Investigation of the crime or unlawful activity - Essay Example

Part Investigation of any crime or unlawful activity is a precursor to bring the guilty to the rule of law and delivering justice; therefore, investigators play a crucial role in detecting and deterring crimes and other unlawful activities in the society. In addition, investigations may also be for the satisfaction of a personal client, such as enquiring or verifying about the prospective groom. The expectations from successful professional investigators are high. It is imperative that they carry their investigation with speed, accuracy, and diligence. As Swanson, Chamelin, and Territo observes that successful investigators must be resourceful and good in communication. They must be strong in ethics and compassionate. (Swanson, Chamelin, and Territo) The fields to investigate vary depending upon the activity or source where the investigation emanates to. An investigation to uncover misuse of information by a chief executive of a company to buy shares (insider trading) is quite different from a case of suicide or homicide. Therefore, over the years, the field of investigation has branched into many specialized parts, and now, most of the investigations are carried in a team, comprising of specialized professionals in different areas. Still, the basic rules of good investigations and desired qualities of good investigators are universal for all categories of investigations. For criminal investigators dealing with cases such as suicide, homicide, or accident, the site of the crime is the first place to start with. Properly interacting with witnesses and suspects, documenting and securing evidence are essential for them to unearth the truth. (Swanson, Chamelin, and Territo) They have to obtain search warrants and formulate strategies for making arrests. Interrogating subjects like juvenile require special sensitivity. For private investigators, their own learning and experience is the key. When in police as detectives in local, state, or federal agencies, the minimal educational requirement is high school diploma. . Some departments may require 1 or 2 years of college course or in some cases, a college degree. But most of them learn their skills from the intensive training in their agency’s police academy. They are supposed to comply with the law whether on or off duty. (NSW Police Force) Besides, investigative agencies may hire specialized professionals such as forensic experts in case of criminal investigation, CPA or other qualified management experts in case of financial scam, depending upon the services required. Many such services are hired on freelance basis. Expectations from society are high as they are seen as authority and reliable figures to provide leadership and take charge of the situation. (NSW Police Force) While hiring services, it is important that there should be no conflict of interest. Impartiality is important for fair justice. One thing common about all successful investigators is their ability to look beyond the basic; keenness and eye for detail help crack many of the leads. The services of some Federal agents from US Secret Service and DEA special agents are entrusted with special responsibilities. They may require extensive travel. The stakes involved in terms of nation’s safety and security are too high and so are the personal commitments and sacrifice. At times, their job can be stressful. Any investigator is supposed to follow ethical means while pursuing investigation. If evidence is gathered from unethical means, then there is little if any justice that can be delivered. Those signing for government service have to agree to abide by its code of conduct and ethics. For instance, those joining for NSW Police Force agree to its code of conduct and ethics which include behaving honestly, acting with care and diligence when on or off duty. (NSW Police Force) The problem is that many of the so called moral and ethical issues are subjective. Generally, it is agreed that there should be no tampering or plantation of evidence. But often, there is no thin line of difference between what is ethical and what is not ethical, what is just and what is unjust. For instance, those in CIA have to constantly balance between conflicting interests, and often there is no one line of argument that can justify or defend their action. It is blamed by many human rights activists that there is frequent violation of human rights by federal investigators while interrogating terrorists. Many in CIA and other government agencies justify them as vital for counter-terrorism efforts. (Karl). It is true that many investigators at extraordinary times have to make a tough choice between compromising ethics and larger welfare. But that should be exceptional. Apart from their professional expertise, a good investigator should also be ethically responsible and his or her action should have evidence of that while carrying investigation. Part 2 In this new knowledge-based economy, sophisticated technology will be used by high-end criminals, and thus investigators will have to accordingly gear themselves to investigate them. Innovations in technology will both aid in crimes as well as detecting them. US department of Justice reports that violent crimes such as homicide, rape, robbery, and assault have declined since 1993. Property crimes such as burglary, theft, motor vehicle theft have also declined. (Key Crime and Justice Facts at a Glance) This brings to the light that there is a change in general human psychology, and it could manifest itself in other patterns. Criminals in this new world might take their inspiration from Hollywood movies, big financial scams, or philosophy of some extremist movement. For a financial professional, it may be Bernard Madoff. The big threat will be from white-collar