State and explain the three broad categories of evidence in which investigators have a particular interest.

What will be an ideal response?


There are three broad categories of evidence in which investigators have a particular interest:

1) corpus delicti,
2) associative, and
3) tracing.

Each criminal offense contains a distinct set of elements whose commission or omission must be demonstrated to have occurred in order to prove a case; corpus delicti evidence substantiates these elements. Thus, at each crime scene the investigator must keep in mind the unique requirements of proof required and attempt to locate related evidence.
Associative evidence is bidirectional in that it connects the perpetrator to the scene or victim, or victim with the suspect.
The identification and location of the suspect are the goals of tracing evidence; corpus delicti and associative evidence may also serve these purposes.

Criminal Justice

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Over the past 20 years, there has been a growing preoccupation with ____________ crime

a. transnational c. gang b. drug d. organized

Criminal Justice

Which of the following is a true statement about selection of judges in different states?

A. Judges are elected based on a subjective definition of merit in Kentucky. B. Judges are required to affiliate themselves with political parties in Missouri. C. Judges are chosen by nonpartisan elections in Alabama. D. Judges are appointed by the governor in New Jersey.

Criminal Justice

The Supreme Court ruled in the 1981 case of ________ that when a police officer makes a lawful custodial arrest of the occupant of an automobile, the officer may search the vehicle's passenger compartment as a contemporaneous incident of arrest. It does not include the trunk.

Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).

Criminal Justice

At midnight during a weekend, a school alarm went off, which automatically sent a message to the local police department. Two patrol cars responded and checked all the school doors. One of the doors, while still chained, had sufficient slack for entry. The police entered through the door and searched the building. Hiding in the auditorium on a stage behind some curtains was a juvenile with his faced pressed against the wall. The officers located the juvenile and commanded him to stand up and face the wall. The juvenile complied. He cooperated with the officers and stated no one was with him, that he had just run away. The officers took the juvenile to headquarters, read him his rights, and questioned him. They discovered the juvenile, age 15, had no prior history, had a fight with his

parents, and ran away. Upon facing the cold weather, the juvenile sought refuge in the school when he discovered the door was open enough for him to enter. He was unaware of a silent alarm, but when he heard the officers coming, he hid. They contacted his parents, who confirmed the boy had run away after a fight with them. There was no damage to the school. What should the officers do now? What will be an ideal response?

Criminal Justice