In the early hours of 8 August 1963, a crime took place which simultaneously captured the imagination of the general public, and shook the British Establishment to the core, in a way that no criminal event had ever done before. The Great Train Robbery, as it subsequently became known, involved the audacious high-jacking of one of Her Majesty's mail trains, netting the sixteen strong gang over GBP2.6 million, equivalent to almost GBP50 million in 2016. One by one, thanks to the tenacity of the Scotland Yard Flying Squad officers charged with bringing the perpetrators to justice, all known members of the gang were brought to trial and, with one exception, were subsequently convicted and sentenced to imprisonment. However, there was a great deal of public outrage at the length of the some of the sentences handed out by the trial judge, with many of the gang facing the prospect of up to 30 years in prison. Yet, for many of those involved both directly and indirectly in the Great Train Robbery, the story does not end there. Over the coming years, a series of tragedies, misfortunes, illnesses and downright bad luck were to blight the lives of a significant number of the guilty and the innocent. The Curse of the Great Train Robbery tells the thrilling story of the robbery and reveals the series of subsequent events which will leave readers to ponder whether this was a crime which was both cursed and doomed to fail from the very outset.

Innocent people are regularly convicted of crimes they did not commit. A number of systemic factors have been found to contribute to wrongful convictions, including eyewitness misidentification, false confessions, informant testimony, official misconduct, and faulty forensic evidence. In Miscarriages of Justice in Canada, Kathryn M. Campbell offers an extensive overview of wrongful convictions, bringing together current sociological, criminological, and legal research, as well as current case-law examples. For the first time, information on all known and suspected cases of wrongful conviction in Canada is included and interspersed with discussions of how wrongful convictions happen, how existing remedies to rectify them are inadequate, and how those who have been victimized by these errors are rarely compensated. Campbell reveals that the causes of wrongful convictions are, in fact, avoidable, and that those in the criminal justice system must exercise greater vigilance and openness to the possibility of error if the problem of wrongful conviction is to be resolved.

This book provides college students in Legal Studies, Criminal Justice, and other law or forensic-related fields with a detailed understanding of evidence law. A detailed, hands-on introduction to evidence law Criminal Evidence uses clear writing and real-world examples to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the laws that determine what make evidence admissible in court, and the factors that make it credible to a jury. Concise but thorough explanations of the legal system, trial processes, and principles of constitutional and criminal law are carefully tailored to provide background on the role of evidence law. Coverage then continues to the rules of evidence and statutory and case law which form the law of evidence in a logical progression, from the attributes which make evidence admissible, to those which make relevant evidence inadmissible. Throughout, practice tips, sample trial transcripts, court opinions, and critical-thinking questions help students develop and retain their understanding. The appendix includes an annotated transcript of testimony taken at an actual criminal trial to give students a look at how evidence law is applied in practice. With its hands-on approach to evidence law, Criminal Evidence clearly explains the law of evidence and the context of that law in a manner that is accessible to students studying criminal justice as well as those studying law.

There are no villains here. Award-winning journalist Paul McNally finds corrupt cops, drug dealers, vigilante residents, addicts, torturers, murderers and cops partnered with drug dealers. But no villains.

Raymond is a shop owner on Ontdekkers Road, in Johannesburg, who takes a baseball bat to the dealers when they break his rules. He systematically records in his notebook the police officers who come – all day, every day – to collect their bribe money from the dealers, and is looking for someone to trust. Khaba is a middle-aged police officer who wants a quiet life but whose demons will not leave him in peace. He is trying to regain his trust in what he once regarded as an honourable profession. Wendy is a petite, ageing police reservist who can handle an R5 rifle with confidence, but not the sadness that accompanies her in her daily life – the loss of her police officer husband, brutally murdered by a drug lord, and the addiction that has her adult son in its grip. She is looking for respect and affirmation and for her own life to have meaning.

Through different paths, the lives of Raymond, Khaba and Wendy intersect on the street as their attention is focused on the current power couple – a drug dealer named Obi and Lerato, a police officer. Seemingly untouchable, Obi and Lerato terrorise Ontdekkers, and in the process upset the balance of this already lawless world.

A propulsive and moving memoir about a brother’s decades-long investigation into the circumstances surrounding his sister’s tragic death—and his own journey to forgiveness and closure.

