Overview
During the course of history, police organizations have responded to a variety of external forces that have caused changes in how organizations perform the investigative function and the methods used to investigate criminal occurrences. This entry describes the evolution of the criminal investigation function in the United States. The predecessors of modern detectives (informers and parliamentary reward, thief-takers, thief-makers) are discussed, the tactics and technologies of early investigations in the USA are examined, the development and importance of private detectives and state and federal law enforcement agencies are discussed, and changes in the investigative function through the political, reform, and community problem-solving eras of policing are chronicled.
The purpose of this entry is to provide an overview of the history of the criminal investigation function in American law enforcement. An understanding of history, the history of criminal investigations in...
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Brandl, S.G. (2014). History of Criminal Investigation. In: Bruinsma, G., Weisburd, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_421
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-5690-2_421
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