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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-2001 ICPD General Orders INV-01.1 INVESTIGATIVE CASE SCREENING PROCESS Date of Issue J General Order Number February 8, 2001 91-07 Effective Date Section Code February 12, 2001 INV-01 (previously OPS-05) Reevaluation Date ~ Amends / Cancels February 2003 91-07 Effective October 8, 1991 C.A.L.E.A. Reference 41.1.2, 15.1.1, 15.1.2 INDEX AS: , Investigations Follow-up Investigations Case Screening Criteria ' Exceptional Circumstances Solvability Factors I. PURPOSE The purpose of this order is to establish the policies and procedures of the Iowa City Police Department, Investigative Case Screening Process. This process shall be the means for determining whether an investigation should be continued. II. POLICY It is the policy of the Iowa City Police Department to investigate crimes to the extent practical. The decision to continue or discontinue a case shall be made on available information and may be based in part, on the desire and willingness of the victim to pursue the case, and the existence of any suspects. The determination shall be based in part upon the existence of sufficient solvability factors obtained through the initial investigation. INV-01.2 III. DEFINITIONS Solvability Factors - Elements of information about a crime which have proven in the past to be important in the successful conclusion of a case. Case screening is designed to provide sufficient information about a case at the earliest possible time in the investigative process in order to permit a decision to be made regarding the value of continuing an investigation. The outcomes of case screening will be either: early suspension of unpromising cases or, a follow-up investigation of those cases with a reasonable probability of case clearance. The objectives of the Investigative Case Screening Process are: 1. To establish the policies and procedures for determining whether to assign a case for additional follow-up investigation or to suspend any further investigation. 2. To establish the responsibility and accountability for the decision to assign or screen out a case. 3. To manage the investigative caseload so that the potential for solving cases is improved. 4. To assign for additional follow-up investigation only those cases with sufficient solvability factors, in order to increase the probability of case clearance. 5. To provide procedures for notifying crime victims of the current status of their case. IV. PROCEDURES CASE SCREENING CRITERIA A. SOLVABILITY FACTORS AND VALUES ,C~l. ,~a~,es have been assigned to each solvability factor based upon the relationship !~.,L· - ~ '-each factor to the successful completion of past cases. These solvability LL~ "' V~Iu_es provide the basis for determining whether a case will be screened out or -- ~'~ ass.!gned for follow-up investigation. LL :: ,--.,- C:2.f~i~speci~c values assigned to the solvability factors are: a. Reliable witness 3 pts b. Suspect names 5 pts c. Suspect described 2 pts d. Suspect Location 2 pts INV-01.3 e. Suspect identified 2 }ts f. Suspect previously seen I ~t. g. Suspect vehicle described 2 ~ts h. Traceable property 2 ~ts i. Significant m.o. 1 ~t. j. Useable physical evidence 1 ~t. k. Limited opportunity for anyone other than suspect to commit the crime. 2 pts I. Offense may be solved with reasonable additional invest. effort. 3 pts B. CASE SCREENING DECISION CRITERIA 1. The minimum solvability factor value required for case assignment for follow-up investigation is five (5) points. Any case with less than five (5) points may be screened out and not be assigned for follow-up investigation. Exceptions will be made as contained in this policy. 2. The determination of the total number of solvability factor values present in a case is based upon the sum of the point values for each specific solvability factor. i.e.: If the case has a reliable witness (3 pts.) who can specifically describe the suspect (2 pts.) and the suspect's vehicle (2 pts.), the case contains a total of seven (7) solvability values and would be assigned for follow-up in~e~jgati0n. ::. CASE SCREENING RESPONSIBILITY A. WATCH COMMMANDER .. ._= 1. The Watch Commander will be responsible for: a. Reviewing offense repo~s for completeness of the initial investigati0~ and accuracy of the information contained on the offense repo~. b. Reviewing cases fo~arded by officers under his/her command, to ensure that they have been followed up to the extent practical under the pa~icular CjFcu~staRces. 2. If, under exceptional circumstances, and in the Watch Commanders opinion an immediate follow-up investigation would substantially increase the likelihood of suspect apprehension or case clearance, the Watch Commander may assign the case for an immediate follow-up investigation. INV-01.4 ' B. INVESTIGATION SUPERVISOR 1. The responsibility of the Investigations Supervisor in the case screening process will be: a. To review all offense reports forwarded to the investigative section. b. To determine whether sufficient solvability factors and values are present in the case; and, c. To either assign the case for follow-up investigation or suspend the case and notify the victim(s) of the status of the investigation. 1 ) Upon assignment of the case by the Investigative Lieutenant, the case shall file shall include the date of the assignment. The initial investigative reports should be submitted within 30 days of assignment of the case. This may be extended or waived at the discretion of the Lieutenant of the Invesfigafive Section. 2) Unless otherwise directed, upon assignment of the case, the assigned investigator shall keep all records, statements, lab reports, and other case related materials with the case file. The Lieutenant of the Investigative Section or designee shall have access to the file at all times. · 3) The Lieutenant of the Investigative Section shall review the status of all assigned cases no latter than 30 days after assignment. Cases will be ~-.