PASSI CITY COLLEGE
City of Passi, Iloilo
SCHOOL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE
(CDI O4) Specialized Crime Investigation 2 with Simulation on Interrogation and Interview
MODULE 5:
QUESTIONING THE COMPLAINANT &
SPECIALIZED CRIME TERMS and DEFINITIONS
Module Overview
There are different reasons to know why is it needed to question a person who
complaints about the commission of a crime. There are also terms and definitions which are
deemed very important in dealing with specialized crime matters. It is the basic of all to
study and learn. Learning these is already a big help in dealing with the subject and also
with other subjects relevant to Specialized Crime Investigation. Few words with meanings
are given on this module that you need to read, understand and remember for future
purposes.
Learning outcomes should have:
Learned about the purpose of questioning
Defined Special Crime Investigation
Learned the Different Cases Under Special Crime Investigation
Learned About the Terms Applied in Specialized Crime Investigation
Module Content
1. Purpose of Questioning
2. Defined Special Crime Investigation
3. Different Cases Under Special Crime Investigation
4. Terms Applied in Specialized Crime Investigation
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
MODULE 5
Discussion
Questioning the Complainant
Purpose of Questioning
Effective interviewing of complainants can dramatically increase the volume of information a
complainant provides and has the potential to increase the credibility of the evidence gathered. One
reason for taking complaints seriously is to assure fair assessment of the concerns of the parties
involved, no matter how small.
Pre-interview Preparation
1. Mental checklist
a. Be mentally prepared
b. Know the type of person to be interviewed — the complainant
c. Select proper time and place d. Develop list of questions which must be answered
(1) Main questions directed toward establishing facts of the incident
(2) Other questions to establish rapport
(3) Keep in mind questions defense attorney might ask
2. Decide whether to take notes during interviewing (tape record, written, video)
a. Advantages
(1) Definitive guide for recall and reports
(2) Helps prevent misinterpretation of statements
(3) Orders responses
(4) Provides checklist upon review
(5) Can be used in court
b. Disadvantages
(1) May cause subject to refrain from talking freely
(2) Time consuming
(3) May cause interviewer to "lose track" of the interview
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
MODULE 5
Conducting the Interview
1. Allow person being interviewed to tell own story in own words
2. Control the interview
3. Determine if there is a violation of law
4. Have patience with those being interviewed
a. Some people have difficulty expressing themselves
b. Mentally retarded or mentally ill
c. Alcoholics or drunks
Before ending the interview, take a few minutes to review the interviewee’s responses and seek
clarification of any points that remain unclear or ambiguous. If you have been keeping a written
record of the interview, ask the complainant to sign the document so as to confirm the accuracy of
your notes. If you intend to have your notes typed up, or if the interview has been recorded in some
other fashion, inform the complainant that he or she will be asked to verify the accuracy of the
information when provided with the appropriate documentation.
Questioning Witnesses
The most compelling witnesses are, of course, those who actually witnessed the incident. But
witnesses can also be those to whom the complainant relayed the incident after the fact or those who
heard about the incident from others who witnessed it. Whatever it may be, take note to avoid
hearsay. Take note that hearsay are statements derived from a statement of an individual without his
or her own knowledge. Meaning, either it was only heard or relayed.
Considerations in interviewing witness
An eyewitness is a person who directly saw the criminal event take place, while a corroborative
witness is a person who can only provide circumstantial or indirect evidence of the events
surrounding the crime.
Take note also that there are situations wherein witnesses perceived things differently or
witnesses who conceal something. This is where investigators should be conscious in dealing and
interviewing the witness or witnesses.
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MODULE 5
Questioning the Accused
Prior to beginning the actual interrogation, the investigator should prepare an
interrogation plan by:
a) Reviewing the suspect’s profile, criminal record, and past investigations
b) Reviewing the full details of the existing investigation to date
c) Determining the elements of the offence that will need to be proved
d) Determining if sufficient evidence has already been obtained to submit a prima facie evidence
e) Examining evidence that demonstrates motive, opportunity, and means
f) Determining what evidence was located and considered in forming reasonable grounds to arrest the
suspect
g) What physical evidence has been found that may yet be analyzed to prove the suspect’s
involvement.
Terms and Definitions Related to Specialized Crime Investigation
Arson - An act of willfully and maliciously damaging or destroying a
building or other property by fire or explosion.
Autopsy - known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy, autopsia
cadaverum, or obduction, is a highly specialized surgical procedure
that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the
cause and manner of death and to evaluate any disease or injury that
may be present.
Accused - A person who’s case was forwarded to the office of the
prosecutor and filed in court.
Confession - An express acknowledgment by the accused in a criminal
prosecution of the truth of his guilt as to the offense charged,
while admission refers to statements of fact not directly constituting
an acknowledgment of guilt.
Corpus Delicti - Latin for the “body of the crime”.
Crime - A generic term referring to many types of misconduct
forbidden by law.
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
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Crime Scene - A venue or place where the alleged crime/incident/event
has been committed.
Criminal - A person who is convicted by final judgment.
Criminalist - The officer responsible for recording a crime scene and
recognizing and preserving physical evidence.
Criminal Investigation - The collection of facts in order to accomplish
the three-fold aims – to identify the guilty party, to locate the guilty
party and to provide evidence of his (suspect) guilt.
Criminal Investigator - A well-trained, disciplined and experienced
professional in the field of criminal investigation.
Criminal Law - One that defines crimes treats of their nature and
provides for their punishment.
Crime Scene - The geographical area where the crime was committed.
