Investigating Leads
Within the Investigating leads procedure the witness statements and forensic evidence is built upon. Suspects are further looked into through this and interviewed about there where about's and if they had a close connection to the victim, the forensic evidence analysis is also given to the police and if they haven't already done so they will compare matches of DNA if any is present to the DNA of a suspect. This stage falls next as the preliminary and follow up investigations have already been done, which means there is sufficient evidence and witness statements to be able to interview and question the suspects. The parents of the victim may also be questioned throughout this stage as the police may believe they play a role in the crime that has been committed, for example in a child abduction they may know where there child they might be doing this for a reason. The police will examine the body language of each person questioned as this can tell a lot about the person and if they are guilty or not. If the suspect is acting in a certain manner the police may look further into this to see if there is a reason for it or if they are just in a uncomfortable situation. All suspects will be questioned in the same manner so there is no difference between information given to each, this will allow (TIE) trace, interview, eliminate. If the correct person is questioned and they did play a role in the case this can mean vital information about the case is being brought up that the police weren't able to determine.
It is important to do house to house esquires in near enough every case as it gathers more evidence throughout the solving of the case it can ensure that every little piece of vital evidence is given to the police and if it has already been given through the preliminary, follow up, or incident room procedure it will ensure they are still looking into it as a line of inquiry. If the victim is deceased the pathology results will be given to the police determining the cause and time of death it could also give an insight of the type of crime occurred at the scene. This is an important stage within every case as it teaches the suspects that they are being looked at by the police for having something to do with the crime which may bring worry to them.
There are a number of set stages within the investigation leads they are referred to as intelligence strategy's. These are to carry out a forensic analysis which has been mentioned above where DNA samples are compared or other samples are compared. House to house enquirers can be followed up in the investigation leads as it is looking for further evidence on the case. If the case if a child abduction there may also be searches of potential suspects properties to see if there is further evidence inside (a child, or anything to link the child to the scene). Surveillance is also checked to see the where about's and if the suspects have been caught on CCTV this will potentially give the police a reason to interview the suspect. The pathology results need to be worked upon as well as a financial investigation which can be towards the victim or the victims parents if it is a young victim. This can rule out the possibility the parents have been in on the crime it can also give an insight of why the victim has been murder, abducted, attacked or robbed.
The Soham Murders and The Investigating Leads
Due to the police believing this was an abduction they were able to gather a lot of evidence through CCTV footage, there was multiple sightings of the girls walking together without an abductor they where spotted at 18:13 walking across a car park in Soham. As the parents didn't know the girls had left the property this means the police had no idea where the girls had went and what direction they had left in, by gathering these images and witness statements they where able to see the directions the girls where heading and the time they where at certain locations. The last sighting of the girls was accounted for by a Witness Statement this was given from a member of the public who knew the girls they where last seen at 18:30 on sand street. Although not many suspects where interview through the Soham Murders, police made queries of who they believed had abducted the girls, a man called Ian Webster was questioned throughout the case until the police lost interest in him. Ian believed he has seen the children in a green car on the A142 between Soham and New Market. On the 7th of August 2002 the police seized a white van even though they had witness statements believing they where in a green car the police believed it had a connection to the two missing girls, although they where wrong and found no evidence to link each together.
Throughout this stage the police believed they should have interviewed both Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr although there was not enough evidence to do so. Due to Huntleys being so close to the case they didn't believe he could be a suspect until his body language and speech was focused on when being interviewed on SKY news, both Huntley and Carr were interviewed on the news and showed the same signs when speaking about the girls it appeared they where speaking about them in the past tense. Police searched Huntleys property through this but wasn't able to keep him in a jail cell for long, as Huntley had been a witness voluntarily .and this information came to light Ian was the main suspect for the case and police believed he was keeping a big secret from them.
Throughout this stage the police believed they should have interviewed both Ian Huntley and Maxine Carr although there was not enough evidence to do so. Due to Huntleys being so close to the case they didn't believe he could be a suspect until his body language and speech was focused on when being interviewed on SKY news, both Huntley and Carr were interviewed on the news and showed the same signs when speaking about the girls it appeared they where speaking about them in the past tense. Police searched Huntleys property through this but wasn't able to keep him in a jail cell for long, as Huntley had been a witness voluntarily .and this information came to light Ian was the main suspect for the case and police believed he was keeping a big secret from them.