Why Is Crime Investigation Important

While crimes in America keep increasing, is it possible within the police field that the staff on duty are up to date with their training and equipment to be able to succeed and solve the crimes that are being committed? With that being said, having the knowledge to succeed the job task is extremely important, especially when it comes down to solving a crime such as: crime scene evidence, photographs, fingerprinting, documentation, and the chain of custody. An important part of the crime scene evidence is protecting the crime scene. The main goal is to detect all traces that indicate a crime had been committed, and to establish any association between the crime and victim, or victim and perpetrator. However, all too often on crime scenes …show more content…
If the chain of custody ever comes into question during a criminal proceeding, the reliability of evidence can be challenged, which can lead to a weakened case when the links cannot be established. The chain of custody begins at any crime scene, and usually started at the beginning. Every officer who comes in contact with crime scene evidence, from the initial investigating officer to the prosecutor who submits the samples during trial, should be well aware of what took place. Simple but critical procedures of having all forms of evidence such as proper labeling at the crime scene, a shoe, or a pair of glasses are immediately submitted to the crime lab. The importance of careful documentation on every individual evidence will ensure the chain of custody will not break to solve the crime well. More than likely, when investigators are working on a case, they focus on securing reliable evidence and maintaining the chain of custody to make sure it does not get broken with other allies coming in to know about the evidence for any particular