How are crimes detected in the US?

[rupol2000]

Suppose there is a suspect in a criminal offense, for example, on a statement.

At this stage, it is necessary to identify whether this is really a criminal, or if he is suspected erroneously.

I want to know who exactly is doing this in the USA and whether they are obliged to initiate operational activities (such as shadowing a potential criminal, identifying possible traces of crimes, interviewing possible witnesses, and so on)

In accordance with the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure, for example, investigators of the prosecutor's office may, but are not required to initiate such events as part of a prosecutor's check. I think that this is wrong, because it opens a window of corruption, and prosecutors are not responsible for insufficient investigation.

 

[WinterBorn]

Suppose there is a suspect in a criminal offense, for example, on a statement.

At this stage, it is necessary to identify whether this is really a criminal, or if he is suspected erroneously.

I want to know who exactly is doing this in the USA and whether they are obliged to initiate operational activities (such as shadowing a potential criminal, identifying possible traces of crimes, interviewing possible witnesses, and so on)

In accordance with the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure, for example, investigators of the prosecutor's office may, but are not required to initiate such events as part of a prosecutor's check. I think that this is wrong, because it opens a window of corruption, and prosecutors are not responsible for insufficient investigation.

Crimes are reported to the police. The police investigate, using resources based on the seriousness of the crime.

 

[gipper]

Crimes are reported to the police. The police investigate, using resources based on the seriousness of the crime.

And then the local prosecutor decides whether to bring charges.

 

[rupol2000]

Crimes are reported to the police. The police investigate, using resources based on the seriousness of the crime.

Who decides which means of investigation to use? Are they obligated to carry out operational-search work?

 

[WinterBorn]

Who decides which means of investigation to use? Are they obligated to carry out operational-search work?

The police decide which investigation gets which resources. Obviously, a murder gets more resources than a stolen bicycle.

 

[rupol2000]

The police decide which investigation gets which resources. Obviously, a murder gets more resources than a stolen bicycle.

If you, as an applicant, feel that the investigation was unsatisfactory, how can you influence this?

 

[WinterBorn]

If you, as an applicant, feel that the investigation was unsatisfactory, how can you influence this?

You can do your own investigation. If you cannot point out specific problems with the police investigation, you cannot demand that they investigate further.

 

[rupol2000]

You can do your own investigation. If you cannot point out specific problems with the police investigation, you cannot demand that they investigate further.

In RF, there are several problems with this.

1 An ordinary citizen does not have the right to store and use special means (eavesdropping device and so on)

2. the offender is formally innocent until proven otherwise, so he has the right to privacy.

3 A citizen generally does not have the right to assume the functions of law enforcement agencies.

Therefore, in fact, such an investigation is illegal in RF.

How is this in the US?

 

[gipper]

If you, as an applicant, feel that the investigation was unsatisfactory, how can you influence this?

How is this handled in the RF?

 

[WinterBorn]

In RF, there are several problems with this.

1 An ordinary citizen does not have the right to store and use special means (eavesdropping device and so on)

2. the offender is formally innocent until proven otherwise, so he has the right to privacy.

3 A citizen generally does not have the right to assume the functions of law enforcement agencies.

Therefore, in fact, such an investigation is illegal in RF.

How is this in the US?

Pretty much the same here. You can investigate on your own, without law enforcement's advantages. Cases have been broken because of this.

 

[rupol2000]

How is this handled in the RF?

As far as I know, the only legal method is to appeal to higher authorities and other federal bodies (for example, the prosecutor's office can check the police)

 

[Cecilie1200]

Suppose there is a suspect in a criminal offense, for example, on a statement.

At this stage, it is necessary to identify whether this is really a criminal, or if he is suspected erroneously.

I want to know who exactly is doing this in the USA and whether they are obliged to initiate operational activities (such as shadowing a potential criminal, identifying possible traces of crimes, interviewing possible witnesses, and so on)

In accordance with the Russian Code of Criminal Procedure, for example, investigators of the prosecutor's office may, but are not required to initiate such events as part of a prosecutor's check. I think that this is wrong, because it opens a window of corruption, and prosecutors are not responsible for insufficient investigation.

I'm not sure what "on a statement" means.

The police investigate crimes, would be the answer to your question. The prosecutor's office reviews the records of the investigation and determines whether there's enough evidence to bring charges against a particular suspect. The court, usually a jury, decides whether there's enough evidence to convict.

If there is reason to believe that the police are doing their jobs badly, then complaints are made to various authorities, depending on where you are and what the complaint is.

Really not sure what you're looking for here.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Who decides which means of investigation to use? Are they obligated to carry out operational-search work?

In a general sense, the Chief of Police (or head of whatever law enforcement body you're talking about) decides what departmental policy on investigations is. That would include police procedures. The Chief of Police in a city is generally answerable to the elected mayor of the city. If you're talking about a body like the county sheriff's department, then the sheriff who heads the department is himself an elected official.

Nominally, of course, elected officials are answerable to the voters, who can choose to replace them.

 

[Cecilie1200]

If you, as an applicant, feel that the investigation was unsatisfactory, how can you influence this?

In what way was it unsatisfactory? That would dictate how you deal with the situation.

 

[Cecilie1200]

As far as I know, the only legal method is to appeal to higher authorities and other federal bodies (for example, the prosecutor's office can check the police)

That's pretty much the case here. Who you complain to and how depends on the complaint. If, for example, you believe the problem is a corrupt and/or incompetent police officer, then you take the complaint to the police department's Internal Affairs Bureau, and they investigate that cop. If the department simply blew off your criminal complaint and did a bad job of investigating it, then there are a number of options. You can file a complaint with the District Attorney's office, you can file a complaint with the Chief of Police's office, you can file a complaint with the mayor's office, you can sue, you can go to the press . . .

 

[rupol2000]

In a general sense, the Chief of Police (or head of whatever law enforcement body you're talking about) decides what departmental policy on investigations is. That would include police procedures. The Chief of Police in a city is generally answerable to the elected mayor of the city. If you're talking about a body like the county sheriff's department, then the sheriff who heads the department is himself an elected official.

Nominally, of course, elected officials are answerable to the voters, who can choose to replace them.

In this regard, there is a big difference from the Russian Federation. There, the police are completely subordinate to the federal department.

 

[rupol2000]

In what way was it unsatisfactory? That would dictate how you deal with the situation.

Let's say someone is suspected of preparing a murder. The police come, search, find no weapons, and conclude that there is no corpus delicti. But they also could trace his phone calls, and so on. Their operational measures in this case are insufficient.

 

[Cecilie1200]

In this regard, there is a big difference from the Russian Federation. There, the police are completely subordinate to the federal department.

Very different. Our various law enforcement agencies have different and carefully delineated jurisdictions. Federal law enforcement handles violations of federal law and crimes that cross state lines.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Let's say someone is suspected of preparing a murder. The police come, search, find no weapons, and conclude that there is no corpus delicti. But they also could trace his phone calls, and so on. Their operational measures in this case are insufficient.

Police can and do pull phone records, and almost certainly would if they had enough probable cause to have gotten a search warrant for his house. In that case, if they had that probable cause but didn't find anything at his house, they'd continue investigating.