Criminal Investigation - Research Paper Example

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION The human society has witnessed an upsurge and increase in the number of convictions or acquittals in courts after testimonies of witnesses. It is sad to note that the natural and objective scales of justice are at times tilted or skewed in one direction or the other due to false confession. Natural justice requires that evidence is adduced is court then an impartial and competent court is given the duty of deciding on the matter. However, when falsified information is used to inform the overall decision and inference of the proceedings, it becomes a lot less desirable. It is in that interest that this paper seeks to get the whole perspective relative to false confessions. It will also explore avenues and approaches of minimizing the increase in the number of false confessions. Introduction The term investigation in the simplest and most basic sense refers to the aspect of collecting information with an intended purpose or function or objective. In most cases, investigations are done so as to find out what could have happened or to demystify a phenomenon. Crime on its part refers to any wrongdoing against the laws, policies, rules and statutes of a country or a state. Therefore, if a person offends another person or faults the laws and policies of a country, such a person would be classified as having committed a crime (Gross & OBrien, 2008). Criminal investigation therefore refers to the deliberate attempt made by state security agencies such as the police in trying to establish truth about a crime or a something that happened. Statement of the Problem In the recent past, there has been rise in the cases of false confessions which may hamper the delivery of accurate and fair trial or subsequent convictions. This research paper will thus strive to expound on the issue of false confessions. In the rhetoric sense and manner, it would strive to respond to the issue on the possibilities and prospects of preventing false confessions in the society. In the best interest of justice and natural fairness, it would be wrong both morally and legally to convict or acquit a person based on confessions which are not true. Thus, it would be proper to explore ways and means through which we could prevent the happenings of false confessions. Definition of terms Crime-any act that is done or committed against the laws and rules of a country-it is usually followed by conviction or punishment by any ad judicable body such as a court. Investigation-system and thorough examination and analysis of evidence that is used to discover information or gain facts. Confession-refers to the disclosing of information which the person would have rather keep secret. Naturally, confession in the criminal realm are aimed at either incriminating or exonerating a person from any criminal activity, establish guilt or innocence of the person. Theoretical framework This research paper and study operates within the assumption and theoretical tenets that false confessions are present in this day and age. It will also assume and theoretically assume that the false confession have tilted the scales of justice to an unfavorable realms and senses. For instance, if a person was innocent or guilty from the outset, it would be wrong for the interest of fair trial if witnesses who were supposed to help the matter lie either to favor the accused or incriminate him. Therefore, it is presumable that false confessions are present in the criminal justice system and appropriate or articulate measures must be taken to address the same. It is important to mention and stress the fact that this research and study will not have any static hypothesis that it would seek to either establish as true or disapprove. This is so because this is an exploratory type of research which flow freely without the borderlines or the limitations of a static hypothesis. The aim of this study is to establish whether or not false testimonies and confessions could be stopped and avoided altogether. Methodology i) Type of research Given the nature of this study it would be a cross between the qualitative and quantitative research. This is so because whenever false confession is invoked and used against one person, it is sure that the level of welfare of that person would be affected. This would happen if the person is convicted on the basis of the false confession. Similarly, if a person is guilt in deed and truth, and a false confession is used to exonerate such a person then it would improve the qualitative aspect of level of welfare of such a person. These arguments and line of thought justify the qualitative nature and aspect of the research process. In the same line of thought and respect, it would be proper to analyze the number of people who are directly affected by confession of untrue nature. It would also be imperative and prudent to get the percentage of people who may be convicted or exonerated due to false confessions. ii) Respondents The body or respondents or research participants would be solely based on the people around the criminal justice system. Firstly, are the accused person who feel the direct impact of a false confession. The accused persons before they are tried, convicted or acquitted ought to give their input and opinion relative to false confession. Secondly, the witnesses would also provide