250 words 1 reference due 6/17/2023
Carasco
A patrol officer must respond to and investigate a variety of calls throughout their shift. One of the most violent crimes that are committed against individuals is the crime of robbery. A robbery is defined as “the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence, and/or by putting the victim in fear” (U.S. Department of Justice, p. 1). The investigative process begins with the first responding officer. During the early stages of the incident, this officer plays a pivotal role in the apprehension of the suspect and a successful prosecution.
Once an officer arrives on scene, the officer must ensure the victim is safe and has received care for any injuries. The officer will then interview the victim to determine if a crime occurred. Since this is a traumatic event, the interviewer “should take care in conducting the interview. Initially, interviews should be conducted individually when there is more than one victim” (Osterburg, Ward, & Miller, p. 434). Once the officer makes that determination, the officer can issue a “Be on the Lookout (BOLO)” bulletin to other police units. This will allow units in the field to search the area for the suspect or suspect vehicle. If a suspect matching the description is stopped by another officer, then a show-up is conducted to determine if the victim can positively identify the suspect.
Whether the suspect is immediately located or not, the primary officer should ensure he completes a thorough investigation. The primary officer should make a request for a detective and crime scene personnel to respond to the scene. The detective assigned to the case is usually knowledgeable about this type of crime. This can assist with the investigation and hopefully lead to a successful prosecution.
The crime scene personnel that respond to the scene must make sure they try to obtain as much evidence as possible. During a robbery, there might be different types of evidence at the scene. Some types of evidence that may be present at the scene may include latent fingerprints, injuries to the victim, and DNA. There is a high probability there will be some evidence present because “there is almost always some contact between the offender and the victim in robberies; this contact often results in information being gained about offenders that may lead to their capture” (Police Executive Research Forum, p. 3).
If the suspect is not apprehended during the initial call, the lead detective will work with the primary officer and the crime scene investigator to try to identify and arrest the suspect. The detective will speak to the victim and any witnesses that were identified by the primary officer. The investigator will also canvas the area to look for video surveillance that may have captured the crime. If a suspect is identified, then the detective will create a photographic lineup and present it to the victim or witnesses.
There are a lot of steps that an officer or lead investigator takes during an investigation. All these actions must be documented in each respective officer’s police report. The prosecutor’s office will be looking for all this information with the goal of holding the suspect accountable.
