Justice System And The Cases Of Miscarriages Criminology Essay

rightness System And The Cases Of Miscarriages Criminology EssayINTRODUCTIONCases of miscarriages of nicety curb come to light in recent years and stool become a celebrated issue in the society. Different reasons nourish been given for it like poor fact-finding reference booking practices, hook processes and custodial practices. However, inquiring wondering practices is the nearly rated as the cause of these injurists, hence, the purpose of this essay is to see how these boldnesss of miscarriages of jurist open helped in changing fact-finding reference practices for better.INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWINGAn oppugn is a conversation intended to yield randomness, it is essential to obtain correct, slender and comprehensive explanations that atomic number 18 rich in detail from all those heterogeneous within the pitiful arbiter process from victims, witnesses, colleagues, friends, neighbours, family and suspects. Interviews argon more often than not non-accusatory du ring the melodic line of study of an investigation the investigator allow conduct interviews with all avail adequate witnesses and dominance suspects. (Milne Bull, 2003, p.111)investigatory interviewing is an beta part of the investigative process for patrol officers, qualifying prevention agents, detectives or separate investigators. Most information is derived from people, which makes it eventful to lease knowledge and skill in interviewing, in establish to get the surpass of the interview process. The investigator should ask open-ended dubiousnesss in an attempt to discharge as much information as possible. The interview subject should do most (75%) of the talking during the conversation (Reid Associates, 2001). If, during the interview it is found that the subject has lied, the investigator should generally not con seem the subject. In most good precedents it is best to quarrel a lie during a follow-up interview or at a time the interviewer has moved into an interrogation.Interviews argon conducted at different levels of the investigative process, ranging from the initial law of nature interview of a victim, witness, or suspect to an in-court interview in front of a judge or otherwise decision makers. Interviews conducted during the initial manikin of the law investigation are usually the most critical in determining whether a illegal topic is solved (Fisher, Geiselman, Raymond, 1987), especially when in that respect is little or no physical evidence and only hotshot witness to guide the investigation. At this point in the investigation, there is grand potential to extract extensive, precise information, because the event is still fresh and, hence, comparatively accessible in the witnesses memory. Further more than, witnesses strike had little time to think ab out the event, so their immediate perceptions are credibly to be pristine, untainted by later influences. Properly conducted interviews may thus advance the cons tabulary investigation immeasurably by yielding thorough, accurate records of the crime details. On the other hand, poorly conducted interviews have the potential to distort the witnesses memories and contaminate the entire investigative process. (Hoffman, 2005)Among the most important traits for a successful interviewer are Empathy, Communication and Professionalism. exclusively three of these diagnostics combine to send a powerful message to the subject. That is, that the interviewer is an good soulfulness, who has all of the necessary evidence, and truly understands the feelings of ill-doing within the subject. Empathy is considered an essential characteristic of a good interviewer.EMPATHYEmpathy is the ability to understand and share in anothers feelings (Webster, 1972). Investigators who scoop out empathy easily notice with other people see things done anothers eyes. An interview or interrogation is a conversation between two merciful worlds. The subject and interview er are on an equal basis. Unlike the interviewer, the subject likely has no cultivation whatsoever in interviewing. But as a person the interviewee communicates with others all the time and erect identify when dealing with soul who is insincere. It is difficult to convincingly offer explanations and understanding to a subject when the interviewer cannot identify with the other person. This might make the interviewer seem insincere and make it difficult to obtain a fair account of the issue on ground. dialogueOne of the most important traits of a good interviewer is being able to communicate excellently. When people communicate they use more than words. Tone, inflection, volume and pauses are all essential aspects of Para-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is as important as what is in truth being said. Gestures, posture, hand, eye and head move handst (or lack thereof) are merry parts of a persons non-verbal communication. The interviewer should also reappearance n ote of the messages sent by the subjects physiological responses such as skin tone, sweating and respiration. In around circumstances the interviewer entrust notice that one can visibly admonisher the subjects heart rate by observing the carotid pulse. The most important communication