a Criminal Investigation.

Within a criminal investigation, mainly when an individual has been murdered, a pathologist – a medically trained person will examine the body to attempt to find out the cause of death of an individual, and to attempt to gather further more in depth information regarding how an individual died. The role of the pathologist in a criminal investigation involving a body will include performing Autopsies, this is done to gain information about how an individual died and information about the body leading up to their death. Another example of a role of a pathologist is collecting further evidence from the body, this evidence includes tissue samples, hairs or fibres found on the body and also potentially scrapings from under the fingernails of the victim which may contain the DNA of the person who killed them. A final example of a responsibility of a pathologist is to write a report regarding the findings of the autopsy, this will report will contain crucial information about how an individual died and the manner in which their death came about. This report will be used and presented in any court proceedings which occur.

Role of Pathologist in other Investigations.

Pathologists will only be involved in criminal investigations when the circumstances of a person’s death are unknown or suspicious. This is likely to be as part of murder investigations to determine how a person was killed, or terrorist attacks where victims have to be identified. A pathologist’s role is to carry out the examination of bodies, or autopsies to identify how a person died or how bad the injuries where on the deceased. A pathologist can provide the investigators with more information about potential suspects, such as if they are left or right handed depending on the way an attack was carried out. Pathologists are also able to tell how long ago the attack on the person may have been, by finding any decay on the body or certain marks that may no longer look like freshly sustained injuries.

Roles and Responsibilities of the Crown Prosecution Service in a Criminal Investigation.

A prosecutor has many roles and responsibilities, most of which aim to prove beyond reasonable doubt that a person is guilty of the crime that they are being accused of. The prosecutor is involved in the report writing and presentation of evidence in court. Responsibilities of prosecutors include: Communicating with the police, other professionals involved in the investigation and also victims of the crime. The Crown Prosecution Service is a government service which employs prosecution lawyers, who will argue a case against suspects in court. Preparing a report that contains all the evidence and statements of individuals involved in the case and investigation is one of the roles that the prosecutor has. The report is used within the court case, and the report prepared by the prosecution contains all of the information gathered by each of the professionals involved in the case. A final example of a responsibility of a prosecutor is to present evidence in court. The evidence will be presented in front of the judge and a jury, if the jury is present. This evidence contains any forensic evidence and any intelligence gathered during the investigation. The presentation of this evidence allows the court to decide if the defendant is guilty or innocent.

Role of Prosecutor in other Investigations.

A prosecutor will only be involved in criminal investigations which are presented in court. In any of the investigations the prosecutor’s role will be similar. This is because in any case the prosecutor’s responsibility is always to convince the judge or the jury that a defendant carried out the crime that they are being charged with. The only difference for the roles in every crime scene is that all of the evidence that is being presented will be different because every crime scene is different to the other.

Role of the Defence Team.

The defence in an investigation is responsible for defending the person who suspected of committing a crime; the defence defend the suspect in a court setting. The defence involves defence lawyers; they are involved in the report writing and presentation of evidence in court stage of an investigation. The defence has a number of roles and responsibilities within an investigation, these roles and responsibilities include: Arguing against the prosecution, this role is designed to provide a defence for the suspect, in most investigations the defence team will attempt to gather evidence which contradicts the evidence of the prosecution. Each role and responsibility of the defence are carried out in order for the defendant to be either acquitted of the charge or being found innocent of the crime.


Role of the Defence in other Investigations.

Just like the prosecution the defence will only be a part of investigations which eventually make it to court. In every type of criminal investigation the role of the defence will be to defend the accused, of any crime they have been charged with. While in court the arguments for the defendant will vary depending on the type of crime that the defendant has been accused of, however the Defence’s role and responsibilities will always include attempting to get the defendant either found innocent or acquitted of any crime that they have been charged with.