Crime Scene Staging - Essay Example

Annotated Bibliography on Crime Scene Staging Annotated Bibliography on Crime Scene Staging Chancellor, A & Graham, G. (2014). Staged Crime Scenes: Crime Scene Clues to Suspect Misdirection of the Investigation. Investigative Sciences Journal, 6(1): 21-35. Using a qualitative descriptive research design, the authors give a limelight to the dynamics of staged crime scenes. The main objective of their article is to offer insights into the major categories of staged crimes. It is important since it helps in understanding the major motives behind staging and ways in which related actions can be identified. Therefore, it will be significant to my study because it will aid in answering the question on how law enforcement officers carry out such investigations and the main psychological motives that drive people to act in such a manner. The authors declare that there are three major staging categories, which are primary, secondary, and tertiary. The first category is defined as the intentional altering of evidence or offering false information to the law officials with intent to misdirect the investigation from the real facts. Therefore, the main motivation in this case is to redirect the case and ensure the perpetrator is not caught. There is also the secondary staging whereby the police examines the psychological aspects of the offender and uses acts such as placing objects on the top of the victim’s head, posing the victim in a sexual manner, and insertion of objects. For that reason, the main basis here is psychological fantasies that are intended to shock or humiliate the victim and the public. Finally, there is the tertiary category in which family members carry out the staging in order to protect their relatives. The article is convincing and the information given can be justified. For instance, Hazelwood and Napier (2014 as well as Geberth (2010) claim that people stage crimes due to various reasons such as protecting their family members, to satisfy their sexual fantasies, and to misdirect the authorities. The article is quite detailed, informative, and easy to read. However, it does not offer concrete ways in which such staging activities can be reduced; hence, a need for further research. Ferguson, C. (2014). Staged Homicides: an Examination of Common Features of Faked Burglaries, Suicides, Accidents and Car Accidents. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Retrieved from < http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-014-9154-1#page-2> Ferguson examined 115 homicides in an aim to answer the question with regard to the common elements that victims and offenders of staged crimes have and features of staged scenes. This is an imperative qualitative study since it not only tries to explain what staging crime entails but also the main elements that the public and the law enforcement agencies should look out for when dealing with similar cases. The objective of the study was to describe how evidence is manipulated and ways in which such crimes are perpetrated. The author posits that one of the main characteristics of such cases is a scenario where the involved parties have a relationship. This is somewhat true since Keppel and Walter (2009) argue that victims are often discovered in their residence by the perpetrator. However, it is not entirely factual since it is possible to accidentally hit a stranger with a personal car and manipulate evidence to avoid been caught. The author also detailed some of the main characteristics of staged burglaries such as lack of entry points, and taking of non-valuables among others. The article is indisputably edifying and paramount to my study since unlike most of the scholars who have prioritized on examining the frequency of such cases, Ferguson has gone into deeper length to explain the main characteristics behind such staged crimes. Nevertheless, the information given is insufficient since he should have also detailed the some of the principal motivations such as sexual interests as explained by Schlesinger et al. (2014). In that case, there is a need for more future research on the subject. Geberth, V. (2010). Crime Scene Staging an Exploratory Study of the Frequency and Characteristics of Sexual Posing in Homicides. Investigative Sciences Journal, 2(2): 1-19. Geberth carried a quantitative study to determine the rates of sexual oriented crime scene staging. He used a purposive sampling method of retired and active law enforcement groups who had extensive experience on homicide related investigations. It is an impressive article and one that is important in my study since it will give more limelight to the rates of such crimes and their major characteristics. It also answers the question on whether such crimes have reduced or increased in the last few decades. In an easy to read language, the author emphasizes that there are no dependable data on the rate at which such cases occur. This is rather unsatisfactory, considering the title of the article is on frequency. The author should have explained why there is no reliable information on the same. Despite the challenge posed by the article, it has done a tremendous job, detailing some of the motivating features behind the occurrences such as sexual fantasy or a need to satisfy anger. The author states that in an estimated 44, 541 investigations that were carried out, there was less than 1% cases in which sexual staging was reported. This means that staging of crimes, mostly those that are sexually related are low. The information is justifiable since other scholars such as Hazelwood and Napier (2014) hold the same view, alleging that staging has reduced in the last few years. The article has fulfilled its purpose with regard to explaining homicide scenes and their occurrence rates. It is divided into various sections; hence, it is not monotonous and has given possible motivating elements as well as the main mode of killing used, which is strangulation. Although it is a great article and can be recommended to all interested parties, the study is biased since respondents were asked give an approximate number of related investigations, which involved sexual posing. It is also highly probable that respondents relied heavily on their knowledge on sexual posing and not the facts. Hazelwood, R & Napier, M. (2004). Crime Scene Staging and its Detection. