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Criminal Investigations Today
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Criminal Investigations Today
The Essentials


Other Titles in:
Criminal Investigation

December 2019 | 320 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
Criminal Investigations Today: The Essentials examines the processes, practices, and people involved in the investigation of crime in a brief and accessible format that hones in on the key topics students actually need to know. Drawing from his vast experience in the field, author Richard M. Hough distills the essentials of criminal investigations and takes students through the in-depth processes of criminal investigations while maintaining a streamlined approach that allows for optimal student learning. The text’s focus on people within the investigative system is reinforced with running case studies and hands-on application.

Included with this title:

The password-protected Instructor Resource Site (formally known as Sage Edge)
offers access to all text-specific resources, including a test bank and editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides. Learn more.
 
 
Preface
 
Digital Resources
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Chapter 1 • Criminal Investigation Then and Now
Introduction: Criminal Investigation Then and Now

 
The Goals of Investigation

 
Types of Criminal Investigations

 
Four Stages of Criminal Investigation

 
Organizing the Investigative Unit

 
Task Force Investigations

 
Contemporary Law Enforcement and the Role of Criminal Investigation

 
Science and Technology in Criminal Investigation

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 2 • Forensic Evidence: The Crime Scene and the Laboratory
Introduction

 
The Developing Science of Criminal Investigation

 
Methods of Collecting and Processing Evidence

 
Types of Physical Evidence and Its Processing

 
Equipment Utilized in Investigations

 
The Contemporary Forensic Laboratory

 
Personnel

 
Documenting the Crime Scene and Actions

 
The CSI Effect

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 3 • People in the Process: Victims, Suspects, Witnesses, and Detectives
Introduction

 
Victims

 
Suspects

 
Investigators

 
Witnesses and Informants

 
Interviews

 
Interrogations

 
Technology

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 4 • Managing the Criminal Investigation
Introduction

 
Investigation as a Process

 
Preliminary Investigation

 
Case Assignment and Solvability Factors

 
Follow-Up Investigation

 
Supervising the Investigative Unit

 
Case Management Software

 
Pitfalls, Fallacies, and Sloppiness in Investigations

 
Developing an Ongoing Relationship With the Media

 
Improving Productivity

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 5 • Searches, Seizures, and Statements
Introduction

 
Fourth Amendment

 
Search Warrants

 
Making the Arrest

 
Fifth Amendment

 
Suspect Statements

 
Lineups and Showups

 
Sixth Amendment

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 6 • Homicide, Death, and Cold Case Investigations
Introduction

 
Definitions and Legal Classifications of Cases

 
Medical Death Classifications

 
Preliminary Investigation and First Officers on the Scene

 
Arrival of the Detectives

 
Medical Examiners, Coroners, and the Autopsy

 
Criminal Homicide Methods

 
Suicide

 
Challenges in Death Investigations

 
Cold Cases

 
Serial and Mass Murder

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 7 • Assault, Battery, Robbery, and Sex Crimes
Introduction

 
Assault and Battery

 
Robbery

 
Sex Crimes

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 8 • Familial Crimes
Introduction

 
Domestic Violence

 
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV)

 
Child Abuse

 
Elder Abuse

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 9 • Burglary, Theft, White-Collar Crime, and Cybercrime
Introduction

 
Burglary

 
Theft

 
White-Collar Crime

 
Identity Theft

 
Cybercrime

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 10 • Drug Crimes, Organized Crime, and Gangs
Introduction

 
Drug Crimes

 
Investigating Drug Crimes

 
Organized Crime

 
Gangs

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 11 • Terrorism and Homeland Security
Introduction

 
Terrorism

 
Homeland Security

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Chapter 12 • Criminal Investigation in Court
Introduction

 
The Process: Screening and Filing

 
Evidentiary Issues

 
Defenses

 
Ethical Issues

 
Plea Bargaining

 
Sentencing

 
Summary

 
Key Terms

 
Discussion Questions

 
 
Glossary
 
References
 
Index

Supplements

Instructor Resource Site
edge.sagepub.com/houghci

The open-access Student Study Site makes it easy for students to maximize their study time, anywhere, anytime. It offers flashcards that strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts, as well as learning objectives that reinforce the most important material.

For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative.
Student Study Site
edge.sagepub.com/houghci

The open-access Student Study Site makes it easy for students to maximize their study time, anywhere, anytime. It offers flashcards that strengthen understanding of key terms and concepts, as well as learning objectives that reinforce the most important material.

For additional information, custom options, or to request a personalized walkthrough of these resources, please contact your sales representative.

"This is very structured and hands-on experimental book for perspective students interested in policing and criminal investigations. This book introduces several very important and much-needed topics that are not typically discussed in a conventional text for criminal investigations. As a former practitioner, I would recommend this book to any criminal investigations class."

Chernoh M. Wurie
Virginia Commonwealth University

"This textbook is a great balance of theory and practical application. The book also incorporates real-world cases that help students grasp the concepts and apply the information they learn."

Kelly Sue Roth
Bloomsburg University

"This book offers a comprehensive yet concise look at criminal investigations. Topics including evidence collection, police legal powers, and interviewing are combined with strategies for investigating specific crimes to educate future practitioners and interested readers in the discipline’s concepts and best practices."

Scott Duncan
Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania

"Criminal Investigation Today is more streamlined…offering several new key concepts—one of the most exciting is the ‘case study’ addition to some of the chapters.  Students in criminal investigation classes are always excited to ‘solve the case’!"

Tiffany Morey
Southern Oregon University

Incredible Text, as usual for Sage.

Professor Matthew Cosby
Arts/Social Sciences Div, Univ Of New Mexico-Los Alamos
September 20, 2021

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