The robbery case at 34 Carton Avenue’s Stop & Rob exhibits several elements worth investigating. The incident involves inactive strategic inquiries because the investigations take place long after the criminals leave the premises. Examining the premise, counter, cash register, the utilized tape, door handles, and the garbage bag utilized during the crime provides crucial information regarding the incident. There is also a need to analyze the store’s CCTV footage in case the facility has one. The investigation starts with identifying the store and its protection using the police’s crime scene tape. All the store’s occupants at the time of the officer’s arrival remain inside the store to aid with the investigations.
The officer also establishes a scheme to inform the other involved or concerned crime investigation agencies about the proceedings. All the authorized parties entering the scene utilize a specific marked point. The officer then documents the crime scene as found, as well as takes photographs of the same. The search for all the possible points of contact by the suspects further follows. The officer then determines and captures information and details concerning what was stolen or damaged during the crime. Details about the persons found at the scene and their statements, are also recorded by the officer. The individuals form possible suspects or witnesses for the committed crime; specific findings from the investigations are discussed below.
Investigations on the crime scene identify several stolen items; cash, estimated at $2,146.00, an unidentified number of cheques addressed to the business by customers, and six cartons of Marlboro cigarettes. The robbers also went away with a donation jar with unidentified cash located inside the store. The jar was positioned at the store’s glass counter, together with the cash register. No damages to property or broken glasses were present at the scene. The witnesses also never mentioned noticing a suspicious automobile near the store around the time of the incident. Investigations based on DNA and biometrics also revealed several outcomes. The investigator used cyanoacrylate and ALS techniques to acquire the various fingerprints. The two technologies produced high-quality fingerprints that were professionally handled for analysis, evaluation, comparisons, and verification, as per Hawthorne et al.’s (2020) guidelines. Every individual on Earth has unique fingerprints, making the technology highly reliable.
Targeted areas for the fingerprint collection included the door’s handle, cash register, garbage bag, and the glass counter, particularly where the gun holder supported himself. Fingerprints for all the persons present at the scene, particularly the rescuers and the store attendant, were also collected. The store attendant never reported the use of hand gloves among the suspects, thus warranting the tactic’s utilization. The store never had a CCTV installation, thus eliminating the possibility of using the technology to investigate the crime.
Sharing the description of the two male suspects with the other police units and locals identifies them as common characters that come from a nearby locality. The search further identifies the criminals as lawbreakers on the ladder of several other police units within the district. This aspect makes the search easier due to the combined efforts from the police units. The tall thin offender is also an ex-convict, according to the investigation’s findings among the locals. The aspect thus makes it easy to find the criminals, based on the possibility of verifying the offenders’ fingerprints.
Succeeding in the fingerprints collection procedure further makes the investigation easy because the police will use the FBI’s IAFIS to eliminate doubts concerning the suspects. The evidence will then apply in charging the suspects, who receive a sentence of twenty (or more) years, imprisonment when found guilty. As such, the strain theory of criminology stands to explain the crime’s cause, based on the current economic crush due to the global pandemic and mass unemployment (Case et al., 2021). The theory posits that individuals commit crimes after lacking genuine means to realize the positive things necessary for socio-economic stability.
The incident along state highway 745 resembles a murder case. Initial steps for investigations include demarcating the area using a crime scene tape and informing the medical examiner’s (ME’s) office. The medical examiner is the principal leader in cases concerning murder (Police Bureau, 2021). However, a major task for the officer reporting to the case involves protecting and guarding the scene while the ME and the other concerned authorities arrive at the scene. With the aid of the ME professional, investigations like the change in skin pigmentation, body injuries, bloodstains, the nature of the flesh, and the whole body take place. A change of skin color to deep purple pigmentation is, for example, present on the identified body’s lower part of the legs. Bloodstains are also available on the body, with injuries present on the arms. The deceased’s open eyes also have discoloration signs and the body wears a shirt belonging to a nearby restaurant.
The cardboard sheet covering the body also belongs to a known business entity not so far from the scene. Pieces of evidence collected from the area and the body include blood samples, photographs of the bloodstains, and pictures of the various body parts. Photographs of the whole body and the way it lays on the ground are also acquired. The two unkempt fingernails are also inspected; the flesh in the two (unkempt) fingernails is also collected and preserved in a special evidence preservation packet. Investigation to identify possible straining and sexual harassment on the body also happen. All necessary samples are then taken to ensure comprehensive examination (Dudley, 2018). The body is then well packed, with the aid of the ME officer, to be taken to the morgue. All the samples and pieces of evidence are taken to the laboratory for further investigations.
References
Case, S., Manlow, D., Williams, K., Johnson, P., & Smith, R. (2021). Criminology 2e. (2021). S.l.: Oxford University Press.
Dudley, M. H. (2018). Death and Accident Investigation Protocols. CRC Press.
Hawthorne, M. R., Plotkin, S., & Douglas, B.-A. (2020). Fingerprints: Processing, analysis and understanding. CRC Press.
Police Bureau. (2021). 0631.10 Dead Body Procedure. Web.