professionals. They will be the most vulnerable people when it comes to crime and criminal activities in the future. Some of them will have understanding of nuclear technology. (Broad, Rohde, and Sanger) Dealing with such smart, educated crime-prone people will be challenging for criminal investigators of the future. Incidents such as unpredictable gun shootings may require a preventive forward-looking approach. For example, in a recent gun shooting by a dissatisfied army personnel in Texas that killed 12 people and wounded 30 others, it was later found that army missed vital links such as some of his extremist writings in web as well as his recent visit to religious places. (Lysiak and Goldsmith ) For a criminal investigator investigating crimes in a metropolitan city, in-depth understanding of issues such as environmental crime, embezzlement in archaeological sites, video recording of crime scenes, gang leaders and drugs will be his bread and butter. (Swanson, Chamelin, and Territo) For a criminal investigator who wants to investigate huge online misappropriation of fund, it will involve proficiency in information technology along with other features that are essential for a successful investigator. (Dirven and Taylor) Interestingly, there will be one-upmanship over criminals and investigators on the question of getting access to newer technology. It is more evident right now in cyber crimes where moves and countermoves between hackers and software engineers charged with protecting the websites follow one another. In this case, as one can see there is little difference in expertise between a hacker and a software engineer apart from the fact that the work of hacker is a crime while that of software engineer serves some good purpose. For an investigator, a commitment to honesty and integrity will be important. An investigator should be motivated to uncover the truth. This will be the litmus-test of a good investigator, which will distinguish him or her from other intelligent and smarter people. Today, the expectations of the society are high. They want timely accurate investigations which do not violate human rights. Such expectations from society and pressures from media and human rights activist will demand high degree of professionalism on all parameters. This will especially be true for federal agents who often have to make a tough choice between protecting lives of the people in US and interrogating suspects, who in some cases are totally innocent. Criminal investigators will rely more frequently on DNA and other improvement in biotechnology to locate suspects. (Human Genome Project Information) They will use search engines and other internet tools to gather inputs. The criminal investigators of the future would be autodidact, learning things quickly. With more and more private information available in the public domain through devices such as social networking sites (MySpace, FaceBook Twitter among others) and CCTV cameras, many crimes will indeed be uncovered in rapid speed and accuracy with their uses. The investigations in future will be aimed at stopping big crimes. They will have a flavor of deterrence. Because of the possibility of access to high-end technology by criminals and their lethal impact, the society cannot afford to allow high-profile attacks on them in the first place. Works Cited 1. Broad, William.J.,Rohde, David. and Sanger, David.E.. “Pakistan on a Razor’s Edge. Inquiry Suggests Pakistanis Sold Nuclear Secrets. Frontline World.” March 2004. Retrieved on 6, November from http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/pakistan/nytimes01.html 2. Dirven, Willem., Samer, Anthony., and Taylor, David.J. “Incident response and fraud investigation - the role of the information technology auditor.” KnowledgeReader. 30 June. 2003. Retrieved on 6 November. 2009 from http://www.knowledgeleader.com/KnowledgeLeader/content.nsf/Web+Content/HotIssuesIncidentresponseandfraud!OpenDocument 3. DNA Forensics. Human Genome Project Information. Coordinated by US. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health . Retrieved on 6 November. 2009 from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/project/about.shtml 4. Karl, Jonathan. “Former CIA Directors: Holders Investigation Could Help al Qaeda. Letter to Obama Warns That The Investigation Will Hinder The CIAs Counter-Terrorism Efforts.” ABCNews.com. 18 Sept.ember. 2009. Retrieved on 6 November. 2009 from http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/cia-holders-investigation-hurts-us-counter-terrorism-effort/story?id=8614065 5. “Key Crime and Justice Facts at a Glance.” US Department of Justice. Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2009. Accessed on 10 November. 2009 from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance.htm 6. Lysiak, Matthew and Goldsmith, Samuel. “Fort Hood suspect Nidal Malik Hasan attended same mosque as two 9/11 terrorists.” NYDailyNews.com. Daily News. Accessed on 10 November. 2009 from http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/11/08/2009-11-08_fort_hood_suspect_nidsal_malik_hasan_attended_same_mosque_as_two_911_terrorists.html 7. NSW Police Force. Code of Conduct and Ethics. Accessed on 6 November, 2009 from http://docs.google.com/gview?a=v&q=cache:yLKMS5bgoNUJ:www.police.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/113661/lifestyle.pdf+role+of+the+professional+investigator,+police,+educational+requirements,+lifestyle,+ethics&hl=en&gl=in&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgVjltB-yAIntPIn4H9fP6nyfl-7jZMIB6XiEoptCKj1V-d2QK6HGqBH5LT_uN8Dzm3kydsARHBVY4OOXOxZQ4vkQRYE8wDMFjdI15Pdh2XhjUgocyK2O7yASOUXUuilZd2nYHL&sig=AFQjCNFNGHwW2tYdJm66jcwmghfg-wndsA 8. Swanson, Charles R., Chamelin, Neil C., and Territo, Leonard. Criminal Investigation. 8th ed., McGraw-Hill, Boston, MA. 2003. Read More