Identifying and Collecting Physical Evidence; Arrest

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Identifying and Collecting Physical Evidence
Arrest

• Law 120

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Identifying and Collecting Physical Evidence

• To prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the
  accused was present at the crime scene when the
  offence was committed, the collection,
  preservation and analysis of physical evidence is
  a crucial aspect of police work.
• Physical evidence any object, impression or
  body element that can be used to prove or
  disprove facts relating to an offence. This type
  of evidence carries greater weight in court over
  witness statements.
• Forensic evidence application of biochemical
  and other scientific techniques to criminal
  investigation.
• Forensic scientists examine/analyze physical
  evidence found at a crime scene. They do most of
  their work in labs but also spent a lot of time
  giving expert testimony at trials and inquests.
  Some specialize in autopsies or firearms. Others
  can determine a car driven by an accused by the
  paint chip left at the scene.

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Tools

• The most frequently used tools in the commission
  of crime are hammers, screwdrivers, and
  crowbars. Often these tools will have individual
  characteristics on their surfaces or edges that
  can be detected in crime laboratories. These
  marks can be made either in the manufacturing of
  the toll or by normal wear and tear.

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Impressions

• Impressions are patterns or marks found on
  various surfaces, caused by different objects
  such as fingers, gloves, shoes, tires or tools.
  Collecting impression evidence is done in two
  stages. First, the impression is recorded by
  photographing or scanning it, or taking a mould.
  Then the police try to match the impression with
  the object that made it, such as matching a
  fingerprint lifted at the scene with a print
  taken from a suspect.
• Impressions have two characteristics
• class characteristics general attributes of an
  object such as type, make, model, style and size.
  i.e. tires
• individual characteristics specific and unique
  features of an object. i.e. specific wear and
  tear on a particular tire on a particular car.

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Fingerprints

• A fingerprint is a patterned mark left on a
  surface by a fingertip. Prints can also be taken
  of a persons hands, feet, or toes, but
  fingerprints are easier to work with and
  classify. Because fingerprint patterns never
  change and are unique to each individual, a
  fingerprint is the best type of impression to use
  to identify an offender. No two people have been
  ever found to have the same exact fingerprint.
  Even identical twins have different patters. 
• There are two types of prints. A visible print
  can be observed by the naked eye and is usually
  formed when the fingerprint is coated in dirt,
  blood, grease or some other substance. This type
  of print can be photographed immediately. A
  latent print, made by the perspiration and oils
  that naturally form on the skin surface, cannot
  be seen by the naked eye. This print has to be
  developed to be photographed. Three methods
  are used to develop latent prints.

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Fingerprints

• prints on non-absorbent surfaces, such as metal
  and plastic, can be dusted by using a graphite
  power that sticks to the ridges of the print.
  The print is then lifted using adhesive tape and
  placed on a white cardboard surface where it can
  be photographed. The officer who lifted the
  print initials the cardboard and it is stored for
  use later in court.
• The technique called iodine fuming is used to
  lift prints from absorbent surfaces such as paper
  and cloth. The area being investigated is placed
  under iodine fumes any existing fingerprints
  absorb the iodine and become visible.
• A laser beam can be used to illuminate the print.
  Sweat compounds deposited on the surface absorb
  the laser, and the print turns yellow and can be
  photographed.

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Gloves

• Gloves do not necessarily hide a criminals
  fingerprints anymore. Police can use glove
  impressions to identify a suspect in almost the
  same way they use fingerprints. To make a
  positive identification, they compare the
  impressions class characteristics with the
  gloves of a suspect.

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Shoe Prints and Tire Tracks

• If the police can find four shoe prints two
  right and two left they can learn a lot about a
  suspect. These prints can help them determine
  the suspects approximate height and weight, any
  injuries he/she might have sustained committing
  the crime, whether the suspect was carrying
  anything and whether he/she was walking or
  running. Tire impressions can help investigators
  determine the type of tires, make of car, and
  direction it was traveling when it entered or
  left the crime scene.

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Appearance Notice

• The police may issue an appearance notice for
  summary conviction offences, hybrid offences, and
  less serious indictable offences. This document
  names the offence with which the accused has been
  charged. It also gives the time and place of the
  court appearance. The officer must believe that
  the accused will appear in court on the given
  date. The accused must also sign the document
  and receive a copy of the notice. The officer
  will then swear an information before a judge or
  justice of the peace. This document states that
  the officer believes on reasonable grounds that
  the person named in the appearance notice
  committed an offence.

