DNA and property crime scene investigation : forensic evidence and law enforcement

231 Pages·2014·3.609 MB·English

by  David Alan Makin

DNA and Property Crime
Scene Investigation
DNA and Property Crime
Scene Investigation
Forensic Evidence and
Law Enforcement
David A. Makin
Foreword by
Larry S. Miller
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FOREWORD
Many years ago my first job in law enforcement was as an evidence
technician for a small sheriff’s office. We called it R&I (Records and
Identifications) back then—before CSI or crime scene investigation
was a household term. I was given an old 435 Speed Graphic camera,
a flashlight, and a fingerprint kit. I had a few shopping bags and plas-
tic sandwich bags in which to put any evidence I located. My only for-
mal training was reading an FBI monograph on Collecting and
Preserving Physical Evidence and working with an experienced crimi-
nal investigator. I learned a lot working with that investigator. We
took great pains in documenting the scene, and locating and collecting
physical evidence on those “serious” cases involving death or bodily
injuries. But when it came to burglaries, larcenies, and vandalism we
normally just made a report and, if any latent fingerprints were easily
located, took a few dustings and a couple of photographs for the
homeowner’s insurance company and to pacify the victim. Those latent
images were normally stapled to the report and filed away with no
more time spent on the case. It was only if the perpetrator was caught
doing another property crime that we could “talk him” into fessing up
to the other unsolved property crimes.
Times sure have changed, but not by much. Yes, we have more
knowledgeable and properly trained investigators. And we have more
readily available and affordable technology in our crime scene investi-
gation arsenal. The emergence of the Integrated Automated
Fingerprint Information System (IAFIS) has greatly increased our abil-
ity to match latent prints at the scene with known prints in a national
database. Digital cameras have replaced the old press cameras and
35mm SLRs. The Alternate Light Source (ALS) and other forensic
lights have supplanted the old three-cell flashlights we kept in our back
pockets. Even the public is more aware of the advanced technology
from watching crime scene television shows and motion pictures where
evidence is located and tested in a laboratory within a matter of min-
utes. And, with increased public knowledge of crime scene investiga-
tion technology, there is increased accountability and expectation of
viii Foreword
police response and action at crime scenes. As many prosecuting attor-
neys will attest, if the jury feels the police did not do a proper job at
the crime scene based on their advanced knowledge from watching
crime television shows, it could lead to an acquittal. We have come to
call this “the CSI effect.”
Perhaps the most advanced crime scene investigation technology
that has come about in the last few decades is DNA analysis. The pub-
lic first saw the potential benefits and liabilities of DNA watching the
O.J. Simpson murder trial on TV in 1995. Now, hardly a day goes by
when someone is not either convicted on DNA evidence or exonerated
by it. The technology for DNA analysis is constantly evolving and has
become faster and cheaper. One could predict that within a few years
DNA analysis will be as commonplace for CSI investigators as that
old fingerprint kit I used to carry. It will be a portable, on-scene test.
This book contends that DNA evidence collection should be in
commonplace use for property crimes and not just for personal crimes.
Yes, there are backlogs of testing for serious personal crimes at many
crime laboratories. And, yes, many crime laboratories restrict the testing
toseriouspersonalcrimesduetocostandtime.Butthatisnottosaythat
collection at the scene should not be performed. When IAFIS went
online,manyacoldcasewassolvedduetothecollectionofalatentprint
at a crime scene years ago by some conscientious R&I officer. Already
we have seen nonviolent and property crime cases solved using DNA
technology in cases such as illegal tree harvesting, narcotics manufactur-
ing, stolen livestock, counterfeiting, and game poaching. To not collect
DNA evidenceat thescene ofevennonserious propertycrimes may now
be seen as negligence, even if the crime lab doesn’t do an analysis.
Perhapswemayjuststapletheswabstothereportlikewedidwiththose
latent prints until the day when DNA analysis will be commonplace,
cheap,andfast.Yes,timessurehavechanged—butnotbymuch.
