Question
The commandant of the Police Academy has contacted you and would like you to provide a presentation to the graduating class of police cadets that will be assuming street patrol duties in the next week.
The topic of the paper to be presented is on the major categories of evidence in criminal cases, how they differ from one another, and their significance in the investigation.
In a white paper to the graduating police academy class, address the bulleted items listed below.
There are a number of evidence-related resources that are not found in academic journals that may be utilized as references in this assignment.
It is critical that when you make a statement of fact in your presentation, that you cite the reference you obtained the information from in the text of the paper and that the reference is included in your reference page.
As always, your paper will be submitted in the APA format current edition.
No abstract is required because this is a short position paper, but a title page, reference page, and appropriate running header with page numbers are necessary.
Address the following in 3–5 pages:
What is real, or physical, evidence? Describe.
Provide 3 examples of a piece of real evidence.
What is the importance of physical or real evidence to the investigation? Explain.
What are two methods of demonstrative evidence used to clarify the issues surrounding actions or lack of actions at a crime scene for a judge or jury? Explain.
How would they help the triers of fact to better understand the evidence? Explain.
What is the difference between direct evidence and circumstantial evidence? Explain.
What is the concept of overwhelming circumstantial evidence? Explain.
Can it be enough for a conviction? Why or why not?
Be sure to reference all sources using APA style.
Solution Preview
This material may consist of step-by-step explanations on how to solve a problem or examples of proper writing, including the use of citations, references, bibliographies, and formatting. This material is made available for the sole purpose of studying and learning - misuse is strictly forbidden.
Forensic EvidenceAbstract
For an individual to get prosecuted because of a crime, there has to be enough evidence pointing at the person and putting them on the crime scene.
For evidence to be viable in a court of law, evidence has to be tangible and physical.
Oral testimony is frequently not taken seriously in the courts.
Evidence provided must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that an individual is guilty or innocent of the crime.
In cases of crime, accidents, and armed conflicts, traces are left at the scene.
The primary goal of investigators is to interpret correctly the facts and to reconstruct the scene of the event with an aim of comprehending what happened.
The scenes of such occurrences are very sensitive; they should, therefore, be handled with much care so as to prevent evidence from being tampered.
Physical evidence can vary from enormous objects to microscopic objects.
Physical evidence is usually found to be the most reliable thing in a crime scene (Voelker, 1996).
All other forms of proofs that are not backed with physical evidence have limited reliability.
When provided accurately and in the right manner, the physical evidence gives the best prospect of the provision of reliable and objective information.
Introduction
Physical evidence or real evidence is the type of proof that is tangible and tends to prove some material facts. Real evidence can vary considerably from...