Police Investigations

It is essential for the operative to understand how criminal investigations are conducted and just what can and cannot be determined from crime scene evidence. This knowledge will allow the operative to reduce the risk that law enforcement will be able to identify, build a case against, and successfully prosecute him or her.



Fingerprints

Fingerprints are possibly the most common type of physical evidence, and certainly one of the most valuable to investigators. Each person's fingerprints are unique to them and do not change significantly over time. Therefore, they offer the investigator the ability to identify the person who left them at the crime scene. There are three types of fingerprints which are collected as evidence;

- Direct or Inked Fingerprints which are collected from a suspect and use for comparison with crime-scene prints.

- Latent Fingerprints which are impressions caused by the perspiration through the sweat pores of the ridges of the skin being transferred to some surface.

- Residual Fingerprints which are produced when the ridges of the skin have been contaminated with substances such as oil, grease, dirt, blood etc.

Fingerprints deposited on hard, nonabsorbent, smooth surfaces, such as metal, glass, and finished wood, are the easiest investigators to find and record. Fingerprints deposited on porous, absorbent surfaces are the most difficult for investigators to find and process but the technology exists the obtain fingerprints off of nearly any surface, provided they are processed soon after being deposited.

Standards differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction regarding the number and quality of prints which must be obtained from the crime-scene and matched to a suspect in order for them to be submitted as evidence in court. Police, however, could possibly identify an operative from just one partial fingerprint. This evidence would be useless in court, but would make the operative vulnerable to further, aggressive investigation.

The only way to avoid this is to simply not leave any fingerprints behind. Wearing surgical gloves during every stage of a given mission is the simplest way to achieve this. Every item the operative brings along on a mission must have none of the operative's (or any Comrade's) fingerprints on it. Special care must be taken to be sure that items, such as weapons, tools, and explosives, which have been handled before a mission, are free of incriminating fingerprints.

Body Fluids

Body fluids are of great importance to the investigator. Because of the unique character of each individual's DNA, the crime lab can rule a suspect out based on DNA samples or make statements such as " there is a 1 in 9,000,529,200 chance that someone other than the suspect deposited the sample found at the crime scene". This type of evidence is obviously very powerful.

DNA samples can be obtained from liquid or dried blood, saliva, urine and perspiration. Samples can also be obtained from human milk and semen but these are not the types of samples the operative is likely to leave behind.

How can the White Resistance Fighter avoid leaving this type of evidence for investigators to find?

- Never urinate, eat, drink or smoke at or near the mission target. Saliva samples can be obtained from unfinished portions of food, beverage containers and cigarette butts. The operative may be forced to violate this guideline when lying in ambush or in a sniper's nest for extended periods. In this case the operative must use care not to leave samples behind for investigators to obtain.

- Never lick stamps or envelopes to be use to threaten enemies, to claim responsibility for acts of war or when making letter or package bomb attacks.

- The operative should do everything possible to avoid cuts and abrasions during the course of a mission. Chose routes of ingress and egress which are free of obstructions. Wear tough clothes, footwear and, of course, gloves.

- Whenever the operative is forced to come into physical contact with the enemy there is potential for body fluid samples to be deposited. The best way to prevent this is to become proficient in armed and unarmed combat so that enemies can be dealt with quickly and the risk of injury to the operative reduced.

There is also potential for the body fluids of the target of an attack or some contaminants from the crime scene to be deposited on the operative during the course of a mission. This potential is particularly strong in missions of Selective Assassination. When using weapons such as knives and firearms fired at close range, the operative is sure to become contaminated with samples of the target's blood. There is also potential for gunshot residue, trace elements from explosives, hair + fiber, and soil evidence to be deposited upon the operative's person and clothing.

