Reinvestigation of criminal cases

what I'm working on with my assistant Clara

Working assumptions: the two axioms of reinvestigation

The first axiom that reinvestigators should adopt is that the police investigate crimes as thoroughly as they can, and are limited in the extent of their investigations only by the availability of resources and operational restraints. We should make it clear that we adopt a fundamental assumption that the police investigate crimes systematically, thoroughly and intelligently, taking advantage of their training, staff with specialised knowledge, methods and systems of investigations, techniques of surveillance, informants (registered and unregistered) and other resources at their disposal. We recognise also that police resources are limited, a factor which may limit the scope of investigations. We acknowledge the competence and dedication of police officers, but not necessarily their integrity. We also recognise that some officers may break rules or fit up innocent suspects, because they believe them to be guilty, for operational purposes, or for their own corrupt reasons.

The second axiom of reinvestigators is that the police record, and retain records of, everything they do and all material they obtain or produce in the course of criminal investigations. They may not disclose records and other material. They may lose track of what material they have. They may accidentally damage, corrupt or contaminate material. But somewhere that material, or at the very least, a trace of it, exists.

Taken together, the two axioms indicate that in any case of serious crime which becomes the subject of reinvestigation, there exists a plethora of records, a wealth of material, amongst which may be found material to support, or undermine claims of wrongful conviction. The reinvestigator should assume that the material exists, and the problem they face is how to obtain what they need from it.

Legislation, in particular the CPIA 1996 and its associated code of practice requires detailed recording of everything police investigators do. While it may be argued that, given the lack of sanctions against those who fail to keep records, the police may not keep full records, or their records may not be accurate, in practice they appear to do as they are instructed by the various codes of practice, often with enthusiasm. The CPIA, in common with most legislation relating to criminal investigations and prosecutions at least since the CJPOA 1994 has been drafted in conformity with police demands, and the detailed record keeping specifications included in it are included with approval of the police.