12 1 Police and Law Enforcement—Adult ForensicsSuggestions for Future Research
There is a great need for further research in the evaluation of the environmental
aspects that lead to the need for force. As discussed, the environment in which the
situation arises can determine the need for force and the potential outcome of such
force. With a more complete understanding of how the environment develops,
what role the environment plays, and how the environment can be manipulated
for safety, we can hope to use force as a means to uphold justice with minimal
conflict. Furthermore, there is a need to understand the psychological as well as the
sociological aspects of the use offeree. It is necessary to understand the emotional
and cognitive functions of both the suspect and the police officer involved in such
a crisis. It is essential to research areas such as if and how gender and ethnicity relate
to the use force by officers. These environmental, sociological, and psychological
applications can be beneficial in training police officers to recognize the scenarios
that develop and can facilitate that final decision of whether to use force.
EVIDENCE TAMPERING
Introduction
The O. J. Simpson trial brought into the limelight an increasingly notorious portion
of criminal investigation—the tampering of evidence. Much attention was given
to the notion that Simpson may have been framed by the Los Angeles Police
Department, who was accused of planting blood evidence in his Bronco and bloody
clothing in his house. Relatively little attention, however, is given to other aspects
of evidence tampering. In what ways could an officer tamper with evidence? What
motivates a police officer to tamper with evidence? Are there any steps that can be
taken to prevent such occurrences? These questions are examined in this section,
as are other issues related to evidence tampering.
The following fictional vignette provides an illustration of evidence tampering
(Klockars, 1984).
Mike, an experienced and talented detective, was the chief investigating officer on a
case that involved a series of rapes, kidnappings, and robberies that were all committed
by the same person. In each of the cases the rapist knocked on the front door of the
home, talked or forced his way in, and, finding that the woman was alone or only small
children were present, took her to a bedroom and raped her. In all, the rapist victimized
rive women in this way.
The third rape was, however, different from the others in that as he was raping his
victim someone came to the front door and rang the bell. This frightened the rapist and
he fled through a rear window, leaving a shoe behind. Normally the shoe would have
been placed with other physical evidence from the scene in a police evidence room, but
Mike took possession of the shoe himself so that it might be used to give the rapist's scent
to some specially trained tracking dogs who would follow it from the victim's home. The