The operative must begin each mission with a set of sterile cloths and destroy them afterwards. The clothing and footwear worn by the operative during a mission should be obtained from second-hand clothing stores or from services which provide used clothing to the poor. The clothing should be kept sealed in the bag from the store and not washed or worn before the mission. This is a simple and cheap way for the operative to be supplied with sterile clothing, which will be free of hair, fiber and trace elements evidence from the operative's vehicle, residence or person. These clothes can be removed and destroyed after the completion of the job.

Trace Elements

This type of evidence is also frequently referred to as hair and fiber evidence. Trace evidence can be loosely defined as materials which are small enough to be overlooked upon initial inspection, and which, because of their size, are easily exchanged through contact. Examples of trace evidence include, hair, fiber, gunshot residue, threads, soil, debris, dust and chemicals, adhesives, polymers, paints, wood, insulation from safes and metals.

The detection of trace evidence linking a suspect to the crime scene, coupled with good evidence standards, makes for a powerful investigative tool. The White resistance fighter must be aware of the potential links which law enforcement can make from trace evidence deposited at the crime scene or transferred from the crime scene to the operative's body, clothes, footwear, vehicle, residence etc.

omparison of Hair Evidence---------Comparison of Wool Fibers

Most trace evidence is transferred by way of clothing and footwear so the use of sterile clothing will eliminate many of the links back to the operative which law enforcement will attempt to establish.

Hair evidence is a major concern. Human hair is constantly being shed and crime scene investigators will collect any hair evidence. Hair can be used to determine the following things:

- The race of the individual

- The part of the body from which the hair originated

- Whether or not the hair was forcibly removed

- Whether the hair had been cut with a dull or sharp instrument

- If the hair had been dyed or bleached

- Whether the hair had been burned or crushed

- It is possible, under certain circumstances, for the investigator to obtain a DNA sample from hair evidence.

Possible conclusions concerning hair sample analysis:

- That the hairs match in terms of microscopic characteristics and that they originated from either the same individual or another individual whose hair exhibits the same microscopic characteristics. (Note the qualification that is necessary with respect to precise identity.)

- That the hairs are not similar and did not originate from the same individual.

- That no conclusion can be reached

Very short cropped hair or a tight-fitting hat or knit cap will reduce the amount of hair evidence deposited at any crime scene. A hat, however, will contain a large number of the operative's hair and if the hat is left behind it will provide the investigators with a significant resource of evidence.

Tool Marks

For the purposes of this document, a tool will be considered as any object capable of making an impression on another solid object. A tool mark, therefore, is any impression, cut gouge or abrasion which results when a tool is brought into contact with an object. The most common tools dealt with by law enforcement are the various burglary tools, such as pry-bars, screwdrivers, lockpicks etc.

A tool will often impress its own outline, know as tool marks, into the material it comes into contact with. These tool marks can provide valuable evidence to an investigator as to what type of tool was used and can allow the investigator to identify a recovered tool as being responsible for making the marks. Fractured parts of tools, even very small pieces, can be linked to the tool from which they came.

Comparison of Tool Marks

The operative should be well aware of the ability of investigators to identify just about anything you bring to the target location as having been there and this is especially true for tools. The operative may have to make forced entry into a residence or other buildings and vehicles in the course of planting explosives, selective assassination or for the purpose of acquiring funds or weapons needed. The tools used on such missions should be sterile, i.e. they should not have the operatives fingerprints on them or any residue evidence which link them back to the operative. Scrounge or liberate any tools needed and store them as described for sterile clothing, yard sale and flea markets are excellent sources for cheap tools. A sterile tool is best left at the crime scene, making it a dead end for investigation.

Any tool which must be kept due to its value should be altered by working its contact surfaces with a file or abrasive before and after any mission. Altering the tool before a mission is necessary because the tool may have been used or tested at the operative's residence, allowing an investigator to link the tool back to this earlier use.