Larry S. Miller, PhD
Professor & Chair
Department of Criminal Justice & Criminology
East Tennessee State University
Johnson City, TN, USA
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have been working on this book, or more specifically the broader
connections between technology and criminal justice, since I started
pursuing criminal justice research nearly 15 years ago. Specific to this
book, it is a culmination of 3 years’ worth of research. As typical, I
should work through the exhaustive list of people and institutions sup-
porting and enabling me to dedicate time to this book. While I will do
that, I want to highlight specifically the patrol officers, detectives, com-
mand staff, forensic technicians and experts, and prosecutors who
allowed me to step into their word and view forensic technology
through their eyes. Thanking them for the participation seems routine.
However, I do not merely value their participation. Rather, each
shared their frustration, hopes, and even questionable ethical behavior
involving forensic evidence. Their openness to this study introduced
new concepts and valuable insight into the challenges, successes, and
opportunities to refine our forensic practice. The trust they placed with
me is something that I will never forget and truly, without them, this
book would not exist and its contribution to the field would be mini-
mal. I also want to thank the individual officers that completed the
survey providing remarkable insight in their responses to the open-
ended questions on the survey. Anyone who conducts survey research is
aware of how rare are these questions completed and many of the offi-
cers took considerable time to share policy, procedure, and again their
frustrations. To continue highlighting the practitioners involved, I want
to highlight Chief Gary Jenkins forhis contributions to this book, specif-
ically the two chapters he wrote speaking to the challenges and opportu-
nities of expanded genetic processing. I have been fortunate to
collaborate with Gary on multiple projects over the years and his insight
on police practice is immensely beneficial. I have worked with many
police officers over my career, but Gary is one of the most research-
oriented, which speaks to his eagerness to learn more about practices
around the nation and even the world adapting them into his agency.
I am indebted to those mentors who helped me refine my research
skills and supported me throughout my academic career. Not forgotten
x Acknowledgments
were their support, contribution, and confidence in me, and that of my
research agenda. In no specific order, I want to thank, Otwin “Otto”
Marenin, Toni Dupont-Morales, Thomas “Tad” Hughes, William
“Bill” Walsh, Faith Lutze, David Brody, and Jennifer Marchand-
Reilly. While it is difficult to measure the influence of a person, I want
to highlight specifically a few of those who have been instrumental in
my career. I have known Toni for the last 15 years, starting at
Pennsylvania State University, and she has provided me with countless
advice, support, and criticism over these last years to see me develop
from an uncertain undergraduate to a confident academic. While I will
always consider her a mentor, I am proud to be able to call her both a
colleague and friend. Without her advice early in my career and her
belief in my ability, I would not be writing this section, nor would
there be a book. Otto provided invaluable guidance and his honest,
albeit brutal questions and comments, taught me the value of an
inquisitive research question, one where the answer is important but
the value of the question progresses the entire field. Faith has been my
“book writing” compatriot. We both worked on writing our books
over the course of the last few years and our conversations truly helped
push through those periods of writers block. I also want to thank both
Tad Hughes and Bill Walsh of the Southern Police Institute. Their
mentorship early in my career came to influence the direction of my
research. Critical thinking, analytical reasoning, statistical analysis are
vital core attributes of a scholar, but to do so with no practical appli-
cation is to fail to step outside of the ivory tower. In part to them, I
learned how to work with agencies, to collaborate with agencies, and
specific to this research, speak to cops, and more importantly get them
to talk back.
I also wish to acknowledge Washington State University and the
Washington State Institute for Criminal Justice Research, where I
serve as faculty and research fellow. Additionally, I want to highlight
the entire team at Anderson Publishing, including Marisa LaFleur my
Editorial Project Manager, and the Acquisition Editor Sara Scott. I
also want to acknowledge Larry Miller for his introduction, which
speaks to the importance of this work.
I owe immeasurable gratitude to my family. Long were the hours,
the discussions, and even the missed opportunities of interaction with
my wife and children. In what has been an intense 3 years of research,
Acknowledgments xi
writing, interviews, and focus groups, I have missed much of them.
