The “Golden Rule” in Criminal Investigation:

“ DO NOT touch, alter, move, or transfer any object at the crime scene unless it is
properly marked, measured, sketched and/or photographed .”

DEFINITION OF INVESTIGATION

Investigation - is the collection of facts to accomplish a three-fold aim:

a. to identify the suspect;
b. to locate the suspect; and
c. to provide evidence of his guilt.
It is an inquiry or proceeding, judicial or otherwise for the discovery or
collection of facts concerning the matter or matters involved.
It is the process of inquiring, eliciting, soliciting and getting vital
information/facts/circumstances in order to establish the truth.

Criminal investigator upon call to respond, must proceed to the crime scene with safety
and dispatch – all necessary equipment for investigation together with the team must be
available anytime.

THREE TOOLS OF AN INVESTIGATOR IN GATHERING FACTS (3 i’s)

a. Information – Data gathered by an investigator from other persons including the
victim himself and from:
b. Interview and interrogation
Interview -is a simple, casual questioning of a person
Interrogation – is a harsh questioning of a person who is reluctant to give any
information in relation to a crime or activity.
c. Instrumentation - Scientific examination of real evidence, application of instrument
and methods of the physical sciences in detecting crime.
- application of forensic sciences, tools and instruments.

The investigator must seek to establish the six (6) cardinal points of investigation
(5W’s and 1H), namely:
What specific offense has been committed;
Where the offense was committed;
When it was committed;
Who committed it;
Why it was committed;
How the offense was committed.
Criminal Investigator - Shall refer to any law enforcement personnel / officer duly
mandated by any law enforcement agencies tasked to investigate crimes, conduct
inquiry or any proceeding and provide evidence necessary in the administration or
prosecution of an offense.

Duty of a criminal investigator

1. To establish that a crime was committed.
2. To identify and apprehend the suspect.
3. To recover stolen property in terms of crime against property.
4. To assist in the prosecution of an offense.

PHASES OF INVESTIGATIONS
The main objective of a police investigator is to gather all facts in order to:
Phase I
Identify the suspect/s through (1) confession; (2) eyewitness testimony, (3)
circumstantial evidence; and (4) associate evidence;
Phase II
Locate and apprehend suspect/s; and
Phase III
Gather and provide evidence to establish the guilt of the accused.
In proving the guilt of the accused in court, the fact of the existence of the crime
must be established; the accused must be identified and associated with the crime
scene; competent and credible witnesses must be available; and the physical evidence
must be appropriately identified. The investigator must know by heart the elements of a
specific crime.

STANDARD METHODS OF RECORDING INVESTIGATIVE DATA

a. Photographs;
b. Sketching crime scenes;
c. Written notes (what you have seen or observed);
d. Developing and lifting fingerprints found at the crime scene;
e. Gathering physical evidence;
f. Plaster cast;
g. Tape recording of sounds;
h. Video tape recording of objects; and
i. Written statements of subject(s) and witnesses.
CRIME SCENE PROCESSING
a. The Crime Scene Search
1. Processing and Securing a Crime Scene – Processing a crime scene includes
the application of diligent and careful methods by an investigator/policemen to
recognize, identify, preserve and collect fact and items of evidentiary value that may
assist in reconstructing that which actually occurred.

2. Protecting the Crime Scene and the Evidence – Successful crimes scene
processing depends upon the policeman’s or investigator’s skill in recognizing and
collecting facts and items of value as evidence, and upon his ability to protect, preserve,
and later, to present these in a logical manner.

3. Laboratory examination of objects and substances located usually at the crime

scene. Objects and substances needing examination in some cases are carried,
intentionally or unintentionally, by suspects from the crime scene.

INVESTIGATOR’S NOTEBOOK
a. Purpose: Considering the mass of details and the number of cases which in
some instances an investigator is handling, it is very possible that he might forget some
details.

b. Recording Note: The data of the investigation should be recorded in a

complete, accurate and legible fashion so that in the event another investigator is
required to assume responsibility for the investigation, he can make intelligent use of
the notebook.

COMMON INVESTIGATION OVERSIGHTS

a. Incomplete Case Folder – lack of material documentation of the case under
investigation.

b. No template for the conduct of investigation – police personnel are not

knowledgeable about crime scene preservation and basic investigation.

c. Inadequacy of coordination – the SOCO, investigators, prosecutors and other

concerned agencies work separately and independently in the conduct of their
investigation.

d. Failure to prosecute – pertains to absence of police investigator during trial to act as

prosecutor’s witness due to retirement and transfer of concerned investigator.
e. Chain of Custody – non-observance of proper documentation in the turn-over of
evidence from one officer to another or one office to another.

f. Less appreciation of electronic evidence – police investigators take for granted the
electronic devices such as cellular phones, computers and other electronic devices can
be processed to give investigative leads.

Custodial Investigation
Is any questioning by law enforcement after a person has been taken into
custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.

Arrest – is the taking of a person into custody in order that he/she maybe bound to answer for
the commission of an offense.
Modes of Arrest:
By virtue of Warrant of Arrest
By virtue of a Warrantless or A citizen’s arrest

hot pursuit - is the immediate and continuous pursuit by police officers of a fleeing
suspect whose possible escape justifies the failure of the officers to obtain a warrant
before making an entry, search, seizure, or arrest.

