The Value of Crime Scene Investigation in Investigation of Tax Fraud - Research Paper Example

As indicated in the South African Law Commission (SALC) report (2000:26), there are numerous problems in the South African criminal justice system which would account for the low prosecution and conviction rates. In the context of tax fraud, such problems may include the lack of knowledge and skills of criminal and forensic investigators, to detect and prosecute tax fraud. The SALC report, documents that 83.74% of fraud cases did not go to court.

Lambrechts (2010: 3) defined fraud as a white-collar crime that is committed on the commercial terrain. This commercial terrain is also known as a crime scene; a place where physical clues relating to fraud can be found. Hald, Hastrup, and Tilstone (2013: 39) came to a similar conclusion that a crime scene is a scene of an incident before establishing whether the criminal or illegal activity has taken place or not. Barrat, et al., (2011: 326) asserted that the state can withdraw a case if there is insufficient evidence to prosecute. Consequently, Joubert (2010:67-70) pointed out that a crime scene investigator has the following skills crime scene surveying and CAD diagramming, crime scene photography, interviewing and interrogation, coming up with affidavits for search warrants, obtaining telephonic search warrants, and evidence search/collection.

Although numerous researchers have attained great progress in the last few years, the topic of crime scene investigation is quite broad. The studies appear rather fragmented and there is no unifying theoretical model that has been established in this research area. Since fraud is an activity that takes place in a social setting and has severe consequences for the economy, corporations, and individuals, the study proposal will come up with a conceptual framework and research methodology that will outline the importance of crime scene investigation in investigating tax fraud. The research will be concluded with a detailed report and findings and recommendations that will be available to the South African Revenue Service and the Academic community.