Child Abuse Investigations: From Dispatch to Disposition (American Series in Law Enforcement Investigations)

For investigators, the emphasis of traditional forensics (the science of the crime scene) has resulted in the loss of deductive reasoning skills. This book centers on the investigator's ability to interpret and identify non-traditional cues and clues, oftentimes seemingly 'innocent' actions, through the investigator's deductive reasoning skills. If the investigator can interpret these items and understand their evidentiary value and how this information becomes evidence of the crime itself, an investigation is more likely to have a positive outcome. Separated into five sections, the first section defines the roles, goals and outcomes. The next section pertains to the psychological aspects of the parties involved, including the victim, the suspect, and the non-offending parents. The third section concentrates on the investigation. This section addresses and discusses court rulings and significant cases (e.g. Crawford v. Washington). This is followed with interview methodologies and some leading interview guidelines. The crime scene is discussed in the next section. The fourth section reviews the court process, and the final section addresses the impact of long-term exposure to child abuse on team members. The book includes chapter summaries and numerous actual case examples of some of the more well-known and high profile investigations. At the end of each chapter is a list of key terms along with critical thinking questions for the reader to analyze and provide answers to the presented problems. The book will be an invaluable resource to law enforcement, child protective services, medical personnel, courts, and child advocates.