On a summer evening in 1974, Jim Thomson arrived home from a baseball game to the news that his younger sister, Eileen, had taken her own life. To Jim, his parents, and his brother, Keith, the loss was unexpected and devastating. Only twenty-seven years old, Eileen had been living in California with her high school sweetheart, Vic, a cop, surrounded by a circle of close friends and working at a job she loved. It seemed unfathomable that she would kill herself, but as the family gathered in Pittsburgh to say goodbye, more details emerged that seemed to explain the tragedy: Eileen had confided in her parents that she had been suffering from depression, and her storybook marriage had been plagued by bitter fights, infidelity, and guilt. When Jim eventually sat down with his brother-in-law to talk about the final hours of Eileen’s life, Vic looked him in the eye and explained that he had stormed out of the room in the midst of a volatile argument. Moments later, a gunshot went off. Sensing no lies or evasion, Jim believed him. He recounted the story to the rest of the family, and they got on with their lives as best they could.

Twenty-seven years later, with all of his family passed away, Eileen’s death began to nag at Jim. Now a writer, he wanted to fill in the blanks of her story and answer the questions that were plaguing him. What had the final months of Eileen’s life been like? Why had she not told him about her troubles? How had the infidelity in her marriage brought her and Vic to that fateful day, and who else had been a part of it? What other demons had she been battling?

Determined to uncover the truth, Jim hired a private investigator to help him. Together, they tracked down Eileen’s old friends and clandestinely obtained copies of police reports, which revealed that Vic and Eileen’s relationship—and the sheriff’s investigation that followed her death—was much darker and more complicated than they had imagined. Torn by doubt, Jim began a two-decade journey that took him from the streets of Pittsburgh to the hills of San Bernardino, leading him into a tangled web of secrecy, deception, and shifting stories that forced him to reconsider everything he thought he knew about Vic, Eileen, and himself—and to confront the chilling question of whether his sister had really taken her own life.

Told with the precision and pace of a whodunit and the searing emotion of a family saga, A Better Ending is an unforgettable tale about the love between siblings, the murkiness of truth and memory, and the path to acceptance.

Psychologists are increasingly being asked to give evidence in court as expert witnesses, yet for some it can be a harrowing experience. Writing Reports for Court provides essential support for psychologists when preparing a court report and giving evidence.A well prepared report underpins an effective court presentation. The credibility of a psychologist called upon to prepare a report for court will be questioned if the document presented is viewed poorly. The court will place little weight on the report and the psychologist's professional reputation will be placed at risk.This book offers guidance on the content and structure of reports, highlights the importance of assessments that directly address the legal questions under consideration, and includes detailed descriptions of relevant law and practice in Australia, Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Singapore.Featuring several comprehensive case studies, this book serves as an excellent resource for any working psychologist who may find themselves in a criminal court as well as any psychologist or student considering a career in forensic work.

Dit het die land geruk, die wêreld geboei en sal in die geskiedenis bekendstaan as die opspraakwekkendste hofsaak tot nog toe in Suid-Afrika. Oscar Pistorius se moordverhoor is die storie van die dekade. Dis ’n liefdesverhaal wat ’n misdaadriller geword het, ’n sprokie wat in bloed geëindig het.

En dís hoe Marida Fitzpatrick die verhaal vertel. Sy weef die skrikwekkende gebeure van daardie noodlottige nag en die mees dramatiese hoofstukke van die verhoor op só ’n manier ineen dat dit soos ’n spanningsverhaal lees. Tussendeur dié boeiende vertelling is uittreksels uit onderhoude wat Fitzpatrick met van die betrokkenes se naastes gevoer het.

Saam met al die menslike vertellings verskyn daar ook ’n interessante ontrafeling van die tegniese aspekte van die verhoor: Wat het die ballistiek, die getuienis oor die gille en Oscar se twee verwere uiteindelik vir hom beteken?

Dit word alles geïllustreer met treffende foto’s wat op die toneel geneem is en grafiese voorstellings.

Die Staat vs. Oscar is ’n fassinerende storie wat nie net al die legkaartstukke van die Oscar-raaisel in plek laat val nie, maar deurentyd aangryp en meesleur.

