Stage 3 - The investigation plan

This is a very important stage because this is where we need to gather most information and maximum amount of material as we can which may generate further lines of enquiry, we will identify the most appropriate line of enquiry such as the amount of police needed etc. in this stage we will need to consider resources and priorities and also manage the community in where this crime has happened and also the public. this stage will vary for the crime that has been committed and the extent of the crime. if it was a murder case or something so serious like a child missing then a lot more police will be needed and that case will take priority over anything, media will be involved to help with the case however ethics will be considered as police and the media will need to consider confidentiality and not release pictures especially if its of children missing, they would need consent. this stage is very important and can be very beneficial to the investigation as deciding how many police is needed could really help the case as more police been more people investigating and finding information.  This stage is important because it is the plan to start the investigation off and once a plan has been made it means that it can be followed by a range of people and make the investigation process quicker. If the process has been made quicker it means the criminal can be found before they commit more crimes. But it isn’t the most important part in the investigation because the plan is usually changed a lot and done in different orders, it just makes it easier because if the investigation is planned out it means they can look at the plan and follow it. This stage isn’t very significant because usually the plan isn’t always followed because there can be a change in plan if something if found out. For example if after questioning someone they admit to doing the crime, the plan won’t need to be followed out because the crime will be solved. But if the investigation plan isn’t done correctly and people are all doing the same job for example they are all questioning a suspect It means there will not be enough evidence to convict anyone because they all did the same thing. So a plan is useful as it shows people what their role is in the investigation and what steps they can do to help solve the crime. The main ethical issues involved depend on what the crime requires. For example if the officers need to search the whole neighborhoods households, this may be an ethical issue for some people who feel their privacy has been evaded. Also if press are involved and find out the investigation plan it means they could publish It and the criminal will know how to prevent getting caught by the plan. So the press would be an ethical issue in this stage and an issue for the officer. After this a follow up investigation can be performed to see if there is a lead to anything which took place in the initial investigation. The investigation plan makes the investigation successful because it enables a organised plan to the criminal investigation and if it is followed it means no important stages will be missed and a criminal can be found out.

The initial response in the Ian Huntley case was said to be of a high standard however momentum was lost over the following 48 hours and that during the early stages of the enquiry into the disappearance of the two girls, there was a lack of focus and co-ordination.its important to come up with a plan when the initial call is made especially in a case like this when missing children are involved, a plan needs to be in place so that as much information is gathered which is fresh for example in this case he was able to murder the two young girls and drive their bodies 20 miles away before coming back to help look for the girls. However the determination and commitment of officers, police staff and constables which led to the arrest of Maxine Carr and Ian Huntley 13 days into the investigation which also suggests that the most appropriate line of enquiry and the amount of police was a a high level and a plan was put into place to solve the case however if focus had of been in place in the first 48 hours then the case may have been solved sooner. the investigation plan in my case was very beneficial to the investigation process because as many police as possible where included in this case to help find the girls which resulted in the girls bodies and the arrest of Huntley in 13 days which was a successful outcome however there was errors at this stage as a lot of people from the public where involved in the media including Huntley who killed the girls. however at the same time because of this and the incident room that was set up it helped to prosecute the guilty party.