MODULE 1.

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SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION

                         
WHAT IS SPECIAL CRIME?

•It is the investigation of cases that are unique and often require special training to fully
understand their broad significance. This also requires familiarity with the provision of the
revised penal code, various special laws, prescribing and penalizing special offenses.
DUTIES OF SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATOR
The following are the responsibilities of special crime investigator:
1. Determine if the crime has been committed. An investigator familiar with the
elements of at least the more common crimes will be able to handle most situations.
First, the investigator should have available copy of both the revised penal code and
special laws; this ought to suffice for many of the more difficult cases. Second, the
prosecuting fiscal can be consulted. Third, if it is determined that no crime is involved
or the issue is a civil litigation, with rare exceptions, criminal law enforcement
agencies have no responsibility.
2. Verify territorial jurisdictions. If a crime is not within the investigator’s jurisdictions,
there is no responsibility for its investigation, but the complainant may need to be
referred to the proper authority. Occasionally a crime is committed on the border line
of two adjacent jurisdictions.
3. Discover all facts and collect physical evidence. The facts available to the first officer
to arrive at a crime scene are provided by the victim or complainant and any
eyewitness. Except in law enforcement agencies with programs in place for managing
criminal investigations, they will be communicated to the investigator dispatched to
investigate the crime.
4. Recover stolen property. The recovery of the stolen property has a significant or
having parallel with establishing the positive identity of the perpetrator. The reports
required of secondhand dealers and pawn shops are of great help to criminal
investigators. They facilitate the identification of items brought in for pawn, since
many thieves use this means to convert their loot into cash.
5. Identify perpetrator. In addition to the role secondhand dealers and pawnbrokers play
in the recovery of stolen property, there is a chance that other merchants engaged in
buying and selling may be able to describe who brought in a particular item. Usually
the seller is required to fill out a form giving name, address, telephone number, and
place of employment, thereby unwittingly making a sample of handwriting specimen
or printing available.
6. Locate and apprehend the perpetrator. When people who know the perpetrator are
unwilling or unable to provide an address or a clue to his or her whereabouts, records
may provide the information. When the suspect is located, apprehension seldom
presents difficulties; if it does, a raid may be called for.
7. Aid in the prosecution of the perpetrator. Largely as a result of plea bargaining, only a
few cases that are investigated and solved eventually go to trial, but the investigator
must operate on the assumption that each will be tried. This necessitates that proper
notes, photographs, and sketches are made in a timely fashion from the very
beginning and that the physical evidence present is properly handled and examined.
 8. Testify effectively in court. Although few people are comfortable when called to the
witness stand, the experienced investigator who has testified often can appear jaded.
Yet testimony is effective only when it is credible. When sincerity, knowledge of the
facts, and impartiality are projected, credibility is established. In all events, it is
helpful that the investigator be familiar with the rules of evidence and pitfalls of
cross-examinations.
PHASES OF SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION
1. PRIMARY INVESTIGATION
- involves the first exposure of the criminal offense to the investigative effort. It
cannot be emphasized too strongly that this step is vital to the success of the
investigation. The preliminary serves as the foundation for the case.
2. IN-DEPTH INVESTIGATION
- The second investigative state of criminal offense follow-up or the continuing
inquiry. The in-depth phase follows up initial leads stemming from the
preliminary investigation. The in-depth begins with a general re-examination
of all facts, leads and other types of information secured during preliminary
investigation.
3. CONCLUDING INVESTIGATION
- The final stage, the concluding investigation, is the direct outgrowth of the
previous two stages. If preliminary and in-depth investigation have been
unsuccessful in identifying, locating and arresting a suspect, certain
administrative decisions concerning the continuation of the case must be
made. An active inquiry cannot continue indefinitely.
VARIOUS SOURCES OF INFORMATION
1. PEOPLE - As long as general, specific, or intimate knowledge concerning the
individual endures, it can be acquired by those who know how. People are social
beings, and information on them can usually be found in the possession of family,
relatives, work or business associates, and others who share their recreational
interests. It can also be picked up accidentally through those who were witness to or
the victim of a crime.
INFORMERS - refers to any person who provides information to the agents in a
regular basis regarding to the subject they are either paid regularly or in base-to-case
basis.
INFORMANTS - Any person who hand over information to the agents which is
relevant to the subject. The informant may openly give the information clandestinely
and choose to remain anonymous.
TYPES OF INFORMANTS
1.ANONYMOUS - Unidentified or unknown informants
2.FALSE INFORMANT - reveals information of no consequences, value or stuff connected
within thin air.
3.FRIGHTENED INFORMANTS - weakest link in criminal chain, motivated by anxiety.
4.SELF-AGGRANDIZING - moves around the center of criminals delight in surprising the
police about bits of information.
5.Mercenary - Information for sale needed something for exchange of information.
6.DOUBLE-CROSSER - He wants to get more information from the police more than he
gives.
7.WOMEN - Most dangerous
8.LEGITIMATE - operators of business desire to give information for legitimate reasons
MOTIVES OF INFORMANT
1.VANITY – conceited act/character of the criminal resulting to self - betrayal or tantamount
to guilt, gaining favorable attention and importance by the police.
2.CIVIC-MINDEDNESS – sense of duty and obligation to assist the police.
3.Fear – A person under an illusion of oppression by enemies or of other impending danger.
4.REPENTANCE – One who has a change of heart and wishes to report a crime that is
preying on his conscience.
5.GRATITUDE OR GAIN – An expression of appreciation to obtain a privilege or an
interest in the welfare of his family during his detention.
6.REVENGE – To settle a grudge due to settle a previous injury
7.JEALOUSY – envious of the accomplishments or possessions of another and wishes to
humiliate him.
8.REMUNERATION – a person who informs solely for the pecuniary or other material gain
he is to receive.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
- Any object, thing or article of a material nature is potential physical evidence. The scientific
specialists who undertake most scientific examinations at the crime laboratory of physical
evidence are medico-legal experts, chemists, and criminalists. The following questions arise:
What is the material? If found at a crime scene, can it be linked to or help exonerate a
suspect? Can it be used to reconstruct what happened? What is the cause of death?
- is any object or materials that is found at the crime scene that plays some role in the matter
that gave rise to the litigation, introduced as evidence in a judicial proceeding (such as a trial)
to prove a fact in issue based on the object's physical characteristics.
Types of Physical Evidence
1. Associative evidence
- evidence can be used to provide links between evidence and individuals
involved in a crime. In some cases, the associative evidence (e.g., fingerprints
 or DNA) may be sufficient to prove the contact. In other cases, the associative
evidence may be less definitive and provide corroboration of other evidence.
2. Tracing evidence
- articles that assist in locating the suspect

