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We are in week five already and I can hardly believe it. There are several steps to investigating a burglary. There is task involved in approaching the scene, securing the scene, interviewing, and looking for evidence. While law enforcement begins to approach the scene, they must be aware that the suspect could still be in the area and to look out for any suspicious behavior. Officers must also treat the scene as if the crime just happened if they are unsure.

Once law enforcement is at the scene, they must start to secure it. For a burglary scene, you do not have to take extreme lengths to secure the scene. However, traffic may want to be minimized and make sure no one touches or moves anything that hasn’t been touched already. This will help get as much evidence as possible.

After law enforcement has secured the scene, they must interview the victim. This is a very important step. They will want the victim to try and walk them through everything that happened and show them what is missing or may have been disturbed. This will allow law enforcement to get a good picture of what may have happened and try to find a good starting point to begin the collection process because the best evidence is said to be found at the greatest point of activity. (Liederbach, Fritsch, & Womach, 2011)

The collection process can be easy or hard. If the victim moved anything or started to clean before law enforcement arrived it could make it harder to find evidence. Law enforcement would want to look for any broken glass and document the exact location of it. They will also want to collect any blood or fingerprints that they find. Even if the finger prints might be the victims they still need to be collected. The point of entry should be checked to see if any tools were used or if it was a forced entry. (Liederbach, Fritsch, & Womach, 2011)

Once everything has been written down and collected then it should be properly labeled, bagged, and turned over to be analyzed. Having the proper chain of custody is very important to ensure nothing gets lost or damaged. Typically, with a burglary you will find foot prints, fingerprints, possible DNA, or pieces of clothing. This type of evidence will normally be found at the point of entry and the exit, and where the most damage was done.

In Mississippi, Statue 97-17-23 is for Burglary; breaking and entering inhabited dwelling; home invasion. In short, it states that if any one breaks into a home or such dwelling, whether they were armed or not, or whether they knew someone was home or not shall be punished by law for no less than three years and no more than twenty-five years in custody of the Department of Corrections. However, if the burglar breaks into somewhere and they terrorize any one who is occupying the home then punishment will be no less than ten years and no more than twenty-five years in custody of the Department of Corrections. (n/a, 2019)

Jennifer Nissen

References

Liederbach, J., Fritsch, E. J., & Womach, C. L. (2011). Detective workload and opportunities for increased productivity in criminal investigations. Police Practice and Research: An International Journal , 12 (1), 50-65.

n/a. (2019, july 1). 2010 Mississippi Code; 97-17-23 Burglary; breaking and entering inhabited dwelling; home invasion. Retrieved from JUSTIA: https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/2010/title-97/17/97-17-23/