At the dawn of the Victorian age there was effectively no police detective force in Britain and detecting methods were rudimentary; by the end of Victoria's reign the Criminal Investigation Department had been established and basic forensic tests were in use. This book explores the development of the professional detective during the nineteenth century, giving examples of the methods he used to track down criminals and to convict them of offences ranging from petty theft to brutal murder. It also explains the development of forensics, from fingerprinting to tests that could identify whether or not blood was human. Mysteries such as the Jack the Ripper murders are examined, as well as the work of famous sleuths like the 'Prince of Detectives' Jonathan Whicher - the real-life counterpart of the legendary Sherlock Holmes.

After 9/11, when the nation was still in shock, a mother of three in rural Montana was devouring literature on Islamic culture, teaching herself Arabic, and preparing to infiltrate the central nervous system of global terror: online networks. Shannen Rossmiller's efforts succeeded beyond imagination. Posing as an Islamic militant under dozens of screen aliases, she joined forces with the FBI and started trolling jihadist chat rooms, striking up conversations at 3am with men as far away as Pakistan, and amassing evidence against an array of suspected terrorists both at home and abroad.In 2002, Shannena (TM)s family uncovered her double life after a chat room terrorist wiped out their computer, and reports rolled in that the Rossmillers were being targeted for reprisal. Undeterred, Shannen pressed on, bringing many would-be jihadists to justice, testifying in nationally publicized trials, and pioneering the digital entrapment tactics that are at the forefront of todaya (TM)s war on terror. This is the story of one womana (TM)s unexpected courage and how it changed the face of this global struggle.

Not All Crimes Are Committed Equally And Therefore Not All Investigations Can Be Conducted Equally. Each Crime Type Requires Unique Investigative Techniques - From First Response To Evidence Collection And Interviewing The Victims And Suspects - Every Crime Type Necessitates Distinct Investigative Procedures And Reporting. Written For Criminal Investigation Courses And Specifically Sex Crime Investigation Courses, Investigating Sexual Assault Cases Presents The Basic Responsibilities Of First Responders And Highlights Specific Demands For Investigators And Prosecutors. Part Of The Jones & Bartlett Learning Guides To Law Enforcement Investigation Series, This Comprehensive Resource Provides Future Law Enforcement Professionals With The Information Necessary To Accurately Investigate And Analyze Sexual Assault Crimes, Improve Clearance Rates, Increase Rape And Sexual Assault Reporting, And Reduce The Number Of Wrongful Incarcerations. Key Features: -Serves As A How-To Guide While Maintaining The Theory So Readers Gain A Full Understanding Of The Entire Investigative Process Of A Sexual Assault Case. -Includes A Chapter On Common Mistakes Investigators Make When Conducting And Reporting On Sexual Assault Crimes. -Includes Discussion On The Victim And Victimology, Offender Typology And Special Offenders, The Investigative Interviewing Process, Working With Prosecutors, And More. -Contains Case Studies And Chapter Summaries To Ensure Comprehension, As Well As End-Of-Chapter References For Further Research On Specific Topics. About The Series Jones & Bartlett Learning Guides To Law Enforcement Investigation Series Is Designed For Undergraduate And Graduate-Level Criminal Investigation Courses And Provides Comprehensive And Detailed Information For Instructors Teaching The Specialized Topics. Crimes Vary Greatly By Type And Each Crime Category Demands Unique And Specialized Skills. The Books In This Series Present The Fundamental And Necessary Steps To Accurately Conduct An Investigation Specific To The Crime Type, Such As Sexual Assault, Child Abduction, Homicide, Etc. Authored By Leading Educators And Professionals, This Series Delivers Comprehensive Information On All Aspects Of Criminal Investigation Related To The Various Types Of Crime And Aims To Educate And Prepare Students For Careers In Law Enforcement, As Well As Reduce The Number Of Wrongful Incarcerations.

A groundbreaking and stunning investigation into the shocking and untimely death of Vincent Walker Foster Jr., the deputy counsel to the President of the United States—President Bill Clinton’s childhood friend and Hillary Clinton’s closest confidante.

Was it murder or suicide?

This is the book the Clintons and murder conspiracy peddlers do not want you to read.

On July 20, 1993, Foster was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the head in Fort Marcy Park, McLean, Virginia. His passing was the highest ranking government official’s death since President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, on November 22, 1963.