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Arresting the Suspect

• For more serious indictable offences, the police
  will arrest the suspect and take the suspect into
  custody. Arresting officers must
• identify themselves
• advise the accused that he or she is under arrest
• inform the accused of the right to a lawyer
• inform the accused of the charges
• The purpose of the arrest is to lay charges,
  preserve evidence and prevent the accused from
  committing further offences. Any officer can
  arrest without a warrant if there are reasonable
  grounds to believe that someone committed an
  indictable offence, is committing an indictable
  offence or summary offence, or is about to commit
  an indictable offence. After the arrest the
  officer must swear an information before a judge
  or justice of the peace.

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Arresting the Suspect

• If the accused resists arrest, the police can use
  as much force as is necessary to prevent an
  escape. The police are criminally liable for the
  use of unnecessary force. In certain
  circumstances, they can apply force that could
  cause death or serious injury if it protects
  other from death or bodily harm. In 1994,
  Parliament passed a law that gave the police and
  anyone assisting them the power to use deadly
  force. They can do so in the following
  situations
• the behaviour of a suspect might cause serious
  harm or death to others.
• the suspect flees to escape arrest
• there is no alternative means to prevent escape

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Rights on Being Detained

• When an officer stops someone for questioning,
  that person is being detained. People who are
  detained do not actually have to answer questions
  unless they are in a specific situation, such as
  a police spot check on a busy highway or being
  placed under arrest. Detention should lead
  quickly to arrestotherwise, the person should be
  free to go. If a police officer insists on
  questioning or searching a reluctant individual,
  that person should immediately demand to see a
  lawyer and write down the badge number of the
  officer and the names of any witnesses. Citizens
  detained illegally may sue the police for false
  arrest or detention or complain to the police
  commission. A citizen is allowed to use as much
  for as necessary to resist and illegal arrest or
  search. However, the force used must be
  reasonable.

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Rights on Being Arrested

• Someone charged with committing a crime has the
  right to be informed promptly of the reason for
  arrest and the right to obtain a lawyer without
  delay. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled
  that this includes being advised of the
  availability of a duty counsel (a lawyer on duty
  at the court). The police must also inform the
  accused that legal aid is available if that
  person cannot afford a lawyer. A request to
  contact a lawyer must be honoured immediately.
  Anyone who has decided to hire a lawyer can
  refuse to answer any further questions, except
  those necessary to complete the charge, such as
  name, address, occupation and date of birth.
•  When people are read their rights, they must
  truly understand them. If the accused is
  intoxicated, the police must wait until they
  sober. If the accused cannot understand English
  or French, they must be read their rights through
  an interpreter. Once they decide to contact a
  lawyer, they must have access to a phone and must
  be allowed to talk privately to their lawyer.
  They have the right to give up counsel and answer
  police questions.

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Police Conduct

• Police officers are responsible for their conduct
  and behaviour when carrying out their duties. If
  they break the rules of police conduct, they can
  be charged under criminal law or sued under civil
  law. Each province has a board that reviews
  complaints from citizens concerning police
  conduct. Police officers often have to make
  quick decisions to save their own lives and those
  of others. At all times, officers must act on
  reasonable grounds using as much force as is
  necessary for that purpose.

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Police Rights

• The accused does not have to take part in a
  line-up, where several individuals, including the
  suspect, line up for possible identification by
  the victims or witnesses. Nor must the suspect
  take a polygraph test (lie detector test) or give
  blood, urine, or breath samples (except in cases
  of impaired driving offences). The police are
  allowed to obtain DNA samples from a suspect but
  they must have a warrant to do so. It actually
  might be to the suspects advantage to permit
  evidence to be collected. For example, when
  murder has been committed under the influence of
  drugs or alcohol, the extent of the influence
  might affect the outcome of the trial or even the
  sentence.

