Tag: Investigations: Page 33

Technology

Caught on Tape

A video analyst can examine any media containing video footage including analog sources like VHS and 8mm tapes and digital sources like CDs, DVD, digital tapes, and computer hard drives.

August 31, 2008

Patrol

Room Service

Motels are often the first destination for parolees and sex offenders upon their release from incarceration. And that makes for an unfortunate dynamic.

May 31, 2008

Patrol

How to Spot a Concealed Firearm

Unfortunately, Officer Erfle will not be the last law enforcement officer who will fall victim to a bad guy carrying a concealed firearm. The reason is simple; unless you have cause to search, you really can't tell who is packing and who isn't.

October 31, 2007

Patrol

How to Photograph Injuries

I've taught forensic photography to police officers for more than 10 years, and I always start my presentations with the notion that good photographs start even before the camera is out of the bag. You have to have the proper mindset because images documenting injuries are some of the most important photos we take.

August 31, 2007

Patrol

How to Photograph Injuries

POLICE

Accurately capturing the results of abuse is integral to documenting many crime scenes. I've taught forensic photography to police officers for more than 10 years, and I always start my presentations with the notion that good photographs start even before the camera is out of the bag. You have to have the proper mindset because images documenting injuries are some of the most important photos we take.

August 31, 2007

Patrol

How to Develop Informants

Some cops could use a hug. Others could use a Huggy Bear. Like Starsky and Hutch's trusty tattletale, reliable informants provide us with a worm's eye view of their sordid social circles, a heads up on threats to officer safety, and the groundwork for search warrants. They hang in circles we wouldn't want to enter. There is no question that the access they have and the intelligence they acquire is often invaluable to law enforcement.

July 31, 2007

Special Units

Investigating Gangs Outside the Gang Squad

I remember riding with another L.A. Deputy Sheriff in an East Los Angeles gang car in 1975. To me, it was a privilege working with a special gang suppression unit, but my partner complained that he hated working gangs because it was useless. But he was wrong.

June 30, 2007

Patrol

How to Interview a Child

Interviewing a child is in some ways very similar to interviewing any crime victim but, in some ways, it's very different. The first hurdle is to get the child to open up.

May 31, 2007

Patrol

How to Interview a Child

POLICE

Investigators face formidable challenges when interviewing child victims, especially in sex crime cases. Interviewing a child is in some ways very similar to interviewing any crime victim but, in some ways, it's very different. The first hurdle is to get the child to open up.

May 31, 2007

Patrol

How to Spot a Stolen Car

There are many motivations for stealing cars. Some are taken by kids for so-called “joyrides.” Others are shipped to foreign countries and resold or chopped into parts. And more and more often, stolen cars are used to facilitate other crimes, including burglaries, robberies, assaults, and the transportation of narcotics and smuggled immigrants.

April 30, 2007

Patrol

Working Informants

Informants can provide a wealth of information. However, that information can come at a price if you’re not careful how you deal with them. Too many officers fall into a few common traps with informants, leading to bad cases, blown operations or personal complaints against them.

April 30, 2007

Patrol

The Murder of Sara Tokars

The homeowner and a friend went to where the boys pointed to a van across the field and made a horrifying discovery. When they opened the door, the body of a young woman, her head almost completely blown apart, fell out.

March 31, 2007