What is the Miranda Doctrine/Warning?

Means that prior to questioning during custodial investigation, the person must be
warned that he has the right to remain silent, that any statement he gives may be used
as evidence against him, and that he has the right to the have or presence of an
attorney, either retained or appointed.

Do rights of a suspect during custodial investigation attached as soon as he is invited to

the police station to be investigated in connection with an offense he is suspected to
have committed?
Yes. The practice of issuing an invitation to a person who is investigated in
connection with an offense he is suspected to have committed is part of custodial
investigation, as such, the rights of a person under Section 12, Article III attached.
However, the rights of a suspect during custodial investigation do not generally attached
in the following situations:

a. Police line-up, or during process of identification

b. Spontaneous statements not elicited through questioning but given in an ordinary
manner (spur-of-the-moment statements) – they are considered as part of res
gestae
c. Volunteered statements
 d. Extrajudicial admission to the prosecutor or a private person (media personnel or
TV interview)
e. Investigation made by a citizen or private security officer

When does the right to counsel attached?

The right to counsel attaches upon the start of an investigation, i.e. when the
investigating officer starts to ask questions to elicit information and/or confessions or
admissions from the respondent / accused.

What is meant by the right to counsel?

Any person under investigation must, among other things, be assisted by
counsel. Any admission or confession made by the suspect during interrogation without
benefit of counsel is inadmissible in evidence.

Does a suspect need counsel during identification by police line-up?

The police line-up is not considered as part of the custodial inquest. Hence, the
suspect is not yet entitled, at such stage, to counsel.
“When petitioner was identified by the complainant at the police line-up, he had not
been held yet to answer for a criminal offense.

How important is the giving of Miranda warnings to the suspect during his arrest?
Any admission or confession made by a suspect during his arrest but without
having been read his Miranda rights are inadmissible.

Can a voluntary admission made to the Mayor or media be used against the
suspect of a crime?
Yes. In People v. Andan, G.R. No. 116437, March 3, 1997, the Supreme Court
that under these circumstances, it cannot be successfully claimed that appellant’s
confession before the mayor is inadmissible.

Appellant’s confessions to the media were likewise properly admitted. The

confessions were made in response to questions by news reporters, not by the police or
any other investigating officer. We have held that statements spontaneously made by a
suspect to news reporters on a televised interview are deemed voluntary and are
admissible in evidence.

When is an extrajudicial confession admissible?

It is admissible when:
a. Voluntary
b. Made with assistance of counsel
c. In writing; and
d. Express
What are examples of mechanical acts that are not protected by the right to
remain silent?
a. Paraffin test
b. DNA test
c. Examination of the physical body
d. Fingerprinting
e. Being asked to step on a footprint to compare foot size
f. Urine sample

What are not considered as mechanical acts?

a. Handwriting
b. Initials on marked money
c. Signing of inventory receipts in search warrant
d. Reenactment

Can any of these rights be waived?

Only the rights to remain silent and to counsel may be waived. The right to be
informed his rights cannot be waived at any time.

What constitutes a valid waiver of the right to counsel?

The waiver of the right to counsel is valid only when it is made voluntarily, in
writing and with the presence of counsel.

When the right to remain silent is waived?

When the declaration of the accused acknowledging guilt made to the police
desk officer after the crime was committed. Such spontaneous acknowledgment of guilt
to the police desk officer may be given in evidence against him as part of the res
gestae.

Part of res gestae.

Statements made by a person while a startling occurrence is taking place or
immediately prior or subsequent thereto with respect to the circumstances thereof may
be given in evidence as part of the res gestae. For example, res gestae would exist if a
person yelled “FIRE!” upon noticing that a fire had broken out in a crowded movie
theater. This declaration can be interpreted as proof that a fire actually happened.

When are the rights of a person under custodial investigation terminated?

They are terminated as soon as charges are filed against him.

HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION
Is the official inquiry made by the police on the facts and circumstances
surrounding the death of a person which is expected to be unlawful.
Primary job of an investigator

To determine (the 5W’s and 1H):

1. What crime has been committed
2. Where an offense has been committed.
3. Who committed it and by whom it was committed
4. When it was committed
5. How it was committed
6. Why it was committed

Responsibilities of the Homicide investigator

1. When called upon to investigate a violent death, he stands on the dead man’s
shoes to produce his instinct against the suspects.
2. The enthusiasm and intelligence of the investigator brings in the case marks
the difference between a murderer being convicted and set free.
3. If he interprets a criminal death accidental or natural, a guilty person is set
free
4. Remember that the police is the first line of defense in the effective
application of criminal justice.

Mistakes in homicide investigation

1. Mistakes made by the investigator cannot be corrected
2. The homicide investigator should not cross the three bridges which he burns
behind him. It is important that a competent personnel adequately handle the
case.

Three bridges:
1. The person has been moved
2. The cadaver is embalmed
3. The body is burned or cremated

The investigator should establish the following:

1. Corpus delicti (body of the crime) or the facts that the crime is committed
2. Methodology (modus operandi) or method of operation of the suspect
3. Identity of the guilty party
4. Motives or intent

Death – is an absence of life in a living matter.