The text covers the legal authority, procedures, and latest techniques for public and private investigations of criminal, civil, and regulatory cases. Its scope includes legal and operational information on police investigative units; case management procedures; and techniques for uncovering law violations ranging from street crimes to organized and corporate crimes, including insurance fraud, terrorist acts, corruption, drug smuggling, and many more. The book introduces basic investigative principles and defines the legal authority of police, security officers, and regulatory and insurance investigators. More than 60 experts (FBI agents, detectives, law professors, security managers, and others) contributed to the text. Chapters outline stop-and-frisk and search-and-seizure laws (as well as others that must be understood to bring a case to conviction) and explain the roles of the grand jury and the investigator in court and process serving. Police procedures at the scene of the crime and afterwards, and the detective division's organization and operations are explained (including forensic and intelligence operations). Contributors suggest techniques for obtaining information from individuals (including informants) through interviews and interrogations, polygraph and media investigations, hypnosis, and genealogy. Chapters discuss investigations of specific business crimes involving computers, unions, nursing homes and other Medicaid providers, credit cards, prescription drugs, and insurance frauds. The text also describes investigations of sexual assaults, homicide, extortion, art thefts, drug operations, and hostage taking. A model case management plan, a checklist for investigative notetaking, information sources and sample contact letters, and eyewitness identification methods are included, as well as discussions of 'sting' operations, time of death determinations, investigations of environmental problems (such as chemical fires), and other specific working aids.

Scores of talented and dedicated people serve the forensic science community, performing vitally important work. However, they are often constrained by lack of adequate resources, sound policies, and national support. It is clear that change and advancements, both systematic and scientific, are needed in a number of forensic science disciplines to ensure the reliability of work, establish enforceable standards, and promote best practices with consistent application. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward provides a detailed plan for addressing these needs and suggests the creation of a new government entity, the National Institute of Forensic Science, to establish and enforce standards within the forensic science community. The benefits of improving and regulating the forensic science disciplines are clear: assisting law enforcement officials, enhancing homeland security, and reducing the risk of wrongful conviction and exoneration. Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States gives a full account of what is needed to advance the forensic science disciplines, including upgrading of systems and organizational structures, better training, widespread adoption of uniform and enforceable best practices, and mandatory certification and accreditation programs. While this book provides an essential call-to-action for congress and policy makers, it also serves as a vital tool for law enforcement agencies, criminal prosecutors and attorneys, and forensic science educators.

This is the second edition of the landmark book that standardized the language and terminology used throughout the criminal justice system. It classifies the critical characteristics of the perpetrators and victims of major crimes—murder, arson, sexual assault, and nonlethal acts—based on the motivation of the offender. The second edition contains new classifications on computer crimes, religion-extremist murder, and elder female sexual homicide. This edition also contains new information on stalking and child abduction, the use of biological agents as weapons, cybercrimes, Internet child sex offenders, burglary and rape, and homicidal poisoning. In addition, many of the case studies and crime statistics have been updated.

The Blame Machine describes how disasters and serious accidents result from recurring, but potentially avoidable, human errors. It shows how such errors are preventable because they result from defective systems within a company. From real incidents, you will be able to identify common causes of human error and typical system deficiencies that have led to these errors. On a larger scale, you will be able to see where, in the organisational or management systems, failure occurred so that you can avoid them. The book also describes the existence of a 'blame culture' in many organisations, which focuses on individual human error whilst ignoring the system failures that caused it. The book shows how this 'blame culture' has, in the case of a number of past accidents, dominated the accident enquiry process hampering a proper investigation of the underlying causes. Suggestions are made about how progress can be made to develop a more open culture in organisations, both through better understanding of human error by managers and through increased public awareness of the issues. The book brings together documentary evidence from recent major incidents from all around the world and within the Rail, Water, Aviation, Shipping, Chemical and Nuclear industries.