Module I
Historical Beginnings of criminal Investigation
Introduction
Present criminal investigation has evolved from ancient origins. That include plan or
family resolve crime. As a crime rates and population to urban areas continued to increase
the responsibility of policing and crime investigation passed firmly into the hands of
government. In the early 19 th century the tradition of used as an informant as the sole
means of providing guilt was devalued. Physical evidence connecting a suspect to a crime
became very important, which investigation are only as good as their adherence to the law
and legal ruling continue to develop and judicial interpretations, investigation will be guided
in their responsibility.
Learning Contents
The last history of criminal investigation can be appreciated only in the light of our
distance past. Early group knowns as tribes or clans > methods existed for detecting and
resolving undesirable acts. The method used, although primitive beyond comparison to
today, were based on assigning responsible to a given individual of family. If a member of a
particular family violated the moral code of a tribe, the other family members were held
responsible for detection, apprehension and even execution of the offending member.
“ANCIENT TIME”
DETECTION APPREHENSION EXECUTION
Family member, Family members, Family members
Tribe, clans Tribe, clans Tribe, clans
EUROPIAN ORIGIN
During the middle ages, criminal detection shifted from government responsibility to
its ancient predecessor group responsibility.
Frank Pledge System – place control of human being s on the shoulder of each individual
(system mutual protection).
Tithing Pledge System – communities subdivided to smaller group consisting of ten family
responsible for detecting and controlling any negative behavior on the part of group
member.
1066 – The Duke or Normandy conquered England the criminal detection and public
protection would shift back to the government.
1700 – Duke of Normandy reign in this early era, what we know as criminal investigation
was largely unknown, efforts aimed mainly at crime prevention.
WATCHES
Performs law enforcement last seventeenth century with conglomeration of the
government, this was composed of the dregs of the society they are ill paid and usually
lacking even the barest elements of honest character and are ineffective. They fail to detect
criminal activity, but some cases they aided it by their participation.
1. 18th Century – The industrial revolution was at hand and would be in effect until into
the nineteenth century, rapid social and cultural changes marked the beginning and
growth of modern industrialism.
2. L.O. Century – 1876 in his story of crime in England stated that “in practice there
were criminal quarters where the officer of justice were set at defiance, and were no
man’s life was safe unless he has the privileges of being inhabitant.
3. Parliamentary Reward System – This concept attacked financial rewards to various
felony crimes the reward was paid those official who responsible for the
apprehension and prosecution of the offender. It was proven that this practice a
failure. Police officials were accused of arresting only felony criminals, in expectation
of the parliamentary reward. This system was abolished in 1888.
4. Thief- Taking as a direct result of London’s crime problems came the rather
disappointing Origin of criminal investigation is a concept known in Europe as thief
catching or thief taking, become widely accepted in the early 1700.
5. Jonathan Wild a master criminal, become London’s most effective criminal
investigator in the 1720’s. His actions made popular the logic employing one who
was a thief to catch a thief. He conceived the novel idea of charging a fee for locating
and returning stolen property to its rightful owners. He was charged with helping a
friend to escape from infamous Newgate Prison. Wild’s career came to an abrupt
and he was executed on May 24, 1725. After his death, however, he became
something of a folk hero. His body was disinterred and the skull and skeleton was
exhibited publicly in late 1860.
6. Eugene Vidocg – notorious thief-catcher and former convict based his operation in
Paris and was active some 80 years after death of Jonathan Wild. He was equally as
successful and unscrupulous as his predecessor, but he had one major advantage
that he and those criminal under his direction is suction by the police. For many
years, while posing as an active criminal, he supplied the Paris Police with
information. As a result of his capability to detect crime, he surfaced as a secret
informer in 1817 and, under police authorization. He form the first Paris Police
Detective Bureau. He disguises as often as ten (10) times a day, and continue to
infiltrate criminal groups. Despite of his tarnished criminal past, he is pounding”La
Swerte” the National Detective organization.
7. Henry Fielding – in the time of 1748, the English author of the novel “Tom Jones”
was appointed magistrate for the areas of West minister and Midlesex. Shortly after
his taking office, the London population saw a group of police officer attached to the
Bow Street Court, and not in uniform occurrence indeed, for never before the
English people experienced police officer who were not readily identifiable – Due to
health condition he relinquished control of Bow Street Court to his Brother John
Fielding.
8. Sir Joh Fielding – in 1753 he takes the responsibility this early investigators known as
“Bow Street Runners” and became quite effective, many practices of his small group
are still in effect, such as developing paid informants, printing wanted notices, using
criminal raids, and bearing firearms and handcuffs. Although he was blind, he would
visit crime scenes, take information and set his investigation on the track of the
suspect, presiding over criminal case in court. He would sit quietly with bandages
over his eyes to detect falsehood in a witness statement. He would dramatically
descent from the bench, waving a switch and demanding the truth. The Bow Street
Runners were soon overwhelmed by the demands of and increasingly alarmed public
considering that during 1800’s the recorded crime was very worst in history, he
attributed personally the increase in crime to a new kind of drunkenness, called it as
poison “Gin” He estimated that more than 100,000 London citizen used the poison
with population that time of use than one million, armed robberies become so
frequent on highways that passengers robbed between sunrise and sunset could sue
country for the amount of their loss.