Foster’s mysterious death sparked a firestorm of controversy that engulfed the nation. Was it murder or suicide? The charges leveled against Hillary and Bill Clinton were serious: Foster knew too much. They had killed him. Clinton staffers removed evidence from his office. Must be a cover-up. Investigators never found the fatal bullet. It’s a conspiracy. On and on it went. But who was right?

Using new information exclusively obtained from the last person who officially saw Foster alive in the White House, and supported by the historical record documented in five official investigations that relied on the “available evidence,” investigative journalist Marinka Peschmann’s findings lead to a terrible conclusion.

American politics is corrupted, after reading Following Orders: The Death of Vince Foster, Clinton White House Lawyer, the sequel to The Whistleblower: How the Clinton White House Stayed in Power to Reemerge in the Obama White House and on the World Stage, no longer will Americans wonder how Washington became so broken when they see how those in power thwart the rule of law, obstruct justice, and are never held to account even at the deadly expense of long-time loyal friends and colleagues ... and it's happening again.

The story of Lance Armstrong - the cyclist who recovered from testicular cancer and went on to win the Tour de France a record seven tmes, the man who wrote a bestselling and inspirational account of his life, the charitable benefactor - seemed almost too good to be true. And it was.

As early as Armstrong's first victory on the Tour in 1999, Sunday Times journalist David Walsh had reason to think that the incredible performances we were seeing from Armstrong were literally too good to be true. Based on insider information and dogged research, he began to unmask the truth. Cycling's biggest star used every weapon in his armoury to protect his name. But he could not keep everyone silent.

In the autumn of 2012, the USADA published a damning report on Armstrong that resulted in the American being stripped of his seven Tour victories and left his reputation in shreds. Walsh's long fight to reveal the truth had been vindicated. This book tells the compelling story of one man's struggle to bring that truth to light against all the odds.

'Every journalist who is not too stupid or too full of himself to notice what is going on knows that what he does is morally indefensible' In equal measure famous and infamous, Janet Malcolm's book charts the true story of a lawsuit between Jeffrey MacDonald, a convicted murderer, and Joe McGinniss, the author of a book about the crime. Lauded as one of the Modern Libraries "100 Best Works of Nonfiction", The Journalist and the Murderer is in equal measure fascinating and controversial, a contemporary classic of reportage.

"Crime Scene Photography, Second Edition "covers the general principals and concepts of photography, while also delving into the more practical elements and advanced concepts of forensic photography. Edward Robinson assists the reader in understanding and applying essential concepts in order to create images that are able to withstand challenges in court. The first part of the book deals with the basic theory and science of photography required to take superior photographs, and covers topics such as composition, exposure, focus, depth of field, and flash techniques. The second part of the text deals specifically with the challenges of photographing a crime scene, including instructions on how to document bodies and wounds, traffic accident photography, underwater photography and aerial photography. In the latter portions of the text, the author turns to digital theory and its advantages and disadvantages.

* Over 600 full color photographs, also electronically available on the companion website * Two new chapters on 'The History of Forensic Photography, ' and'Digital Image Processing of Evidentiary Photography' * Includes an Instructor website with lecture slides, practical exercises, a test bank and image collection * An essential reference for crime scene photography, including topics such as Composition, the Inverse Square Law, Court Cases affecting photography, Digital Image Processing, and Photogrammetry * Required reading by the Crime Scene Certification Board of the International Association for Identification (IAI) for all levels of certification"

In "The Vendetta," author Alston Purvis recounts the story of his father, Melvin Purvis, the iconic G-man and public hero made famous by his remarkable sweep of the great Public Enemies of the American Depression--John Dillinger; Pretty Boy Floyd, and Baby Face Nelson. Purvis's successes led FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover to grow increasingly jealous, to the point where he vowed to bring down Purvis. Hoover smeared Purvis's reputation, and tried to erase his name from all records of the FBI's greatest triumphs. This book sets the record straight, and provides a grippingly authentic new telling of the gangster era, seen from the perspective of the pursuers.