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Warrant for Arrest

• If the accused flees the scene of the crime,
  police can swear an information before a
  judge/justice of the peace. A document called a
  summons orders the accused to appear in court at
  a certain time and place. It is delivered to the
  accused by a sheriff or a deputy. If the police
  can show a judge that the accused will not appear
  in court voluntarily, the judge will issue a
  warrant for arrest. It names/describes the
  accused, lists the offence(s), and orders the
  arrest of the accused. There must be reasonable
  grounds to believe that the accused committed the
  offence. Otherwise the judge will refuse to
  issue either the summons or warrant.

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Arrest by Citizens

• Citizens can make arrests under certain
  circumstances. This law gives store detectives,
  private detectives, and other citizens the
  authority to make arrests. The Criminal Code
  says that any one may arrest a person who is
  committing an indictable offence or who, on
  reasonable grounds, believes has committed an
  indictable offence and is escaping from or
  freshly pursued by lawful authority. The owner
  of a property or an authorized person by the
  owner may arrest anyone without a warrant who is
  committing a criminal offence on or in relation
  to that property.

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Co-operating with Police

• Informed and responsible citizens may want to
  cooperate with the police. Innocent persons
  often show their innocence by immediately giving
  information to the police. This can save time
  and money. Despite the presumption of innocence,
  the police tend to form conclusions based on an
  individuals behaviour when being questioned.

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Pre-Trial Release

• Once a person has been arrested, fingerprinted
  and photographed, the police will often release
  the accused until the trial. Release is usually
  automatic for people accused of a summary
  conviction or indictable offence that carries a
  fine of 5000 or less. If the police believe the
  accused will appear in court voluntarily and will
  not commit and offences while awaiting trial, the
  accused will sign a promise to appear. If the
  accused does not appear on the assigned date, the
  court will usually issue a bench warrant for
  his/her arrest.

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Pre-Trial Release

• In some cases, the accused may be required to
  sign a recognizance a guarantee to appear in
  court when required. A fine of up to 500 may be
  levied if the accused fails to appear. Unless
  the accused comes from another province or lives
  more than 200km away, a deposit is not usually
  required. The police may also request a surety,
  someone who is willing to pay a certain sum of
  money if the accused fails to appear at trial.
  The surety also has to sign the recognizance form.

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Bail

• Usually the police will try to keep suspects
  accused of serious indictable offences in custody
  after arrest. In such cases, the accused has the
  right to make a bail application. Bail is the
  temporary release of a prisoner who posts a sum
  of money or other security to guarantee his/her
  appearances in court. A bail hearing must be
  held within 24 hours of an arrest, or if a
  magistrate is unavailable, as soon as possible
  thereafter.

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Bail

• Section 11 of the Charter guarantees no one is to
  be denied reasonable bail without cause. If the
  Crown does not want the accused released before
  trial, a show-cause hearing is held to show
  cause and convince the judge that the prisoner
  should stay in jail until the trial date.
  Cause includes reason to suspect the accused
  may flee concern that releasing the accused may
  be a threat to the safety and protection of the
  public, or any other just cause. If the Crown is
  successful, the judge will issue a detention
  order to keep the accused in jail.

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Bail

• Some circumstances may justify a reverse onus,
  which means that the burden of proofs shifts
  rather than the Crown having to show cause that
  the accused should be imprisoned, it is up to the
  defense to show cause why bail should be granted.
  This happens when
• The accused is charged with committing an
  indictable offence while already out on bail
• offence is indictable and the accused is not a
  Canadian citizen
• The charge involves failure to appear or breach
  of a bail condition
• The accused is charged with importing,
  trafficking, or possession for the purpose of
  trafficking narcotics (or conspiracy to commit
  any of these crimes).
• If the accused falls into one of these
  categories, bail will be denied unless the
  accused convinces the judge that he/she will
  attend court as required, not commit a crime
  while out on bail, and not interfere with the
  administration of justice in any way.

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Habeas Corpus

• If an accused person who has been arrested and
  denied bail believes that he or she has been
  illegally detained, that person can file a writ
  of habeas corpus to appeal the courts refusal to
  a higher court.
• A writ of habeas corpus requires the Crown to
  produce the detained person in court and then
  give reasons to justify keeping this person in
  custody after trial. It also requires the Crown
  to show that the prisoner is not being mistreated
  in any way. If the Crown cannot justify the
  continued detention of the prisoner to the higher
  courts satisfaction, the court may order the
  prisoner to be released until trial.