HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

OF INVESTIGATIONS
HISTORY OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION

Over the years, it has become increasingly evident that the crime problem is
exceeding the capabilities of the criminal justice system to control or even
contain it. In early groups known as tribes and clans, methods existed for
detecting and resolving undesirable acts. The methods used although
primitive beyond as compared today were based on assigning responsibility
to a given individual or family. If a member of a particular tribal family
violated the moral code of a tribe, the other family members were held
responsible for detection, apprehension, and even execution of the offending
member.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME NOTABLE ACCOUNTS RELATIVE TO INVESTIGATION:

2100 B. C. BABYLON
At about 1750 BC, Hammurabi, king of Babylon, created one of the first bodies of written law-
the Code of Hammurabi. The code was then implemented to detect those who refused to obey
the law. It imposes the Lex Taliones (Law of Retribution) principle where the punishment of an
offender was equal to what he did. The principle also refers to the concept known as, "An eye
for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

5TH CENTURY B.C. (ROME)

This century marked Rome for the creation of the first specialized
investigative unit which was named as Questors or Trackers or Murderers.
 THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME NOTABLE ACCOUNTS RELATIVE TO INVESTIGATION:

6TH CENTURY B.C. (ATHENS)

This era adopted an unpaid magistrate (judge) to make decisions to the cases presented to
them. This magistrate was appointed by the citizens.

REIGN OF ALFRED THE GREAT

In the later part of 9th century, Alfred the Great established a system of "mutual pledge"
(Social Control), which was organized for the security of the country into several levels
such as the following:
1. Ten Tithing. This was done by grouping a hundred of persons into one under the charge
of a High Constable. Hue and cry were employed. The constable who was considered the
first form of English Police dealt with more serious breaches of the law.
2. Tithing. This was performed by grouping ten persons to protect one another and to
assume responsibility for the acts of the group's members. The one who heads the group
was called Chief.
THE TIME OF CHRIST (ROME)
The Roman Emperor Augustus picked out special, highly qualified members of the military to
form the Praetorian Guard, the Praefectus Urbi and the Vigiles of Rome. Their functions were
as follows:
1. Praetorian Guard. This guard was considered to be thef first police officer in Rome, with
the job of protecting the palace of Rome and the emperor.
2. Praefectus Urbi. The function of the Praefectus Urbi was to protect the city, exercising
both executive and judicial power.

3. Vigiles of Rome. The Vigiles began as fire fighters, granted with law enforcement
responsibilities and patrolled Rome's streets day and night. They were considered as a civil
police force designed to protect citizens. They were considered quite brutal and it is where
the word "Vigilante" came from.
1285 A.D., THE STATUTE OF WINCHESTER (ENGLAND)
The Statute of Winchester was enacted to establish a rudimentary criminal justice system in
which most of the responsibility for law enforcement remained with the people themselves.
This statute was promulgated by Winchester. The statute established the following:

1. The Watch and Ward Act

2. Hue and Cry System
3. Parish Constables became primary urban law enforcement agent in England
4. All males kept weapons in their home for maintaining public peace.
1720'S, JONATHAN WILD (ENGLAND)

He was a buckle maker and a brothel operator and a master criminal who
became the London's most effective criminal investigator. He was the most
famous thief catcher in 1720s. He conceived the idea of charging a fee for
locating and returning stolen property to their rightful owners (Manwong, 2004).

1749 HENRY FIELDING

He founded the Bow Street Runners. This was called London's first professional police
force (originally numbered just eight) and was considered as the foundation of all
modern police forces.

In 1751, Henry published a pamphlet entitled An Inquiry into the Causes of the Late
Increase of Robbers, which called for many sweeping changes in the laws and the
execution of their laws (Eduardo, 2008, Notes in Law Enforcement Administration).
1753, JOHN FIELDING
As a younger half-brother of Henry Fielding, he was appointed
as Henry's personal assistant in 1750. He also helped Henry to
root out corruption and improve the competence of those
engaged in administering justice in London. He also introduced
the practice of developing informants, printing wanted notices,
employing criminal raids, and bearing firearms and handcuffs.
The blind John was known as the "Blind Beak" and allegedly
abled to recognize 3,000 criminals by the sounds of their voices
(Eduardo, 2008, Notes in Law Enforcement Administration).
1800, PATRICK COLQUHOUN
Patrick Colquhoun published a book known as, "The Commerce and Policing of
the River Thames". He was also credited for his innovation for the critical
development and three decades later, led to Robert Peel's "new" police.
Colquhoun together with Master Mariner John Harriott developed the Marine
Police Force or sometimes known as the Thames River Police. It was said to be
England's first Police force. The police force was designed to tackle theft and
looting from ships anchored in the Pool of London and the lower reaches of the
river. The force is now known as the Marine Support Unit. Colquhoun also had
the idea of a publicly funded police force. His main contribution was the
introduction of crime prevention, or preventive policing - the fundamental
principle to the English police system (Eduardo, 2008, Notes in Law
Enforcement Administration).
1811, EUGENE "FRANCOIS" VIDOCQ (FRANCE)