Eyewitnesses

There is a well known saying amongst prosecutors that "the only thing worse than no evidence at all is eyewitness evidence". This reflects the fact that the average person who witnesses a crime has no training in observation skills. Most people don't really take note of what the suspect looks like, what kind of clothes the suspect wore, or what type of weapons or vehicles, if any, were used. This fact is a double-edged sword to the operative; on one hand any eyewitnesses will generally be of only marginal help to investigators but on the other hand, when investigators have the operative targeted as a suspect it is very easy for them to influence the testimony of eyewitnesses.

The operative must do everything possible to avoid being noticed by witnesses while conducting missions. Here are some things to remember:

- It is important to avoid making eye-contact with passersby while travelling to and from the target area. Eye-contact is both a sexual signal and a threatening gesture and will be sure cause witnesses to take note.

- Dress to fit into the surroundings at the target area.

- Earth tones and a drab appearance will go a long way to reducing the number of witnesses who take note of the operative.

- Don't exhibit signs of strength or alertness, keep the muscles of the chest and shoulders relaxed and slightly slouched. This will make witnesses dismiss you as unthreatening without a second glance.

- Don't wear a disguise which will draw undue attention. A good example is a police uniform; this is possibly the worst imaginable disguise and should only be used when absolutely necessary. A police officer's appearance and activities are usually noticed by everyone and people are likely to approach a police officer with questions or comments. A construction worker, on the other hand, will often be given the same level of unchallenged access as a cop but, at the same time, will draw less attention.

- Don't speak or interact with anyone unless absolutely necessary

Video Surveillance

Surveillance cameras are a common resource for law enforcement. When investigating a crime, investigators will look at the tapes recorded by business security cameras in the area of the crime scene, near the suspect's residence and along any possible routes between the previous two locations. The sheer number of cameras in use today gives the investigator a good chance of obtaining damning evidence that a suspect was in the vicinity of the crime scene or traveled along a route to it before or away from it after the crime was committed. Many high-profile cases have included this element of evidence recently.

In order to avoid being caught with this type of evidence the operative should take a round-a-bout route to the target area, avoiding downtown storefronts, banks, jewelry or electronics shops or anywhere else that is likely to have security cameras. Vehicles owned by the operative, or which can be linked to the operative or any other comrade should not be used as transportation directly to and from the target area. If absolutely necessary drive to a spot which is several blocks from the target and walk from there. If a getaway car is required for the mission it must be a stolen vehicle, preferably one stolen very recently Use public transportation or walk to the target if possible, rush hour is the best time for this as anonymity can easily be maintained in a crowd. A disguise of some sort should be worn but don't get too fancy with this, a ball-cap, dark sunglasses and some uncharacteristic clothing will make a more convincing cover than a fake wig, beard or anything else which is too extravagant.

Let's say a camera records my face while I commit a crime.
Later, the police get hold of my face on the surveillance tape as evidence of me commiting the crime.
I've been arrested before, and they have my info including my picture in their database.
Can they take the picture of my face from the surveillance tape and run that through their database and find me?

Can they take the picture of my face from the surveillance tape and run that through their database and find me?



Simple answer, YES. Police have alot of high speed tools to get the job done and thats usually how they catch criminals via CCTV feeds.

This thread kicks ass.

Here's some food for thought:

So many bullshit things are illegal in this country that most police departments are seriously overworked and don't have time for petty nonsense. Excepting very high profile crimes like murder, rape, and huge robberies (banks, etc.) the police don't really have time for long investigations. The fact that 95% of criminals are stupid also contributes heavily to this tidbit.

Most police investigations aren't very thorough and are usually abandoned after 24-48 hours. Generally much, much sooner. Criminals who have escaped without identification become exponentially harder to track down with every hour that goes by after the crime, and police know that they'll have better chances chasing after "hot," recent crimes than old petty ones.

This is why police write reports. They can't be trusted to remember any specifics of a case that happened two weeks ago let alone a month or two ago because too much other shit has happened since then. The longer you go after doing something without your door being kicked in the better your chances of having truly gotten away with it are.