New Detective and Criminal Investigator

 Course Objectives and Agenda (CLICK HERE)

Please be aware that this class is a 35-hour training. Therefore, the first four (4) days of training will be 8am-4pm local time. The last day will be 8am-12pm local time.

This course is a comprehensive INTRODUCTORY LEVEL overview for the law enforcement officer who has recently the crucial task of conducting supplemental investigations of suspected criminal offenses. During this course the student will also be exposed to various injury, death, homicide and sexually sensitive and explicit sexual battery cases. Also included in this course will be several post-mortem examination photographs and videotape segments, as well as injury, death and homicide scenes through photos and videotapes from actual closed cases. This part of the course will be VERY GRAPHIC AND INTENSE.

Conducting supplemental investigations of suspected criminal offenses requires the assigned law enforcement investigator to possess a high degree of investigative expertise, skills, and the knowledge necessary to bring the case to a successful conclusion. Today, numerous professionals from different disciplines, need to have the tools to conduct professional and thorough investigations.

These disciplines include, but are not limited to:

• All law enforcement and support personnel and police laboratory personnel

• Forensic anthropologists, forensic odontologists, forensic botanists

• Social services/protective investigators

• Prosecuting attorneys, agency attorneys

• Medical and healthcare providers

• EMT’s, firefighters, paramedics, EMS first responders

• Medical examiners, coroners, forensic pathologists, medical examiner/coroner investigators

• School personnel and others that find themselves involved in these investigations in one way or another.

Therefore, it is imperative that every one of these professionals engage in joint training on a regular basis so EVERY ounce of collective energy can be funneled in the victim’s direction for a successful resolution. Today, more than ever before, we must work together to ensure that all investigative measures are completed properly.

Upon successful completion of this course, each student will have acquired a comprehensive understanding and will accordingly possess the specialized knowledge and skills, needed to conduct a thorough and meticulous investigation concerning suspected criminal activity.

Criminal Investigation Overview:

Where Your Investigation Begins – Legal Issues Involving the Investigation – Goals and Objectives of a Successful Investigation – The Importance of the Post-Arrest Investigation

Identity Theft:

Personal Identifiers – Financial Identifiers – Methods of obtaining personal information – Best practices for reducing identity crime – Federal Trade Commission and Secret Service Roles in ID Crimes

Digital Evidence:

Value of Digital Evidence – Types of Digital Evidence – Legal Issues, Judicial Decisions – 4^th Amendment Issues – The Search Warrant - Social Media- Cell Phones & Towers - Dark Web

Conducting Successful Interviews:

Introduction to Interviewing – Witness Reliability Issues – Witness Types – Best Practices for Conducting Successful Interviews

Conducting Successful Suspect Interrogations:

Goals of the Interrogation – Legal Guidelines –5^th & 6^th Amendment Considerations – U. S. Supreme Court Decisions – Planning and Documenting the Interrogation – Types of Suspect Interviews and Methods of Obtaining Information

Major Case Investigation Study

Major case considerations - multi-jurisdictional cases - Investigative concerns -Best practices - Culmination of the investigation

The 10 Most Common Investigative Pitfalls

Repeated Mistakes/Errors Officers make during investigations - Considerations of scene assessment - Outside resources - 4th Amendment Issues (Search Warrant &Judicial created exceptions

Crime Scene Considerations

The eight purposes of evidence - Three common homicide scene stagings - Search patterns - Thermal injuries - Temperatures for 2nd degree water burns - Bite marks - Track evidence - Weather considerations - Blood at the crime scene -Hangings & Strangulations - Shaken baby - Locard’s Theory - Langer lines -Alternate light sources - Sketching the scene

The Sexually Violent Juvenile & Their Behaviors

Statistics & Studies - Behavioral concerns - Categories of juvenile sexual homicides -Fire setting - Animal Cruelty - Traits of female sex offenders - Child victimizations - Enuresis - Children with disabilities (as victims)

Injury & Death Overview

Motives for murder - Cause, mechanism & manner of death - Homicide classifications- Decedent information & unidentified remains - Time of death estimations -Sharp force trauma - Blunt force trauma - Firearm wounds and injuries - Suicide investigations - Autoerotic deaths - The choking game

Investigative Strategies for Sex Crime Investigations

3 approaches a rapist will utilize - 3 defenses a rapist will give law enforcement once accused - 2 types of confessions from sex offenders - 3 behaviors to focus on in a rape case - 4 types of rapists in our society - 3 reasons evidence is taken from a rape scene - 3 reasons a stranger will abduct a child - The eyewitness statement