Eugene Vidocq established a squad of ex-convicts to aid the Paris Police in

investigating crimes. He worked under the theory of "Set a thief to catch a
thief." He introduced the concept of "Trade Protection Society," which became
the forerunner of our present-day credit card system. For a fee, any owner of
a shop or business establishment could obtain particulars concerning the
financial solvency of new customers.

He was credited as the founder of La Surete, the France's national detective

organization and was considered as the Father of Modern Criminology in the
French Police Department. He was also regarded as the first private detective
(Eduardo, 2008, Notes in Law Enforcement Administration p 5).
DR. EDMOND LOCARD

Edmond Locard published L' Enquete Criminelle et les Methodes Scientifique in

1920. He was also a pioneer on forensic science and became known as the
Sherlock Holmes of France. He formulated the basic principle of forensic
science: "Every contact leaves a trace". This became known as "Locard's
Exchange Principle" (Eldridge, 2011).
1829, SIR ROBERT PEEL (LONDON)
British statesman Sir Robert Peel established the London Metropolitan Police
Force (LMPF), which became the world's first modern organized police force.
(LMPF) did not only became a model for the American police system but also
had greatly influence on the style of policing in almost all industrial societies.
LMPF was guided by the concept of crime prevention as a primary police objective; it
also embodied the belief that such a force depended on the consent and cooperation
of the public, and the idea that police constables were to be civil and courteous to the
people. The force became the model for other police forces in Great Britain. Informal
names are, "the Met" and "MPS". In statutes it is referred to in the lower case as the
"Metropolitan Police Force" or the "Metropolitan Police", without the appendage
"service". The MPS is also referred to as Scotland Yard after the location of its original
headquarters.

Police are often referred to as 'Bobbies' or 'Peelers' after Sir Robert (Bobby) Peel. The
primary role of the police in Britain was to keep the Queen's Peace, which continues to
the present days. He also introduced the techniques in detecting crimes such as
detectives concealing themselves, and secretly photographing and recording
conversations. London Metropolitan Police employed the first undercover officer.
 The great contributions of Sir Robert Peel led people to regard him the Father of Modern
Policing. His most memorable principle was, "the police are the public, and the public are
the police" (Eduardo, 2008, Notes in Law Enforcement Administration, p 7).

1833, ENGLAND
Scotland Yard employed the first undercover officer. In USA, the first daytime paid police
department was established in Philadelphia.

1835, TEXAS RANGERS

Texas Ranger was organized as the first law enforcement agency with statewide investigative
authority. This is the forerunner of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

1839, WILLIAM HENRY FOX TALBOT

William Henry Fox Talbot explained his photographic process to the Royal Society of London.
This year was known as the birth of photography.
1851, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, USA
Multi-suspect identification line-up was employed for the first time.

1852, CHARLES DICKENS (U.S.A)

Charles Dickens was a great novelist in which through his story entitled Bleak House, he
introduced the term detective to the English language (Adams & Taylor, 1995).

1856, KATE WAYNE (U.S.A)

Kate Wayne was the first woman detective in the history of criminal investigation. She was
hired by the Pinkerton Agency. and contributed to solving big cases in the United States of
America.

1859, U.S.A
The Appellate Court of USA recognized/accepted photographs as evidence in court
proceedings upon its relevancy and after thorough verification.
1866, THOMAS BYRNES (U.S.A)
Thomas Byrnes was a keen-minded individual who trained his detectives in recognizing
individual criminal techniques. He founded the criminal "modus operandi." This is a Latin
phrase, approximately translated as "Method of Operation". The term is used to describe
someone's habits of working, particularly in the context of business or criminal investigation.
In English, it is often shortened as M. O. (Memidex Website, 2013).

1866, JESSIE JAMES GANG (U.S.A.)

The gang made the first hold-up which marked the beginning of the gang's 15 year hold-up
and robbery spree (12 bank hold-ups and 12 train stage coach robberies in 11 states). Clay
County Savings Association was their first victim and took $60,000.00.