3. Corpus delicti
- It is considered as the body of crime.

3. RECORDS/DOCUMENTS

1. Public Document
a document created, executed or issued by a public official in response to the exigencies of
the public service, or in the execution of which a public official intervened.
2. Official Document
a document which is issued by a public official in the exercise of the functions of his office.
Am official document is also a public document as a larger classification.
3. Private Document
A deed or instrument executed by a private person without the intervention of a notary public
or other person legally authorized, by which documents, some disposition or agreement is
proved, evidenced or set forth. (US Vs. Orera, 11 Phil 596) e.g. Theater Ticket.
4. Commercial Document
any document defined and regulated by the Code of Commerce ( People Vs. Co Beng, C.A.
40 OG 1913) or any other commercial law.

MANAGING SPECIAL CRIME INVESTIGATION

1. Initial Investigation. There is a major difference between traditional investigation
efforts and managing special crime investigation; the latter has responsibility for
the initial investigation over to the patrol officer responding to the radio call. The
aim is to have the uniformed police officer obtain all information available at the
crime scene, so that this task need not be repeated should a criminal investigator
be assigned to continue it.
2. Case Screening. Another important difference is the way managing special crime
investigation utilizes the initial information when screening a case to determine
whether to close it out as unsolvable or to recommend further investigation.
Experiences clearly demonstrate that every case is not solvable, but from cases
which were successfully investigated, empirical research has been identified
through “solvability factors.”
3. Continuing Investigation. Under traditional arrangements an investigator “caught”
cases by chance. This means that the individual on duty was responsible for all
cases that came in and for deciding which to pursue and which to “can,” that is,
keep in a personal file, off the official record as warranting no further effort. This
practice has many shortcomings.
4. Police-Prosecutor Relations. The traditional practice in the criminal justice
system has been for each segment to act independently with little concern for
other component parts. For instance, the law enforcement agency seldom talks to,
much less exchange ideas and opinions, with correctional people, judges, or
prosecutors, or even with the community members, and even with their
counterpart police agency.
5. Investigative Monitoring System. A case monitoring system is set up to give police
and law enforcement agency’s administrators’ continuous feedback on the
investigative process and the quality of personnel performance. The investigative
monitoring system might focus on the percentage of cases assigned for continuing
investigation, and whether or not the interval between official assignment of the
case, and the subsequent case closure has changed.