Softcover

ISBN 10: 0131972715 ISBN 13: 9780131972711

Publisher: Pearson Academic, 2008

Criminal Investigation: In Search of the Truth has been written for Police Foundations or Law and Security Administration courses in Ontario colleges. This text will be enthusiastically welcomed by instructors and students taking courses in Interviewing and Investigation or Investigation and Evidence. It is an authentic text full of real-life examples, that brings together a plethora of materials in a clear and very readable style with a concise format. Lessons are structured in a building-block fashion that allows students to utilize the knowledge learned in previous lessons as they progress throughout the text. The text establishes an introductory framework dealing with the basic investigative function and matters of evidence. The remaining chapters then mirror exactly what occurs during an actual investigation - interviewing victims and witnesses, interrogating suspects, examining crime scenes, collecting and handling evidence, managing complex issues such as victim and media relations - and culminates in preparing and presenting successful investigations in court. The entire textbook emphasizes the need for a methodical and systematic approach and promotes an ethical and interdisciplinary methodology of investigating criminal and quasi-criminal occurrences. Written by Bill Van Allen, a retired police officer and detective with 31 years experience in the field - Criminal Investigations Branch, OPP - this book is the most current, authoritative and well-written text available.

From the Back Cover:

“Good investigators are made - sometimes they are self-made -

but they are never born.”

 

There is no magic in conducting a proper criminal investigation - in fact, there never was any. An investigation, simply defined, is nothing more than a search for the truth regarding the circumstances of an incident that involves the collection of evidence and the gathering of information.

 

This book represents the lessons I learned both experientially and from a collection of some of the finest investigators, coroners, prosecutors, judges and other justice professionals in Ontario and across Canada who it was my privilege to meet and on occasion, to work with. From a young constable to Crime Unit Supervisor and on to Detective Inspector for the Criminal Investigation Brach of the OPP, I had numerous opportunities in my 29 years of service to learn from the best.

 

I learned from them all that the police have a heavy responsibility to seek only the truth and to let justice be dispensed by the courts. The modern investigator must strive to see justice done, rather than try to win cases - at any cost.

 

Bill Van Allen, from the author's Introduction

 

SPECIAL FEATURES

 

·         The first textbook to reflect the best practices and minimum standards contained in Ontario's recently mandatedMajor Case Management (MCM) Manual

·        Investigative Relevance boxescontain practical advice on procedures and concepts

·        Proper Investigative Procedure boxesoffer tips on correct techniques

·        Investigative Hypothesis boxesare visual aids to show a deductive equation or linear hypothesis derived from a crime scene

·        Storiesof actual investigations based on the author's experiences lend authenticity and high interest

·        Photosand crime scene drawingsshow investigative techniques and procedures.

·         14 samples of frequently usedInvestigative and Case Management forms

 

 

 

 

About the Author:

Bill Van Allen began his policing career with the Ontario Provincial Police in 1975. Between 1997 and 2003, he served as the Project Director of the Campbell Report Implementation Project, responsible for the design and implementation of a Major Case Management System, now used by all Ontario police services and the Ontario Provincial Police in the investigation of predatory crimes such as sexual assaults and homicides. In January 2004 D.I. Van Allen retired from law enforcement after a thirty-one year career that encompassed eighteen years of full-time criminal investigative duties. During his career, he investigated over fifty homicides, suspicious deaths, suicides, robberies, arsons, sexual offences, drugs, break and enters and other major crimes. Among other accomplishments, the author has received the Commissioner's Citation for investigative excellence and is a recipient of the Police Exemplary Service Medal. The author is a life member of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police and a former member of the Harvard Associates in Police Science and the International Homicide Investigators Association. In 2003, Van Allen began teaching in the Justice and Public Safety Institute at Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology at the Barrie and Orillia campuses.