1877, HOWARD VINCENT (ENGLAND)

Howard Vincent headed the newly organized Criminal Investigation Department in Scotland
Yard.
1882, ALPHONSE BERTILLON (FRANCE)
Alphonse Bertillon introduced the first systematic identification system based on the
Anthropological measurement (Anthropometry /Bertillon system). He was considered the
founder of Criminal Investigation as well as the Father of Personal

Identification (Tubid, 1996). The system recorded anthropometric measurements and

personal characteristics such as color of eyes, scars, and deformities. The following
measurements were taken:
1. Body: height, reach from fingertips to fingertips, length of trunk and head, or height sitting;
2. Head: length and width, length and width of right ear
3. Limbs: length of left foot, length of left middle finger, length of left little finger, length of
left forearm. These measurements were recorded on cards and classified according to the
length of the head.
1892, FRANCIS GALTON (ENGLAND)
Francis Galton is an English man who published his study on classifying fingerprints and
recognized the uniqueness of the fingerprints to be used as evidence against a suspect.

1918, ENGLAND
A new concept was introduced in the field of Criminal Investigation, known as "Team
Policing." In this concept, there is no patrol division or criminal investigation per se. In this
system, a team of police officers is assigned to patrol and investigate all criminal matters
within their area of jurisdiction or district.
1953, PAUL LELAND KIRK
A chemist and forensic scientist, Paul Leland Kirk is most known for his work on blood
spatter evidence. He applied this expertise on bloodstain pattern analysis to the Sam
Sheppard homicide case. He published "Crime Investigation" in 1953, one of the first
comprehensive criminalistics and crime investigation textbooks that encompassed theory in
addition to practice (Turvey, 2011). 1966, Miranda v. Arizona (U.S.A.)
The US Supreme Court established procedural guidelines for taking criminal confessions. The case
is the origin of the present Miranda rights of every accused under custodial investigation.
1977, USA
The FBI introduced the beginning of Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) with
the first computerized scans of fingerprints.

1986, ENGLAND
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) typing was first used to solve a crime. DNA is unique to every
individual and can be used for personal identification.

1987, USA
DNA profiling was introduced for the first time in US criminal court. Based on RFLP analysis
performed by Life codes, Tommy Lee Andrews was convicted of a series of sexual assaults in
Orlando, Florida. (Rankin, Forensic Science Central, 2005-2014).

NEW YORK V. CASTRO

This was the first case in which the admissibility of DNA was seriously challenged. It set in motion
a string of events that culminated in a call for certification, accreditation, standardization, and
quality control guidelines for both DNA laboratories and the general forensic community (PBS
Website, 1995-2014).
1999, USA
The FBI upgraded its computerized fingerprint database and implemented the Integrated
Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), allowing paperless submission, storage,
and search capabilities directly to the national database maintained at the FBI (Atlanta
Notaries Website, 2013)
1818-1884, ALLAN PINKERTON
Being engaged in business as a barrel maker in 1846, Allan Pinkerton captured a gang of counterfeiters and
was consequently elected as a county sheriff.

In 1850 he organized the Pinkerton's National Detective Agency and was appointed as the first city
detective in Chicago. The recovery of a large sum of money stolen from the Adams Express Company and
the discovery of a plot to murder Abraham Lincoln in 1861 made way to his reputation (Manwong, 2004).

During the American Civil War he organized the secret service of the U.S. Army. During the railroad strikes
of 1877, his agency provided strikebreakers. His books include Strikers, Communists and Tramps (1878) and
Thirty Years a Detective (1884). Allan Pinkerton was considered as the America's foremost private
detective. This individual truly deserves the title of "America's Founder of Criminal Investigation." Among
methods he pioneered-
 were "shadowing," the art of suspects surveillance, "roping," working in undercover capacity
with a motto, "We never sleep."
1847-1915, DR. HANS GROSS
Dr. Hans Gross was the earliest advocator of criminal investigation as a science. Interested in
investigation while serving as an examining magistrate he became a professor of Criminology at the
University of Vienna (Manwong, 2004). He is also recognized today as the Father of
Criminalistics/Forensic Science.

1859-1930, DR. ARTHUR C. DOYLE

Dr. Arthur C. Doyle is a British physician, novelist, and detective-story writer, Dr. Arthur C. Doyle is
best known as the creator of the character of master sleuth Sherlock Holmes. The characterization of
Holmes, particularly his ability of ingenious deductive reasoning, was based on one of Conan Doyle's
own university professors (Vicente, 2014 Manual on Criminal Investigation).

DR. ALEC JOHN JEFFREYS

Dr. Alec John Jeffreys used DNA fingerprinting and profiling to identify Colin Pitchfork as the
murderer of two young girls in the English midlands. Significantly, in the course of the investigation,
DNA was first used to exonerate an innocent suspect (U.S. National Library of Medicine Website, 2014).
FLAVIANO GUERRERO

Flaviano Guerrero is the only Filipino member of the United States Federal
Bureau of Investigation (NBI Website, 2014).

Take Note: The evolution of criminal investigation is closely similar with the
historical development of criminalistics.
THANK YOU