AC 1.1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the roles of personnel involved in criminal investigations./ Download

AC 1.1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the roles of personnel involved in criminal investigations. Personnel involved. – *Police officers/ detectives who investigate the crime. *Forensic specialists with expertise in different areas. *Crime scene investigators - in the UK scenes of crime officers (SOCO's) who collect evidence. *The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which decides if a suspect is charged. *There are also other agencies e.g. the National Crime Agency which is responsible for leading the UK's fight to cut serious and organised crime, and HM revenue and customs. *Forensic scientists who interpret the evidence. *A pathologist who determines the cause and means of death, which can provide vital investigative evidence. Scene's of crime officers (SOCOs) – *These roles are often depicted on television as CSIs all crime scene investigators and are employed by the police service to preserve and protect a crime scene and recover evidence. *Clearly, such evidence can be vital in criminal investigations. - Ian Huntley. *It is essential the evidence at a crime scene remains uncontaminated and is collected as soon as possible to provide reliable evidence in a criminal investigation. *SOCOs Typically search for trace evidence such as gunshot residue, fingerprints and hairs and fibres, Should contamination occur, the evidence will be inadmissible (unable to be used) in court, However, such risk is minimised as SOCOs are trained and qualified in this area. *They usually operate an on-call system and are therefore always available to assist in criminal investigations. Limitations of SOCOs –