Holding a full-time job, completing my doctoral degree, and finishing
this book has meant that my time with them has been brief and while
what time we spent was valuable, I realize that it should have been
more. It is with deep gratitude that I thank them for all the support,
patience, and love. To my wife Danielle, I offer the deepest of recogni-
tions. In over 13 years of marriage, and three universities, you have
always been the person in most support of me. To my son Ryleigh, my
fishing partner, whose equal love of fishing forced me out of my office
and onto the shore, without you, I would have never taken a moment
to enjoy those summers. To Esabella, my inquisitive daughter, I cannot
begin to thank you for all the questions on what I was writing. You do
get the first signed copy as you asked. I also want to thank my closest
of friends who listened to me express my frustrations with the process
and who provided support, encouragement, and always a source of
inspiration. Thank you.
11
CHAPTER
A Series of Questions
A BRIEF HISTORY........................................................................................2
WHERE IT STARTED....................................................................................4
THE BROADER AIM.....................................................................................5
WHY PROPERTY CRIME SCENES?.............................................................6
THE STUDY..................................................................................................6
Interviews....................................................................................................7
National Survey..........................................................................................7
STRUCTURING A THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ANALYSIS..............7
The costs are there, really you can never really get away from the costs but
I believe it is important and if there is evidence, our task is to collect it.
PoliceChief
While unorthodox, I start this book with a series of questions. What
if B250,000 criminal cases existed where forensic evidence was present
but remained uncollected? The cost of this crime nationally exceeded
14 billion dollars. However, what if processing evidence could improve,
on average, an agency’s identification rates, arrest rates, and conviction
rates by twofold? What reasons, rationalizations, or, potentially,
excuses would be offered? What if the costs could be offset? What rea-
sons exist for ignoring evidence? What if the costs still presented an
issue, but still some agencies vigorously aimed for high volume proces-
sing? What explanations and what insight would those stakeholders
offer for continuing to analyze this evidence?
The key to this puzzle of questions is to narrow the unit of focus,
and transition the historical lens on forensic technology to the individual
officer level. To understand the connection between officer and forensic
technology is to gain an accurate understanding of the current state
of forensic technology. A skeptical reader has likely remarked, “Those
2 DNAandPropertyCrimeSceneInvestigation
cases receive the lowest priority,” and this book does not challenge that
claim. Instead,wemustreflecton why,despiteknowledgeofthebenefits
ofexpandedprocessing,thesecasesstillreceivelimitedforensictreatment.
Why, despite three decades of research within forensic technology, have
fewpeeredintotheblackboxofforensicevidencepractice?
This book is about social, organizational, and individual change.
Specifically, how technology through a forensic evidence lens, has come
to influence the police service. It highlights the experiences of patrol
officers, command staff, detectives, and chiefs who navigate the expecta-
tions of forensics and the forensic technicians who support them. As the
investigative continuum exceeds police officers and forensic technicians,
I include interviews with prosecutors to understand the influence this
technological innovation has had on criminal investigations. The objec-
tive of this book introduces the relationship between the investigative
process and forensic technology, using property crime scene evidence
as a narrowing frame. An analysis of forensic technology offers insight
into the social construction of this technology that has placed high value
on the use of forensic technology—if only in limited application (that is
high-level crime).
The broader objective of this book is to explore how technology has
come to shape organizations and individuals. As a book on forensic
technology,thisbookaddressesmanysimilartopicscoveredwithinother
books.However,thisbookdepartsfromthenormbyexaminingtechnol-
ogybeyondtheabstract.Technologyinfluencespeopleandthereforeitis
important to highlight the experiences of those who use this technology,
to place them at the center of the analysis. Exploring the forensic experi-
ences, attitudes, and views of those involved in the investigative process
allows for both a practical and theoretical analysis into the current state
offorensictechnologywithinmodernpoliceservices.
A BRIEF HISTORY
The history of forensic technology has long been a core feature of
modern policing, institutionalized just over a century ago in American
policing by August Vollmer. However, it was not until the Crime
Commission met that a systematic examination into technology and
policing would occur. In 1967, the Crime Commission would offer sev-
eral commonsense recommendations that would introduce technology