Stage 2 - Preliminary Investigation

The preliminary investigation is when we try to see if there is a suspect or not and who can suspected of the crime and whether or not there is sufficient evidence to arrest someone or take action. This stage depends on what crime is being investigated but is a very important process, this stage also depends on whether or not there is a victim, the crime scene, witnesses and suspects and there are very important things to consider at this stage such as if the scene needs to be cordoned off, collecting evidence, how big the search needs to be and what searched need to be done.

The preliminary investigation process is mainly done in a major case such as a murder, however it is done with any case to but to so much extent. in a preliminary investigation the officer will first attend to any injured people and obtain proper care for them, this includes checking vital signs and calling an ambulance. next the officer will then observe the scene which includes the position of the victim, any items near the victim and any unusual activities near the scene, the officer will then make a determination that a crime has been committed, after this the officer will begin an enforcement action which includes pursuing an offender, making an arrest or sending out an description to identify the officer. the officer will also secure the crime scene which is vital to stop any intruders so the evidence does not get destroyed or lost. the officer will interview any witnesses to obtain any witness statements, ethics should be considered whn doing this as you need to treat everyone the same making sure you dont judge someone or accuse them of something id you have no evidence, they need to ensure no information is detained from them however you cant tell them to much as that will go against confidentiality. the officer will then compile a report of their work which is used in the post crime scene investigation.  A preliminary investigation is not required in cases of  warrantless arrests. When a person is lawfully arrested without a warrant involving an offense which requires a preliminary investigation, so the prelimary investigation does differ from each crime and is sometimes not needed atall. media is also very involved in this stage and sometimes can affect the case if the wrong tye of media gets out there, it can also make the public have a judgement on the case. in my case Ian Huntley was very involved in this stage and was seen helping by looking for the girls and some people saw this as a good man heling whereas others thought there was something a bit dodgy about this person which helped the case a lot as many people then told the police which began an investigation into Huntley which led to his arrest.  The ethical issues with this stage is that when a crime scene is first investigated the officers can select a range of different suspects because they need to hear information from a range of people to help them come to a conclusion. But if one of the suspects is a heartbroken mother because her child has been killed for example, it would upset them to get accused of the crime. This is ethical issues that can’t be helped in this step. This stage can help make a successful outcome because it enables the investigation to start and this can also give a large part of information for the crime. Such as how the caller reacts when reporting the crime and how they describe the event can reveal a lot about them. This enables a successful investigation because this is where the main type of evidence is found, because it will be fresh evidence and if they get to the crime scene quick enough it means that they might be able to speak to some witnesses and identify any suspects. This then makes it easier when moving on to other stages and helps contribute with the investigation.

As soon as the investigation began into the murders of Jess and holly, several witnesses came forward including Ian Huntley he claimed to of seen the girls shortly before they disappeared and his home was searched to eliminate him as a suspect. no evidence was initially found at his house however the police missed vital evidence including his car which police later found that he had taken it to be repaired. Huntley gave television interviews and took a huge interest into the disappearance however this made investigators suspicious as to why he was taking such a huge interest this lead to a wider search where the girls tea shirts where found burnt in a bin along with hair fibres, and a trainer, they were found in a storage building at the college in which Huntley worked at. Following this discovery of the burnt clothes Huntley was arrested along with his girlfriend Maxine Carr.  At first Huntley wasn't seen as a suspect due to the help he gave into the search of the girls, no body suspected anything  which is why it’s important to investigate as soon as the call is made so you can eliminate and find suspects. this stage contributed a lot to the case as after they conluding Huntley to be their main suspect, they began to research him and his background where they found a series of previous offences and claims about him which led to them questioning how he got the job as a caretaker in a school. so this stage can be very benefitial in finding suspects and eliminatin them to help in the investigation.