challenge for the interviewer is to be aware of all of these methods of communication. The interviewer moldiness take note of what he or she is receiving and also of what one is passing across. The magnetic core of interviewing is communication, notwithstanding how the interviewer presents oneself to the subject is the first communication that occurs.PROFESSIONALISMThe interviewer should be dressed in a passkey manner. The interviewer should put into consideration the subject and the location of the interview in the first place deciding on attire, the interviewers attitude should always be lord. No matter the outcome of the interview, the interviewer should not make sarcastic or judge remarks during or after the interview. The interview should begin civilly with a waggle and end in the same manner. The final role that professionalism plays in the interview is the attention to detail paid to the confession and statement. Someone, perhaps the interviewer, spent blue-chip time preparing the investigation. The investigation file will likely be complete of detail and description. Once the subject confesses, the professional interviewer will follow through with get uping the confession and capturing it in a detailed and accurate statement. probe is a core duty of policing. Given that the interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects is central to the success of an investigation, the highest standards need to be upheld. In order to do this, forces need to develop and retain the valuable resource that the skills of their interviewers represent. Interviews that are professionally undertaken and quality visitd can realise several business benefits. In particular, they can Direct an investigation, which in turn can lead to a pursuit or proterozoic release of an innocent personSupport the prosecution case, thereby redeeming(a) time, money and resourcesIncrease public confidence in the Police serve up, oddly with witnesses and victims of crimes who come into direct contact with the police.Conversely, mischance to professionally undertake and assure quality interviews can have adverse consequences in terms of failure to adhere to legislation, passage of critical material, unsolved crime, lack of credibility and loss of confidence. The gathering of information from a well-prepared victim and witness interview will contribute mutual oppositionificantly to the investigation. An effective interview of a suspect will commit them to and account of events that may include an admission. In the admission, the suspect may detail how the offence was committed and thus the investigation can be more focused. The value of a properly obtained admission can lay down the mens rea of the offence, beyond doubt. (Hoffman, 2005)MISCARRIAGES OF JUSTICEThe mistakes that occur within the criminal umpire carcass can be described in various ways the criminal arbitrator system is founded on the presumption of innocence a judicial fiction intended to insulate the individual from abuses of state power and reduces the likeliness of a factually innocent person being coned. In order to cast this protective net as widely as possible, the appellant test has to be expressed in the neutral term of safety. The media and campaigners have different motivations and usually focus upon cases of innocence in order to realize public interest and to achieve reform. Despite the moral and political extend to of innocence cases, for those who seek to safeguard the rights of defendants and to uphold the integrity of the criminal legal expert system, it is imperative to resist allowing the criminal justice debate to degenerate into competing cl target areas of g uilt versus innocence.Miscarriage of Justice has been defined as A grossly inequitable outcome in a judicial proceeding, as when a strung-out is convicted despite lack of evidence on an essential element of the crime. (Barak, 2007). This interpretation can be attributed to wrongful arrests, wrongful charges or indictments, wrongful sentences, but most notably wrongful convictions arising from improper and insufficient investigations. agree to Barak, there are two general types of miscarriages of justice which are errors of payable influence and errors of impunity. Errors of due process involve unwarranted harassment, detention or conviction, or excessive sanctioning of people suspected of crimes. Errors of impunity refer to a authorize of justice that allows a culpable wrongdoer to remain at stupendous or escape justice in some way. Error of due process can lead to error of impunity, thus, if a person is wrong arrested, convicted and imprisoned for a crime that he/she did not commit. at that place is a good chance that the real offender will remain publish to commit other offences, meanwhile, there is a probability that the real offender will be arrested, convicted and arrested for another crime. Both types of error can demoralise the integrity and legitimacy of the turn Justice system.The origin of most miscarriages of justice can be said to be from the roots, which is the law enforcement agents. The police have a big role to play in ensuring justice is carried out always, but in doing this, proper investigations and interview have to be carried out to ascertain the right facts. There have