![Practical Homicide Investigation](https://img.perlego.com/book-covers/1516380/9781000195934_300_450.webp)
Practical Homicide Investigation
Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques, Fifth Edition
Vernon J. Geberth
- 1,296 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Practical Homicide Investigation
Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques, Fifth Edition
Vernon J. Geberth
About This Book
Renowned for being THE definitive resource for homicide investigators, Practical Homicide Investigation: Tactics, Procedures, and Forensic Techniques details the recognized protocols used by investigative divisions of major police departments throughout the world. The text is used in most police academies, including the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.Now in its fifth edition, the book begins with a comprehensive discussion of homicide crime scenes and moves chronologically from initial police notification, the correct police response that follows, and the subsequent steps necessary to conduct an intelligent investigation. It then delves into the more technical aspects of homicide investigation, augmented with numerous pictures and full-color illustrations that involve pertinent case histories.This latest edition includes three new chapters along with fully revised chapters with new case histories and techniques that reflect the latest forensic methods and modern investigative procedures. Highlights of the Fifth Edition Include:
- Newly revised "Homicide Investigator's Checklist"
- A new chapter on the latest DNA technology
- A rewritten chapter on equivocal death investigations that includes staged crime scenes
- Additional information on modes of death
- Fully updated chapters on death notifications, sex-related homicide, management for police administrators, suicide investigation, and narcotics-related and homosexually based homicides
- Over 920 photos and illustrations, 250 new photographs, and several new case histories
Eminent author, lecturer, consultant, and expert witness Vernon J. Geberth incorporates his more than four and a half decades of real-world law enforcement experience in this quintessential reference. This classic and must-have resource provides the most vital information needed by detectives and police investigators responsible for cases in violent and sudden death.
Remember: do it right the first time. You only get one chance. âVernon J. Geberth, M.S., M.P.S., Homicide and Forensic Consultant, Author of Practical Homicide Investigation, and Series Editor of The Practical Aspects of Criminal and Forensic Investigations
Frequently asked questions
1
The Homicide Crime Scene
- Rapid response to the homicide crime scene by patrol officers. This is imperative in order to protect evidentiary materials before they are destroyed, altered, or lost.
- Anything and everything should be considered as evidence. Whether this evidence is physical or testimonial, it must be preserved, noted, and brought to the attention of the investigators. The only evidence collected at this point of the investigation is eyewitness accounts or spontaneous statements of a suspect at the scene.
- After the scene is secured, immediate and appropriate notification must be made to the homicide investigators.
The Five Components of Practical Homicide InvestigationÂŽ
- Teamwork
- Documentation
- Preservation
- Common sense
- Flexibility
![Figure 1.1 PRACTICAL HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION CHECKLIST AND FIELD GUIDE (2ND ED.). The Practical Homicide Investigation Field Guide summarizes and prioritizes the basic fundamentals of homicide and death investigations, and places them in an easy-to-use field guide to ensure that vital and necessary steps at a crime scene are not overlooked. This field guide will allow the user to develop a logical and standard approach to investigating crime scenes.](https://book-extracts.perlego.com/1516380/images/fig1_1-plgo-compressed.webp)
The Crime Scene
![Figure 1.2 PRIMARY CRIMES SCENE. Victim killed at the scene. (Courtesy of Detective Sergeant Alan Patton, Grand Prairie, Texas, Police Department.)](https://book-extracts.perlego.com/1516380/images/fig1_2-plgo-compressed.webp)
![Figure 1.3 PRIMARY CRIMES SCENE. Victim transported to the scene. (Courtesy of retired Detective Roy Douglas, Homicide Section, St. Louis, Missouri, Police Department.)](https://book-extracts.perlego.com/1516380/images/fig1_3-plgo-compressed.webp)
- Where the body was moved from
- Where the actual assault leading to death took place
- Where any physical or trace evidence connected with the crime is discovered (this may include parts of the body)
- A vehicle used to transport the body to where it is eventually found
At the Crime Scene
The Homicide Investigation Starts at the Crime Scene
- The police are usually called to this location by the person who discovers the body, a witness to the crime, or, in some instances, the victim.
- In homicide cases, the location where the body is discovered yields an abundance of physical evidence and serves as a base of inquiry.
Table of contents
- Cover
- Half Title
- Series Page
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication Page
- Editorâs Note
- Preface to the Fifth Edition: A Psychology of Evil
- Foreword to the Third Edition
- Special Acknowledgment
- The Author
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Contents
- 1 The Homicide Crime Scene
- 2 First Officerâs Duties: General
- 3 First Officerâs Duties: Specific
- 4 The Preliminary Investigation at the Scene: The Detectives
- 5 Specific Investigative Duties at the Scene
- 6 The Crime Scene Photographs
- 7 The Crime Scene Sketch
- 8 The Homicide Crime Scene Search
- 9 Estimating Time of Death
- 10 The Identity of the Deceased; Resources for Missing and Unidentified Persons Cases
- 11 Death Notifications: The Surviving Family as Secondary Victims
- 12 Modes of Death
- 13 Suicide Investigation
- 14 The Investigation of Sex-Related Homicides
- 15 Homosexual Homicides
- 16 Forensic Application of DNA Analysis: Introduction
- 17 Collection of Evidence
- 18 The Autopsy
- 19 The News Media in Homicide Investigations
- 20 Identification of Suspects
- 21 Investigative Assessment: Criminal Personality Profiling
- 22 Equivocal Death Investigation
- 23 Narcotics-Related Homicides
- 24 Practical Homicide Investigation: Supervision and Management of the Homicide Investigation
- Glossary
- Index