Critical Thinking Part 1
Application and Critical Thinking
Most crime labs in the U.S. are funded & operated by the gov’t and provide services free to police and prosecutors. Great Britain uses private labs that charge a fee for services and keeps any profits they make. What are some potential strengths and weaknesses of each system?
One potential strength for the U.S. for being funded and operated by the gov’t and providing free services for the police and prosecutors is that they do not have to worry about funds. The police and/or prosecutors can approach the crime labs they need and ask for which ever tests they need to be performed and get them done, how ever many times. A potential weakness of this system could be that the information could be skewed being that it is run by one particular agency, another weakness is that the gov’t isn’t making any money like the agencies in Great Britain. In Great Britain, they are getting paid to do a job, they would want to do the job well and in a timely manner. In the U.S., they not getting paid, so why would they rush to get it done? They can tae their time solving things or getting the tests completed. On the upside, the police and prosecutors have access to, free of charge, all of the services the U.S. crime labs provide: FBI, DEA, ATFB, US Postal lab, to name a few.
A strength for Great Britain using private labs is that it’s not being interfered with by the government, it was paid to do a job, it will get the job done. On the down side, this type of system expects to be paid, so if a small area can not pay for the types of help they are in need of, the crime lab will not be able to provide help with the crime investigation.
2. Police investigating an apparent suicide collect the following items at the scene: a note purportedly written by the victim, a revolver bearing very faint finger prints and traces of skin and blood under the victim’s fingernails. What units of the crime laboratory will examine each piece of evidence?
Most crime labs in the U.S. are funded & operated by the gov’t and provide services free to police and prosecutors. Great Britain uses private labs that charge a fee for services and keeps any profits they make. What are some potential strengths and weaknesses of each system?
One potential strength for the U.S. for being funded and operated by the gov’t and providing free services for the police and prosecutors is that they do not have to worry about funds. The police and/or prosecutors can approach the crime labs they need and ask for which ever tests they need to be performed and get them done, how ever many times. A potential weakness of this system could be that the information could be skewed being that it is run by one particular agency, another weakness is that the gov’t isn’t making any money like the agencies in Great Britain. In Great Britain, they are getting paid to do a job, they would want to do the job well and in a timely manner. In the U.S., they not getting paid, so why would they rush to get it done? They can tae their time solving things or getting the tests completed. On the upside, the police and prosecutors have access to, free of charge, all of the services the U.S. crime labs provide: FBI, DEA, ATFB, US Postal lab, to name a few.
A strength for Great Britain using private labs is that it’s not being interfered with by the government, it was paid to do a job, it will get the job done. On the down side, this type of system expects to be paid, so if a small area can not pay for the types of help they are in need of, the crime lab will not be able to provide help with the crime investigation.
2. Police investigating an apparent suicide collect the following items at the scene: a note purportedly written by the victim, a revolver bearing very faint finger prints and traces of skin and blood under the victim’s fingernails. What units of the crime laboratory will examine each piece of evidence?