Stage 2 Preliminary Investigations

Stage 2 Preliminary Investigation-

After a team has been sent out to the investigation they firstly try to interview the victim if possible. This part of the investigation is also to figure out if there are any suspects and by analysing the evidence if there is a clue to who the criminal could be. The first thing they must do is figure out what type of crime has been committed. They do this by looking around the crime scene and see what injuries the victim has. By doing this they can see what type of suspects they are looking for. For example if there was a shoplifting and someone nearby the shop has a history of shoplifting they are more likely to be a suspect. Each crime is investigated differently depending on what crime it is. Once they investigate and find out what type of crime it is they then see if there were any witnesses, suspects present and keep a note of all their ideas. From this they see whether the crime is suitable to investigate further into and whether to take it into formal accusation and trial. This part is also important as it indicates that a crime has occurred and that a suspect is being searched for. At this stage they are looking for more evidence so keeping a note of everything they have seen can mean that they can look back into this whenever they need to. This stage is quite significant because if it is not done it means research into the crime won’t begin. Due to this it means that the information won’t be wrote and people can’t look back into this crime in the future when they have more information. If there was an error in this stage for example when they were talking to people to get information and they didn’t write it down. It would mean that they wouldn't be able to look back at the information they had found and this would cause evidence to be overlooked because while questioning the person it could have gave clues that they are the criminal behind this crime and it might not be clear while talking to them, but when an investigator reads it back they can then analyse it more. If this happens it could cause the wrong person to be put away because the officer who questioned them will have a very vivid memory of what they said. The ethical issues with this stage is that when a crime scene is first investigated the officers can select a range of different suspects because they need to hear information from a range of people to help them come to a conclusion. But if one of the suspects is a heartbroken mother because her child has been killed for example, it would upset them to get accused of the crime. This is ethical issues that can’t be helped in this step. This stage can help make a successful outcome because it enables the investigation to start and this can also give a large part of information for the crime. Such as how the caller reacts when reporting the crime and how they describe the event can reveal a lot about them. This enables a successful investigation because this is where the main type of evidence is found, because it will be fresh evidence and if they get to the crime scene quick enough it means that they might be able to speak to some witnesses and identify any suspects. This then makes it easier when moving on to other stages and helps contribute with the investigation.

In my case, their main suspect was Sion Jenkins this was because he was found with 158 microscopic blood spots on his top and also the ambulance had claimed to see large footprints out of blood on Billie-Jo then two detectives shown up and a SOCO’s officer turned up after 4.07pm and made sure it was cordoned off correctly so that it could be investigated. There was a bin liner in Billie-Jo’s nostril which had been ‘shoved up’ and a bloodied hand print footprints and the murder weapon which was a tent peg. This hand print wasn’t found until many days later.. But Sion Jenkins said that he turned Billie-Jo over and that the blood came from her. He said this to the FAO pc Bruce and because he didn’t write down his investigation talk with him it can’t be classed as evidence because the memory from Pc Bruce could be vivid. But if he had notes it means he could of come back to them and read back threw them. Also the two daughters who were with Sion Jenkins at the time of the crime where interviewed. Their names are A and L. L was interviewed by WDC Gregory and DC Cleverley and A was interviewed afterwards both interviews were recorded. L claimed that after her lesson they returned home and she went upstairs to put her clarinet away, she didn’t see Billie or hear anything from her. Sion went to the dining room and put his keys on the fireplace. She then ‘ran down and went outside the house to wait’ for Sion who was getting a bucket of water so they could clean the car. Then sion came out and L said ‘we were just outside so he just said “jump on” and we just go into the car’ because they were going to buy some white spirit. L said that A was waiting by the car for the water and that L went out the house first and her dad followed behind her and locked up the door. She claims there was no time between when she left and when sion left. When she left the house she noticed the side gate shut and when she returned she noticed it was open. During the interview with A she said that when they returned to the house she went in and saw Billie, she was still painting the patio doors. A was in the hall and claims that her father was with her as well but she wasn’t sure. She then went outside and L was talking to her while waiting for their father, She said he came out and told them to get into the car so they can go somewhere else for white spirit. The investigators asked her how long did they wait before the father joined them and she said a few minutes about two.