Legal Framework Regulating Outside The Box Investigations

OBJECTIVES:

After this session, you will be able to:

1. Identify the major statutory and Fourth Amendment distinctions regarding obtaining data on networks, including the distinction between content and non-content;

2. Describe the main characteristics of the Pen Register Act, Wiretap Act, and Stored Communications Act; and

3. Understand the uncertain status of the relationship of the Fourth Amendment and statutory requirements.

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Moving the Work of Criminal Investigators Towards Crime Control

Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety

This is one in a series of papers that will be published as a result of the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety. Harvard’s Executive Sessions are a convening of individuals of independent standing who take joint responsibility for rethinking and improving society’s responses to an issue. Members are selected based on their experiences, their reputation for thoughtfulness and their potential for helping to disseminate the work of the Session. In the early 1980s, an Executive Session on Policing helped resolve many law enforcement issues of the day. It produced a number of papers and concepts that revolutionized policing. Thirty years later, law enforcement has changed and NIJ and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government are again collaborating to help resolve law enforcement issues of the day. Learn more about the Executive Session on Policing and Public Safety at:...

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Criminal Investigation Failures

Avoid Major Investigative Traps

What causes competent and dedicated investigators to make avoidable mistakes, jeopardizing the successful resolution of their cases? Authored by a 21-year police veteran and university research professor, Criminal Investigative Failures comprehensively defines and discusses the causes and problems most common to failed investigations. More importantly, it outlines realistic strategies for avoiding investigative pitfalls.

Illuminated with case studies, this practical resource examines three main reasons for investigative failure:

Cognitive biases, such as tunnel vision, that lead to mistakes in reasoning Organizational traps, such as groupthink, that investigators fall prey to within their agencies Probability errors, such as the prosecutor’s fallacy, in forensic science and criminal profiling

The Dangers of Assumptions and Organizational Ego

Authoritative contributors from a variety of disciplines elaborate on the aforementioned core points with commentary and case studies of well-known crimes. Written in a quick-to-grasp style, this useful text provides practical advice for avoiding investigative failures. It is an invaluable

See Also: Criminal Investigation Failures

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