~assigned an "Open" or "Closed" status. Open cases will remain under ~"~ ._~<~.vestigation. Cases may be closed by arrest, exceptional clearance, or ,- --,~' ~ ~_ r::suspended. __, , -:: 'j- :.4_)~:(Jpon the closing of a case. the case file shall remain in records pursuant · :--"~---:;,, ,~2.to departmental guidelines on record retention. Files, which are subject to L'_ :. ~~ ~:_being recorded photographically or electronically, may be retrieved by the L~_ :~Leutenant of the Investigative section or the investigating officer and ~ .3-~tored pursuant to the direction of the Lieutenant. d. To forward offense reports to crime analysis (Planning and Research) with sufficient information about the case screening decision. C. EXCEPTIONAL CIRCUMSTANCES a. While the case screening cdteria are very specific, the Investigative Case Screening Process will be flexible enough to allow for exceptional circumstances including, but not limited to: ) INV-01.5 1. Offenses of significant importance to the community. 2. Potential danger to victim(s) or witness(es). 3. Seriousness of offense. 4. Pattern, frequency, or m.o. characteristics of offense. 5. Management decisions to pursue a case regardless of solvability factors. b. While there is a degree of flexibility in the case screening process, exceptional circumstances such as those described above shall be the exception, rather than a standard procedure. D. REPORT REVIEW/CRIME ANALYSIS OFFICER 1. The responsibility of the report review/crime analysis officer in the case screening process will be: a. To coordinate the Investigative Case Screening Process to ensure that the screening decisions are within established procedural guidelines; b. To analyze offense, incident and other reports for crime patterns and trends, similar m.o. characteristics, or unique factors and to notify appropriate personnel of the results of these analyses through bulletins, spot maps and/or other appropriate reports; c. To analyze the any changes in patterns/trends in connection with changes in enforcement efforts. d. To review current trends, patterns, and/or problems with the Chief of Police or designee as needed/required. CRIME ANALYSIS Crime analysis will, at a minimum, consist of the following: analysis of case reports, incident reports, and calls for service. To the extent possible, crime data shall be analyzed to identify th~_~ollowing: 1. Temporal and geographic factors/distribution of selected type~.0f'crimB; 2. Frequency by type of crime; 3. Victim or target descriptors/types; 4. Suspect identifiers or descriptors; - :.. 5. Suspect vehicle identifiers; ~, ~ _ - · :.. '." 6. MO identifiers; :~ 7. Physical evidence information; and 8. Other factors as determined by the Crime Analysis Officer. INV-01.6' In addition, as requested, the Cdme Analysis section should develop recommendations for prevention and enforcement strategies. As available, crime analysis data should be forwarded to the affected watches and officers assigned to the specific geographical area. E. COMMANDER - FIELD OPERATIONS 1. The responsibility of the Commander, Field Operations in the case screening process will be to resolve any problems or conflicts developing from the case screening process. Upon receiving a case, the Lieutenant of the Investigative Section shall make a determination of the "solvability" of the particular case using the criteria contained in General Order 91-07. Once assigned, the Lieutenant of the Investigative Section shall maintain records indicating the status of the case. The case records should indicate the case number, date assigned, the investigator assigned, case status, days open and other information as determined by the Lieutenant of the Investigative Section. The assigned investigator shall maintain the case file in a secure area. The file shall include a copy of the preliminary investigative report and any written statements. In addition the file may include any lab results, follow up reports, notes, statements, and other materials as determined by the investigating officer. The investigating officers' follow-up should include those steps necessary to adequately conclude the investigation. To the extent necessary and practical the investigating officer should: a. Review and analyze previous reports, records and/or technical reports and lab results relative to the investigation. b. Conduct additional interviews and/or interrogations. 1) This may include the interviewing or re-interviewing of the victim, o., ~ witnesses and "bystanders". <'~ ~ ~) Determine if any witnesses may be able to identify a suspect from a fZ_! . ~ :'.z, :=: lineup. ,, i_j~ "' G:.:, :SZeek additional information from both departmental and non-departmental' :_,-::;.~.::': :~6urces. These may include but are not limited to: "L:- ' '~'_:: .1) Speaking with the officer(s) who were initially assigned the call. :.1 0 '~ Obtaining information/data from the planning and research. ;~ Obtaining information from records. 4) Obtaining information from informants. 5) Obtaining information from organizations, businesses, institutions and others that may have dealt with potential suspects. d. Ensure that the collection of evidence and the search of any relevant areas has been completed. e. Maintain contact with victims and witnesses throughout the duration of the ) investigation. - INV-01.7 f. Identify potential suspects and eliminate those who are no longer suspects. g. Determine the suspect's potential involvement in other related crimes. h. Check criminal history of suspects. i. Thoroughly prepare the case for legal presentation. Upon conclusion or suspension of an investigation, the investigator shall forward the case file to the lieutenant of the Investigative Section. The lieutenant should purge the file of all redundant or non related materials and forward the file to the Records Section. J.J~elhake, Chief of Police WARNING This directive is for departmental use only and does not apply in any criminal or civil proceeding. The department policy should not be construed as a creation of a higher legal standard of safety or care in an evidentiary sense with respect to third-party claims. Violations of this directive will only form the basis for departmental administrative sanctions.