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 48(6):744-759. In a qualitative study, Hazelwood and Napier have given insights to what crime scene staging entails, its occurrence, and motives. The main objective of the article is to give a clear limelight to how staging of crimes occur. It is an important subject since it gives critical information and educates the public, the forensic psychologists, criminology students, and educators on why diverse people are motivated to stage crimes. It also gives an overview on the major effects behind staging and ensures that the stakeholders come up with preventive measures and sound legal mechanisms to curb or minimize the problem. The authors argue that staging crimes is usually conscious and happens to people who have direct relationship with the offenders. The articles is obviously enlightening and will be helpful in my study since it details the major motives behind staging such as in cases where the family wants to protect their relatives; hence, cases of murder are made to look as if they are suicide related. Similarly, Chancellor and Graham (2014, p.33) argue that families are highly likely to protect their loved ones in order to maintain their reputation; hence, they are forced to interfere with the crime scene. The article states that the rate of such crimes has reduced significantly, which is accurate since other researchers such as Schlesinger et al. (2014) hold a similar view. However, although the authors have given detailed information on the rates of crime and the underlying motivations, they have failed to offer more limelight on some of the red flags that give the offenders away. For instance, Keppel and Walter (2009) affirm that people who stage crimes undergo intense stress and do not have sufficient time to fit pieces in a logical and reasonable manner. This means that there are inconsistencies that help in preventing the investigation from being one that is misguided. The authors have also failed to offer logical solutions on ways to curb the menace. For that reason, future research should offer reasonable measures on ways to prevent staging cases and detail some of the red flags. Keppel, RD. (2004). The Rarity of “unusual” (corrected) Dispositions of Victim Bodies: Staging and Posing. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 49(6):1308-1312. Using the Washington State Attorney General’s Homicide Investigation and Tracking System’s Database instrument, Keppel carried out a quantitative study to investigate murder cases from the year 1981-2000. Approximately 5, 224 cases were examined in order to analyze the rate at which staging occurred, their racial and gender affiliations, and the types of homicide cases that are normally reported. The article is direct to the point and quite instructive since it goes into lengthy details to explain the type of people who often stage crimes. For that reason, it will be important in my study since it will give a racial as well as a gender twist with regard to staging crimes in order to offer more clarity to the problem at hand. Consequently, it will help in offering logical solutions into the problem and ways it can be curtailed. Just like Geberth (2010), Keppel (2004) confirms that such cases are limited. He argues that since 1981 to the year 2000, there were only 1.3% of people whose body has been altered. It was also determined that the parties involved had unique characteristics since they were adults and most of them were whites. Results also revealed that females were more affected, mostly in sexual related staging. Some of the methods used to kill are stabbing, binding, and ligatures among others. The article is not only reasonable but also compelling since other researchers such as Geberth (2007) hold the same opinion. However, it does not have current data and does not fully explain why whites are more involved in such staging activities either as victims or offenders. Despite its limitations, it has served its purpose and can be recommended to researchers, academicians, legal practitioners, and those who are interested in understanding more about staged crimes. Schlesinger, L., Gardenier, A., Jarvis, J & Scheehan-Cook, J. (2014). Crime Scene Staging in Homicide. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 29(1):44-51. Schlesinger et al. (2014) employed a mixed methodology to outline the levels, types, occurrence, and motives for staging crimes. Using a non-random research strategy, the authors analyzed 946 homicide oriented crimes that were given by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The main objective of the article is to give a clear picture on the rates of staged crimes, how investigation is carried out, and the main reasons behind staging. This is important in educating the public on ways they can reduce such cases and how the police department can detect such situations and ensure that justice is served. From the study, it was determined that those people who stage crime are a few and utilize various methods. Results also revealed there is a prevailing relationship between the victim and the offender. The authors claim that stagers move bodies due to various reasons such as sexual interests or to send a specific message to the first responders. This is factual, considering other scholars such as Chancellor and Graham (2014) have also quoted the aforesaid basis, arguing that those whose motive is sexually oriented tend to insert objects on the victim’s private parts. The author asserts that it is highly possible for stagers to redirect the examination in order to make the homicide appear differently from what it really is. Although the information given is factual, it is inconclusive since it fails to give insights to how the investigators ascertain that a crime has been staged. In addition, non-random sample is not a representative of the rates of homicides in the entire population. Therefore, this is an inferior option since researchers are forced to utilize subjective judgments; hence, easy to generalize the sample. It also fails to come up with recommendations on how to curb such crimes. Despite the flaws, the article is essential, up to date, reliable, and has paramount data that will support my proposed study on the rate of staged crimes and the major basis. However, future research should focus on offering sound basis behind the crimes and come up with rational recommendations. References Chancellor, A & Graham, G. (2014). Staged Crime Scenes: Crime Scene Clues to Suspect Misdirection of the Investigation. Investigative Sciences Journal, 6(1): 21-35. Ferguson, C. (2014). Staged Homicides: an Examination of Common Features of Faked Burglaries, Suicides, Accidents and Car Accidents. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology. Retrieved from < http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11896-014-9154-1#page-2 > Geberth, V. (2010). Crime Scene Staging an Exploratory Study of the Frequency and Characteristics of Sexual Posing in Homicides. Investigative Sciences Journal, 2(2): 1-19. Geberth, V.J. (2007). Crime Scene Staging and Alterations: the CSI effect on Criminal Investigations. Journal of Professional Investigators, 20(2). Retrieved from < http://www.practicalhomicide.com/Research/PIMag0707.htm > Hazelwood, R & Napier, M. (2004). Crime Scene Staging and its Detection. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 48(6):744-759 Keppel, R & Walter, R. (2009). Profiling Killers: a revised Classification Model for understanding Sexual Murder. International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, 43(4): 417-437. Keppel, RD. (2004). The Rarity of “unusual” (corrected) Dispositions of Victim Bodies: Staging and Posing. Journal of Forensic Sciences, 49(6):1308-1312. Schlesinger, L., Gardenier, A., Jarvis, J & Scheehan-Cook, J. (2014). Crime Scene Staging in Homicide. Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, 29(1):44-51. Read More