Detectives
A detective is another member of the police force who is involved within the process of the crime scene to court. Within the police force a detective holds a higher position than a police officer or a first attending officer. A detective works with both public and law enforcement agencies to carry out two jobs, these being find information and analyse it in order to solve a case. At a crime scene the detective may help in gathering evidence and logging it into the chain of custody so it can then be sent to the forensic science laboratories, they assist the crime scene by helping the scene of crime officers identify evidence that would be useful within the case. The detectives also work alongside the scene of crime officers ensuring that no contamination is taking place at the scene and that all is collected and accounted for. Another role a detective could hold is to respond to the crime after the first attending officer has requested backup, alongside the superior officers. The detective within a case holds a main role within the preliminary investigation and the follow up investigation process (more information can be found on these in there section). The roles and responsibilities of a detective are to visually inspect and search the crime for sufficient evidence as well as suspects and victims by doing this they are able to gain an understanding on the crime that has occurred and also what may have caused the crime. The detectives will ensure that all jobs carried out by the FAO have been carried out effectively, for example ensuring that the crime scene has been secured correctly and if not they will be able to change this. The role of a detective could vary as they are not always needed when a crime has taken place, an example of this is within a minor case a detective isn’t always needed a minor case being shoplifting etc. Detectives are usually requested by the police after they have attended a crime scene, the police will only make this request if they believe the investigation is serious enough to require a detective.
Roles of the Detective within the Soham Murders
Within this investigation Cambridgeshire Constabulary was questioned due to their lack of capability within a missing child's case. The department placed temporary Senior Investigating Officer Chris Stevenson in charge, although due to the lack of correct attention shown towards the case Cambridgeshire Constabulary was reviewed and joined by Humberside Police Force. Eventually Chris Stevenson arrested both Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr. It was shown that both police forces didn't look into the case together in great detail as Humberside never gave information to Cambridgeshire Constabulary about Ian Huntley and his back ground of sexual assaults. No detective was appointed in this case as Cambridgeshire Constabulary abolished this which was question due to a superior officer not being capable of running such a high profiled investigation. Within a missing child’s investigation a detective would be needed due to it being so high profiled, this shows that Cambridgeshire Constabulary didn’t address the case correctly. The role of a detective within a missing child’s case would be to follow up any investigating leads and conduct interviews; they would gain as much information as possible in order to find the child. This wasn’t shown within this case; although the role of a detective would vary due to the type of case they are dealing with. For example within a terrorist attack the detective wouldn’t solely plan the investigation alone they would work alongside specialist departments but would still help in analysing the scene and looking for potential pieces of evidence.