This book offers a lively history of the Arkansas State Police.From the force's origins as the 'Arkansas Rangers' to Governor Cherry's plan for 'a trooper in every county' and on to today's sophisticated, diversified force, this new history of Arkansas' statewide policing authority - from its earliest days to dramatic manhunts and modernization - tells an important part of the state's development.Lindsey's text and archival photos show how the saga of Arkansas' police has reflected the state's growth, development of crime-solving methods, and innovation in technologies used by troopers to bring criminals to justice. Attention is given to the remarkable men and women who have served and the changing needs of a growing state.

This fast-paced history of the FBI presents the first balanced and complete portrait of the vast, powerful, and sometimes bitterly criticized American institution. Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones, a well-known expert on U.S. intelligence agencies, tells the bureau's story in the context of American history. Along the way he challenges conventional understandings of that story and assesses the FBI's strengths and weaknesses as an institution.
Common wisdom traces the origin of the bureau to 1908, but Jeffreys-Jones locates its true beginnings in the 1870s, when Congress acted in response to the Ku Klux Klan campaign of terror against black American voters. The character and significance of the FBI derive from this original mission, the author contends, and he traces the evolution of the mission into the twenty-first century.
The book makes a number of surprising observations: that the role of J. Edgar Hoover has been exaggerated and the importance of attorneys general underestimated, that splitting counterintelligence between the FBI and the CIA in 1947 was a mistake, and that xenophobia impaired the bureau's preemptive anti-terrorist powers before and after 9/11. The author concludes with a fresh consideration of today's FBI and the increasingly controversial nature of its responsibilities.

When DNA profiling was first introduced into the American legal system in 1987, it was heralded as a technology that would revolutionize law enforcement. As an investigative tool, it has lived up to much of this hype - it is regularly used to track down unknown criminals, put murderers and rapists behind bars, and exonerate the innocent. Yet, this promise took ten turbulent years to be fulfilled. In ""Genetic Witness"", Jay D. Aronson uncovers the dramatic early history of DNA profiling that has been obscured by the technique's recent success. He demonstrates that robust quality control and quality assurance measures were initially nonexistent, interpretation of test results was based more on assumption than empirical evidence, and the technique was susceptible to error at every stage. Most of these issues came to light only through defense challenges to what prosecutors claimed to be an infallible technology. Although this process was fraught with controversy, inefficiency, and personal antagonism, the quality of DNA evidence improved dramatically as a result. Aronson argues, however, that the dream of a perfect identification technology remains unrealized.

John F. Sullivan was a polygraph examiner with the CIA for thirty-one years, during which time he conducted more tests than anyone in the history of the CIA's program. The lie detectors act as the Agency's gatekeepers, preventing foreign agents, unsuitable applicants, and employees guilty of misconduct from penetrating or harming the Agency. Here Sullivan describes his methods, emphasizing the importance of psychology and the examiners' skills in a successful polygraph program. Sullivan acknowledges that using the polygraph effectively is an art as much as a science, yet he convincingly argues that it remains a highly reliable screening device, more successful and less costly than the other primary method, background investigation. In the thousands of tests that Sullivan conducted, he discovered double agents, applicants with criminal backgrounds, and employee misconduct, including compromising affairs and the mishandling of classified information. But "Gatekeeper" is more than Sullivan's memoirs. It is also a window to the often acrimonious and sometimes alarming internal politics of the CIA: the turf wars over resources, personnel, and mandate; the slow implementation of quality control; the aversion to risk-taking; and the overzealous pursuit of disqualifying information. In an age when the intelligence community's conduct is rightly being questioned, Sullivan contributes a fascinating personal account of one of the Agency's many important tasks.

The FBI that Freeh took over in the summer of 1993 was still reeling from the bloody standoff at Ruby Ridge and the conflagration at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texa. Unpopular, under-funded and understaffed, the Bureau was also creeping along in the technological Dark Ages. For eight years, the second longest tenure of any Director since J. Edgar Hoover, Freeh would fight tooth and nail to turn the FBI around. In "MY FBI", we follow Freeh through his disputes with Clinton, National Security Advisor Sandy Berger, and others over indictments against the senior Iranian officials behind the Khobar bombing. When he finally gets indictments in the Bush II administration, the families of those killed present Freeh with a plaque thar reads: "To the only honest man in Washington" No wonder Bill Clinton called Freeh a "law enforcement legend" when he nominated him to be FBI Director. No wonder, either, that when Clinton subsequently called that appointment the worst one he made as president, Freeh considered it a badge of honour.