been galore(postnominal) celebrated cases and many more of miscarriages of justice, as in the case of Stephen toss off who was convicted of the rack up of Wendy Sewell in aBakewellchurchyard in 1973. The 17-year-old had a reading age of 11 and worked at the cemetery as a gardener, he was made to sign a confession that he was unable to read by the police. The case gained international notoriety as the Bakewell Tart murder. After spending 27 years in prison, Stephen Downing was released on bail in February 2001, pending the declaration of an appeal. His conviction was finally overturned in January 2002.Miscarriages of Justice highlights the shortcomings of the Criminal justice system, it also reflects a tendency for police investigators to develop a theory as to responsibility for a crime and indeed to omit all other avenues for investigation. (Dixon 1999). This may occur as a subject of not following up other potential avenues of investigation or by active manipulation of evidence to support the theory. As in the case of The Cardiff Three, Steven Miller, Yusef Abdullahi, and Tony Paris who were falsely jailed for the murder of prostitute Lynette White, stabbed more than 50 times in a frenzied attack in a flat above a betting shop in Cardiffs Bute town area on Valentines Day 1988, and jailed in 1990. This was a serious case of misca rriage of justice as a result of poor investigation and interrogation by the police officers involved, the young men were bullied and coerced to falsely confess to a crime they did not commit, they were charged to court with the barest minimum of evidence and were later cleared on appeal in 1992 it was not until 2003 Jeffrey Gafoor was jailed for life for the murder. The breakthrough was due to modern deoxyribonucleic acid techniques used on evidence taken from the crime scene. Subsequently, in 2005, ennead retired Police Officers and three serving Officers were arrested and questioned for false imprisonment, conspiracy to pervert the course of justice and misconduct in public office.Another celebrated case of miscarriage of justice is that of Rachel Jane Nickell(23 November 1968-15 July 1992) who was the victim of asexual assaultandmurderonWimbledon Common,London, on 15 July, 1992. She was stabbed 49 times. On 18 December, 2008,Robert Napper, 42, pleaded censurable to Miss Nickel lsmanslaughteron the grounds ofdiminished responsibility.Colin Stagg had earlier been charged and then acquitted in relation to this murder, as there was no forensic evidence linking Mr Stagg to the scene, the police askedcriminal psychologistPaul Britton to create anoffender profileof the killer. They decided that Mr Stagg fitted the profile and asked Mr Britton to assist in designing a collusive operation, Operation Ezdell, to see whether Mr Stagg would eliminate or implicate himself, an undercover police woman using the pseudonym Lizzie James contacted Mr Stagg, posing as a friend of a woman with whom he used to be in contact via a lonely hearts column. She attempted to obtain information from him for over five months by feigning a romantic interest, run into him, speaking to him on the telephone and exchanging letters containing sexual fantasies. Believing on the advice of theCrown Prosecution Servicethat there was sufficient evidence to convict Mr Stagg, the police arrested and charged him on 17 August 1993 with Miss Nickells murder. When the case reached theOld Bailey,Mr Justice Ognall judged that the police had shown excessive zeal and had tried to impeach a suspect by deceptive conduct of the grossest kind. The entrapment evidence was excluded and the prosecution withdrew its case. Mr Stagg was acquitted in September 1994. This case is a clear example of a miscarriage of justice from different aspects bad investigative interviewing, ignorance of other leads, bad decisions and errors on the part of the police officers. The main culprit was left-hand(a) roaming around and went on committing crimes before he was eventually caught for another crime.There have been lots of other cases of miscarriages of justice with poor investigative interviewing being the major cause and other factors too. This led to the emergence of Judges Rules which was careworn by Judges in 1912, which was revised over the years and added to over the years and remained in force until they were replaced by the Police and Criminal exhibit act (PACE) 1984 and the Codes of Practice ( crime syndicate Office Circular 89, 1978) as a result public outcry concerning highly publicised miscarriages of justice (e.g. Guildford 4) in the UK, the Home Office is the central government department responsible for the criminal justice system) and Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) developed the investigative interviewing ethos and PEACE training course in the 1990s PEACE continues to be the Police Service framework for interviewing. There are five phases to the PEACE framework which arePlanning and Preparation This includes what to consider when planning for an interview, understanding the main labour and the essence of the interview to the case at hand.Engage and Explain This describes how to pick out with the special features of getting an interview started, involving the interviewee in the conversation, boding