invaluable help and aid towards establishing the findings of this research. It is important to note and mention that some of them also give false testimonies, and it would be proper to understand why they do so. The lawyers either for the prosecution or the defence teams would also provide valuable input since most of them are directly involved with either coaching or coercing witnesses to adduce false testimonies. Hence it would be proper to decipher and inquire as to why they cut deals to either incriminate accused persons or exonerate them. Lastly, the government authorities and agencies including the prisons departments and the police would also be part of the body of respondents. The police have the machinery to do thorough investigations and find the truth about an issue, it would be interesting to understand why at times they allow false confessions in the dock while they could conduct professional investigations. In brief, the accused persons, the witnesses, lawyers and the state agencies would form part of the body of respondents. Literature Review According to Bem, D. J. (1966), children or people who are below the legal age are most likely to adduce false testimonies and confessions. The mental maturity and acuity of the children is not stable enough to withstand the coercions, threats and pressures of the interrogators. The interrogators could be lawyers, accused person or the police. This is so because the children or the teenagers may fear to differ or disagree with the interrogators. They will then try to be in line with the intonations and the line of thoughts and coercions of the interviewers. It is prudent to mention and highlight that the teenagers or the children who give false testimony may not be aware of the graveness of their actions. They do not know that their false testimonies may convict an innocent person or acquit a guilty person. According to Elaad, E. (1990), the parties which have the burden of proof in criminal proceedings have often induced witnesses so as to cover for their inadequacies and shortcomings. It could be that the party may have done some investigations, but then the investigations may have fallen below the requisite threshold of truth and culpability of evidence. Thus, in order to avoid shame, they may induce other witnesses to boost their case so as to get a conviction or acquittal accordingly. A practical case and instance is where a suspected drug baron is under investigation, if the police have been on the trail of the suspect for long period of time and present the matter to court, false testimony may be invoked (Leo & Drizin, 2004). This is particularly true if the police realize that their mathematical chances of convicting the accused are slim. In most cases, the police may negotiate a deal with the friends or co-accused people so as to nail the leader, while the co-accused get a lesser sentence. Subsequently, the mental aptness or sanity and memory retention are some of the factors that make people give false testimonies. If the witness in a trial suffers brain damage or memory loss, then one would be safe to mention that the evidence and testimony of such a person may not be objective in nature. Therefore, if the mental aptness and situation of a witness is not right the witness may give false evidence and testimony to the court. Conversely, if a person has been tortured or subjected to hardship during the time of interrogation the person may give wrong information due to fear or to avoid further pain. Data Collection and Analysis Information will be collected through interviews to the respondents and secondary sources such as books which detail such things. During analysis, the commonalties in the evidence and information given would be used to arrive at a logical inference and conclusions. In case there is any variation in the commonalties, then the ANOVA (Analysis of Variation) would be used to correct such anomaly. Conclusion The above essay has delved into the issue of false evidence or confession during criminal trials. It is important to note and mention that the society has false confessions due to coercion, improper mental awareness or the urge by the party which has not conducted proper investigation. These factors motivate people especially the young people to give false testimony and confession due to their fear of disagreeing with the interrogators. If torture is involved the person may be coerced to give false confession because of fear of the pain that may occur thereafter. As a remedy, it is imperative to note and mention that the witnesses should never be coerced to give false confession and instead they should be told the consequences of their testimonies. Secondly, proper investigations should be done to obtain objective findings thereby no use of force or torture to coerce people to adduce incorrect confessions. References Bem, D. J. (1966). Inducing belief in false confessions. Journal of Personality and social psychology, 3(6), 707. Elaad, E. (1990). Detection of guilty knowledge in real-life criminal investigations. Journal of Applied Psychology, 75(5), 521. Gross, S. R., & OBrien, B. (2008). Frequency and predictors of false conviction: Why we know so little, and new data on capital cases. Journal of Empirical Legal Studies, 5(4), 927-962. Leo, R. A., & Drizin, S. A. (2004). The problem of false confessions in the post-DNA world. North Carolina Law Review, 82. Read More