Crime Scene Processing In The Correctional Setting

There is no more challenging a crime scene than that found in the custodial setting. Unlike on the streets where a first responder, or pair of responders, can take command of an incident quickly to preserve the integrity of the scene and the evidence it contains, the crime scene investigator in a jail or prison is not so fortunate. The jail or prison crime scene investigator will naturally be faced with a crime scene that is already contaminated, either by the routine and constant trudging of a confined inmate population or by the efforts of staff to restore order. Thus, the discovery of DNA from any one incarcerated individual is not as compelling to the event as it would be in the general public. Furthermore, custodial officials rely on the philosophy of “overwhelm and suppress” to control inmate disturbances. Therefore, the investigator will have to deal with an abundance of staff stuffed into a compact area of forensic importance. In the custodial setting, the focus of correctional staff is the prompt restoration of order with little concern for the evidence that the crime scene may contain. Crime Scene Processing in the Correctional Setting is a practical guide for sheriffs, wardens, superintendents, correctional investigative personnel, correctional officers, and deputies that is written in a manner that is easy to understand and by someone who faced the challenges of processing crime scenes in the correctional setting.

AN INSIDE LOOK INTO INVESTIGATING THE MOST VIOLENT SUB-CULTURE IN THE WORLD Once an offender is behind bars, many people believe that he is no longer a threat to society. However, the felonious activities of confined inmates reach out into society every day. These inmates run lucrative drug operations, commit fraud, hire contract murders, an

Life in a state prison is seldom seen and even more seldom understood. It is a strange and often dangerous world. Scott Doggett is a seasoned prison investigator with twenty-eight years of experience and the goal of a comfortable retirement somewhere on the approaching horizon. Daily he accepts the challenges of conducting major criminal investigations in the custodial setting. The Pajaro Murder and Other Stories is based, in part, on actual investigations conducted at California state prisons, with the greatest due deference to their investigators. The stories involve a world that is, for the most part, unknown to anyone outside the correctional system. It is, at times, an unbelievable world, but it is a real world. More than anything, these stories are lessons in investigative procedure, interview techniques, and the application of forensic sciences in solving crimes. The exact details and names of all involved have been changed to protect the innocent, as well as the guilty.

Research on prisons prior to the prison boom of the 1980s and 1990s focused mainly on inmate subcultures, inmate rights, and sociological interpretations of inmate and guard adaptations to their environment, with qualitative studies and ethnographic methods the norm. In recent years, research has expanded considerably to issues related to inmates' mental health, suicide, managing special types of offenders, risk assessment, and evidence-based treatment programs. The Oxford Handbook of Prisons and Imprisonment provides the only single source that bridges social scientific and behavioral perspectives, providing graduate students with a more comprehensive understanding of the topic, academics with a body of knowledge that will more effectively inform their own research, and practitioners with an overview of evidence-based best practices. Across thirty chapters, leading contributors offer new ideas, critical treatments of substantive topics with theoretical and policy implications, and comprehensive literature reviews that reflect cumulative knowledge on what works and what doesn't. The Handbook covers critical topics in the field, some of which include recent trends in imprisonment, prison gangs, inmate victimization, the use and impact of restrictive housing, unique problems faced by women in prison, special offender populations, risk assessment and treatment effectiveness, prisoner re-entry, and privatization. The Oxford Handbook of Prisons and Imprisonment offers a rich source of information on the current state of institutional corrections around the world, on issues facing both inmates and prison staff, and on how those issues may impede or facilitate the various goals of incarceration.

This is a guide to recommended practices for crime scene investigation. The guide is presented in five major sections, with sub-sections as noted: (1) Arriving at the Scene: Initial Response/Prioritization of Efforts (receipt of information, safety procedures, emergency care, secure and control persons at the scene, boundaries, turn over control of the scene and brief investigator/s in charge, document actions and observations); (2) Preliminary Documentation and Evaluation of the Scene (scene assessment, "walk-through" and initial documentation); (3) Processing the Scene (team composition, contamination control, documentation and prioritize, collect, preserve, inventory, package, transport, and submit evidence); (4) Completing and Recording the Crime Scene Investigation (establish debriefing team, perform final survey, document the scene); and (5) Crime Scene Equipment (initial responding officers, investigator/evidence technician, evidence collection kits).

Effective Practices in Correctional Settings-II by Christopher T. Lowenkamp, Melanie S. Lowenkamp & Charles R. Robinson