rapport, setting the interviewee at ease and inf orming him/her about rights and other judicial necessities, and establishing the ground rules.Account, illuminance and Challenge This deals with the central issue of obtaining the interviewees account, clarifying this and, where necessary, challenging it.Closure This is an important aspect of the whole process, a good closure is necessary to chink that there is a mutual understanding about all that transpired, it describes the considerations before closing an interview. evaluation This consists of asking questions about what was achieved during the interview and how it fits into the whole investigation. Evaluation also includes the development of an interviewers skill level, through assessment (self, peer and manager) and feedback.According to Griffith Milne (2005) Most of the identified problems with police interviews prior to PEACE were due to miscarriages of justice linked to false confessions. These false confessions were due to bad police interviewing processes, though subse quent legislative which has authorised compulsory audio tape transcription of all interviews with suspects and the right for a suspect to have a legal representative present should avoid a repetition of such occurrences. Miscarriages of Justice also led to the need to review police interviewing initiated under the aegis of the Association of Chief Police Offers (ACPO) and the Home Office. The National Strategic management Group on Investigative Interviewing exists to ensure the development and delivery of the most effective interview strategy. Its role is to ensure that a consistent and professional approach is adopted by the Police Service, which is able to withstand judicial and academic scrutiny and has the ability to instil public confidence. The overall aim of the National Strategic Steering Group on Investigative interviewing isTo succeed direction on the development of policy, practices and routines to ensure that the interviewing of victims, witnesses and suspects suppor ts professional investigation. The terms of reference of the National Strategic Steering Group on Investigative interviewing are To maintain an effective dialogue with key stakeholders to ensure high standards of professionalism and do delivery. To monitor the potential impact of any changes in law and procedure on interviewing practices and make recommendations on further changes as necessary. To provide advice to ACPO and other key stakeholders on technical and procedural issues that impact on the professional practice of investigative interviewing. To ensure that the National Occupational Standards applicable to investigative interviewing are fit for purpose. To inform the design and development of effective nurture and development products that supports the National Investigative Interviewing Strategy. To establish an effective partnership with the NPIA to develop professional practice and maintain operational support.The principles of investigative interviewing (NSLEC, 2004, pp. 16-20) which have generally stood the test of time have been revised. The Principles of Investigative Interviewing 2007 areThe aim of investigative interviewing is to obtain accurate and reliable accounts from victims, witnesses or suspects about matters under police investigation, accurate information to seek truth and not coercing false confessions.Investigators moldiness act fairly when questioning victims, witnesses or suspects, vulnerable people must be treated with particular consideration at all times.Investigative interviewing should be approached with an investigative mindset.Accounts obtained from the person who is being interviewed should always be time-tested against what the interviewer already knows or what can reasonably be established, investigative interviewing should be approached with an open mind.When conducting an interview, investigators are free to ask a wide enjoin of questions in order to obtain material which may assist an investigation.Investigators should signalize the positive impact of an early admission in the context of the criminal justice system.Investigators are not bound to accept the first adjudicate given. Questioning is not unfair merely because it is persistent, the interviewers duty is to get accurate and reliable information from an interviewee no matter the number of times the question is asked, as long as it is done carefully and not in an oppressive manner.Even when the right of silence is exercised by a suspect, investigators have a responsibility to put questions to them, if the interviewer believes truth can be derived from the person in question.Miscarriages of justice threaten the very foundation of a society, because in every liberal legal system, legal rights and autonomy are paramount. Miscarriages of justice undermines these individual rights which has led to an outcry by society and prompted the necessary bodies to build laws, policies and practices to be adhered to in order to prevent further misc arriages of justice arising from investigative interviewing and thus has improved investigative interviewing practices.RELEVANT CASE LAWR. v. Downing (2003, March 10) NewstatesmanR. v. Miller, Paris and Abdullah 1993 97, G. App. R.R. v. Stagg (1992) The Sun. Retrieved 3 January, 2011.