After a crime has occurred, police look for the key sources of details to commence their criminal investigations. Sources are essential in revealing the circumstances that lead to a crime. This paper identifies three principal sources of information in criminal investigations. They include people, physical evidence, and records. These sources are helpful to criminal investigators looking for information regarding the context of the crime scene. People constitute the primary source of information. Most crime scenes usually have witnesses who can recount the actual happenings from a firsthand perspective.
This fact makes it easy for investigators to reconstruct the information during the investigation. People are social beings and can make oral accounts of what they see. Witnesses can be friends, co-workers, or family members. Information can also be gathered from victims at a crime scene. Investigators may encounter several challenges when extracting information from the public. Certain people may be unwilling or hesitant to provide information to crime investigation authorities. Investigators must learn ways of dealing with people who are reluctant to provide needed information.
Physical evidence forms the other crucial source of information for criminal processes. It may refer to any material object. Examination of physical evidence may be based on medical assessments. Materials found in a crime scene can always be linked to a suspect. This aspect may help investigators to reconstruct the real actions in a crime scene. The materials provide information on the proceedings or the aftermath of events in a crime scene. Records can be in the form of pictures, videos, sketches, and police notebooks.
