Association Analysis
This is the analysis that provides law enforcement officials with the relationships that are made between the pertinent players in the commission of the crime (Peterson, p. 30).
Association analysis depicts the relationships among people, groups, businesses, or other entities in a way which provides the investigator, prosecutor, or jury with information on the nature of the group and the manner in which the group interacts. For the purposes of this volume, persons banding together in some criminal enterprise are referenced; a general association analysis can be done to show noncriminal group activity as well (Peterson, p. 30)."
For this case:
There did not appear to be a connection between the murdered couple and the assailants.
It appeared the assailants were misinformed, mistaken, because there was no sign of drugs or drug sales found in the home.
The family's pet was taken to a veterinarian who attempted to save the dog, but, unfortunately, the dog became the third victim of the assailants.
The crime revealed a shoe mark with what was determined by the lab to be animal blood, belonging to Ben, the boxer.
Hair samples and blood samples were taken from Ben.
The murder couple had no past criminal history, and they both had jobs.
Briefing
The investigator's briefing is the culling together of the information, and using it in conjunction with the detective's hypothesis to arrive at a conclusion as to the events of the crime that can be useful to law enforcement officials in making their case against the criminals.
The Arrest
The criminal investigator concludes the record with the outcome of the case. In this case: while this crime appeared to be a tragic mistake, detectives however were able to identify two primary suspects from the association analysis. They arrested two individuals who were known gang members, and who had recent arrest records for harassing and, in one case, violently...
The detectives then obtained search warrants, which were executed at the homes of the suspects. At the home of the primary suspect, the detectives found sneakers with traces of blood. Lab tests proved that the blood belonged to the family pet, Ben. The lab report was 99.99% a match to Ben's blood, and, thanks to the family dog's attempt to protect his owners, the case was successfully prosecuted.
Conclusion
The work of the criminal investigator is important, essential to detectives who are busy investigating the ongoing case, as well as other cases on their caseload. Organization and a flow of logical presentation of events and evidence is essential to the successful arrest of criminals and subsequent prosecution.
The work requires that the investigator be a person who is willing to swear an oath to uphold the responsibilities they have been charged with (Peterson, pp. 24-25). That the individual is willing to maintain the confidentiality of records and information they are working with in order to maintain the integrity of the case, and to protect the privacy of individuals as throughout the investigation (Peterson, p. 25). The work requires skills in modern technology, the use of a computer, and an ability to read and comprehend extensive technical reports, and to work with the various law enforcement agencies and others involved in the substantiation of evidence (Peterson, p. 25).
References
Lenoir, Tommy, Producer (1999). Cold Case Files, documentary television series. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24401581
Peterson, M.B. (1994). Applications in Criminal Analysis: A Sourcebook. Westport, CT: Praeger. Retrieved October 11, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=24401581
Based on a case presented on Cold Case Files television series, September 28, 2008. It serves as the case example for this essay, but details have been changed in order to facilitate the necessary components of organization for this essay.