Crime Scene Sketch - A simple diagram that creates a mental pictures
of the scene to those who are not present.
Rough Sketch - The first pencil-drawn outline of the scene
and the location of objects and evidence within this outline.
DNA Profiling - (also called DNA testing, DNA typing, or genetic
fingerprinting) is a technique employed by forensic scientists to assist
in the identification of individuals by their respective DNA profiles.
DNA Fingerprinting - is a test to identify and evaluate the genetic
information, called DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), of a person's cells.
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
MODULE 5
Early Techniques of Crime Investigation
Archimedes (287–212 BC) invented a method for determining the
volume of an object with an irregular shape.
Book of Xi Yuan Lu - The first written account of using medicine
and entomology to solve criminal cases.
Carl Wilhelm Scheele - he devised in 1773 a method for detecting
arsenous oxide, simple arsenic, in corpses.
Henry Goddard - at Scotland Yard pioneered the use of bullet
comparison in 1835.
Alphonse Bertillon - was the first to apply the anthropological
technique of anthropometry to law enforcement, thereby creating
an identification system based on physical measurements.
Sir William Herschel - was one of the first to advocate the use
of fingerprinting in the identification of criminal suspects.
English Constable - early recorded professional criminal investigator.
Evidence - The means by which facts are proved.
Forcible Rape - Sexual intercourse carried out against a person’s will
by the use of physical violence.
Four Basic Techniques That Can Be Used To Measure A Crime Scene
1. Rectangular/Coordinate System
2. Baseline/Station Line
3. Triangulation/Trilateration
4. Azimuth/Polar Coordinates
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MODULE 5
Azimuth - uses polar coordinates. This method requires two
people; one to hold each end of a tape measure. This type of
measuring convention is best suited for large open areas where
there might not be any fixed reference points. A known starting
point must be established in your scene which might require
pounding in a stake. That point is located by using a handheld
GPS (global positioning system). A large protractor or some
other type of board marked with a circle and degree increments
is used. The zero location on the board is oriented toward
magnetic north.
Triangulation - is a method that can be used when the scene
is irregularly shaped. Two control points are used for this
method.
High grading – selling
Information - The general term referring to the knowledge acquired
by criminal investigator from various sources. Data gathered by an
investigator from other persons including the victim himself and
other sources.
Instrumentation - The application of instrument and method of physical
science in the detection and investigation of crime.
Interview - The simple friendly questioning of people who have the
information officially needed by investigators.
Interrogation - The vigorous or aggressive questioning of person
suspected of having committed an offense or a person who is reluctant
or willing to make a full disclosure of information in his possessions,
which is pertinent to the investigation of a criminal case.
Investigation - The collection of basic facts establishing that a crime
has been committed and that some other person is responsible thereof.
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
MODULE 5
Kastle–Meyer Test - is a presumptive blood test, first described in
1903, in which the chemical indicator phenolphthalein is used to detect
the possible presence of hemoglobin.
Miranda Doctrine - The principle on the rights of a suspect against
forced self-incrimination during police interrogation.
Modus Operandi - Methods of Operation, Modes of Operation, Manner of
committing the crime.
Murder-Suicide - An act in which an individual kills one or more other
persons immediately before or at the same time as him or herself.
Phenomena - A circumstance, event or occurrence as it actually
exists or existed.
Photography - The most reliable means of preserving the crime scene
or evidence.
Political terrorists - The use of force or the fear of force to achieve
a political end.
Power-Reassurance Rapist - The rapist who psychologically doubt his
masculinity and seeks to dispel this doubt by exercising power and
control over women.
Professional Robber - This characterized as having a long-term
commitment to crime as a source of livelihood, planning and organizing
crimes before committing them and pursuing money to support a particular
lifestyle.
RA 7438 - An act defining certain rights of person under custodial
investigation.
RA 8353 - The Anti-Rape Law of 1997.
RA 9514 - The Fire Code of the Philippines.
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
MODULE 5
Rectangular - a method of obtaining measurement to locate an object
by making a measurement at right angles from each of two walls. Works
well for indoor measurements.
Special Crime Investigation - The investigation of cases that are
unique and often require special training to fully understand their
broad significance.
Spectrometry - modern detection method of alcohol and drugs.
Suspect - A person arrested for a crime.
Terrorism - The unlawful use of threat of violence against person or
property to further political or social objectives.
Triangulation - method of locating object where measurements are taken
from two fixed points at the scene to the object you desire to locate.
End of Discussion
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
MODULE 5
Exercise:
Definition of terms
Instruction: Define the following terms given based on your module 5 in one sentence.
In another sentence, define for own definition of such term. Use the following terms in one sentence.
1. Evidence
Definition: ____________________________________________
Own Definition: ____________________________________________
Sentence: ____________________________________________
2. Misinterpretation
Definition: ____________________________________________
Own Definition: ____________________________________________
Sentence: ____________________________________________
3. Accuracy
Definition: ____________________________________________
Own Definition: ____________________________________________
Sentence: ____________________________________________
4. Retarded
Definition: ____________________________________________
Own Definition: ____________________________________________
Sentence: ____________________________________________
5. Hearsay
Definition: ____________________________________________
Own Definition: ____________________________________________
Sentence: ____________________________________________
REFERENCES :
Guevara, R.M. (2019). Criminology Licensure Outcomes Based Examination Reviewer. Danlyn Publishing House.
Philippines:Valenzuela City
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Subject: SPECIALIZED CRIME INVESTIGATION 2 WITH SIMULATION ON INTERROGATION AND INTERVIEW
MODULE 5
