HrvatskihrEnglishen
Web login
img not found
img not found
img not found

Crime Investigation

Course menu

Crime Investigation

Data is displayed for the academic year: 2025./2026.

Course Description

Acquisition of basic knowledge on empirical scientific research and best practice in detecting and investigating crimes. Developing basic skills required for inquiries and evidentiary measures in order to collect useful data for criminal proceedings. Developing skills for management of criminal investigation.

Study Programmes

undergraduate
Infantry - course
Elective course for the 7th semester MLM-Infantry study (7. semester)

Learning Outcomes

  1. Explain the role of crime investigation
  2. Compare the reactive and proactive criminal investigation and intelligence led policing
  3. Understand the relationship between material and personal evidence, and the solvability factors
  4. Acquire the skills of conducting inquiry measures
  5. Acquire the skills of conducting evidentiary actions
  6. Understand the methods of forensic science or criminalistics
  7. Understand basic methods of investigating certain group of crimes
  8. Critically evaluate collected information and write criminal report

Forms of Teaching

Lectures

Seminars and workshops

Exercises

Week by Week Schedule

  1. Lectures: Basic notions, division of crime investigation science and criminalistics, relations with other disciplines. Historical development of crime investigation and criminalistics as a science, development of police and the role of the military units ih historical development. Basic indicators of efficiency, statistical data, comparative analisys. Relationship between criminal investigation and the homeland security, combating terrorism and private security subjetcs. Seminar: Analisys of the data on reported crimes, clearance rate and convivtion rate Exercises: Analisys of the data on reported crimes, clearance rate and convivtion rate
  2. Lectures: Solvability factors on the strategic level (urbanization, the structure of crime, type of offender, etc.) factors related to the investigative bodies (staff number, equipment, personal characteristics of investigators, etc.) factors related to the legal powers. Models of proactive and reactive criminal investigation, feasibility, prevention, contemporary policing strategies. Relation of personal and real evidence in the detection stage and in the evidentiary satge of the criminal process, the historical development of the relationship. Types of evidence, circumstantial and direct evidence, beyond reasonable doubt, impact of the circumstantial evidnce on the criminal investigation, chain of circumstantial evidence, the most common circumstantial evidence. Seminar: Analisys of differences of clearance rate of homicides and burglary, ratio of real evidence, excercise on circumstantial evidence Exercises: Analisys of differences of clearance rate of homicides and burglary, ratio of real evidence, excercise on circumstantial evidence
  3. Lectures: Sources of crime detection (crime reports of the members of armed forces, selfreports, discovering crime by own activities, informants, reports from other authorities, etc.), verification of authenticity. Formal crime report and cooperation with the State Attorney Seminar: Receiving a criminal report Exercises: Receiving a criminal report
  4. Lectures: Tactical aspects of inquiries - interrogations methods (RPM, Reid´s technique, Peace model, cognitive interview etc.), main controversies, formal interrogation of suspect and witnesses, nonverbal communication. Polygraph testing, types of tests, interpretation of the results. Profiling crimes and suspects. Seminar: Excercising of unconflict interrogation and poligraph testing Exercises: Excercising of unconflict interrogation and poligraph testing
  5. Lectures: Tactical aspects of evidentiary measures - search of the premises, movables and persons. Objectives and types of search, tactics of conducting, finding concealed items. Body search of a persons and taking of intimate samples. Temporary seizure of objects. Collecting digital evidence, securing, content analysis and search using the software applications. Seminar: Search of premises, vehicle, baggage and persons Exercises: Search of premises, vehicle, baggage and persons
  6. Lectures: Securing the crime scene. Criminal investigation (view) at the crime scene, investigation phases, finding, marking and collecting traces, other activities at the scene and area screening. Tactical issues of reconstruction and experiment. Inspection of a person or property, field search. Seminar: Securing the crime scene and conducting crime scene investigation in premises and in nature Exercises: Securing the crime scene and conducting crime scene investigation in premises and in nature
  7. Lectures: Tactical issues of covert inquiry measures (Art 207 CPA), collecting information concealing the purpose of the collection or concealing the capacity of a officer, a trap, an ambush, secret surveillance of persons and vehicles. Identification of the telecommunication addresses. The tactics of using informants, their motives, cooperation and supervision, role of informants in the crime detection and its relationship with other evidence, intelligence led policing. Seminar: Planning of trap, ambush and surveillance, working with informant Exercises: Planning of trap, ambush and surveillance, working with informant
  8. Lectures: Tactical issues of special evidentiary actions (Art 332 CPA) - undercover agents, sting operations, simulated undercover activities. Avoiding entrapment and agent provocateur. Technical measures of surveillance of communications, premises, people, controlled delivery of substances. The role of the crown witness in criminal investigations, witness protection programs. Seminar: Applying for court order for undercover measures Exercises: Applying for court order for undercover measures
  9. Lectures: Tactical issues of eyewitness identification, types and methods of lineup, using images, videos, etc.. Sequential and simultaneous lineup, memory factors, chosing and accuracy. Identification of objects. Personal description. Detecting crime tools and objects. Seminar: Lineup identification, personal description Exercises: Lineup identification, personal description
  10. Lectures: Military police crime report and additional report to the State Attorney, content and type, objects, sketches, photographs, reports, records on measures and actions. Assesment of levels of doubt, probable cause and reasonable suspicion. Arresting procedure and custody officer. The role of the crime investigation in criminal proceedings. The role of the military police in the criminal procedure stages, testimony before the court. Grounds for rejecting criminal reports or indictments, errors in evidence gathering. Seminar: Writing a Criminal Report to the State Attorney´s Office, Filling Arestees Templates Exercises: Writing a Criminal Report to the State Attorney´s Office, Filling Arestees Templates
  11. Lectures: Forensic science (criminalistics) - natural sciences discoveries and technical methods of determining facts in crime investigation, basic principles, integrity of traces. Dactiloscopy, mechanical traces, documents forgery. Seminar: Dactiloscopy Comparison, False Personal Documents Exercises: Dactiloscopy Comparison, False Personal Documents
  12. Lectures: Forensic science (criminalistics) - Biological traces, glass traces, chemical, toxic and explosive materials, intoxicating drugs and narcotics, textile fibers, soil et al. Identity of persons (PCR-RFLP, analysis of mitochondrial DNA et al.). Seminar: Narcotic drugs, DNA results Exercises: Narcotic drugs, DNA results
  13. Lectures: Investigating crimes against humanity, war crimes and terrorism, investigation of offenses against the armed forces, crimes against the state. Basic forms and modus operandi, detecting the criminal offenses and sources, proactive work and risk analysis, enforcement of the urgent measures, decuring of evidence, follow-up investigation of an unknown perpetrators, co-operation with other services, the criminal record and arrests. The role of crime investigation in the misdemenours and disciplinary violations of armed forces members, process, the actions undertaken and the role of information in the proceedings. Seminar: Complete investigation and documentaion of a simple offense in field of CID MP Exercises: Complete investigation and documentaion of a simple offense in field of CID MP
  14. Lectures: Investigating offenses against life, physical integrity and sexual freedom - detection, investigation and proving groups of offenses. Work at the crime scene, identification, preservation and collecting of material traces. Determination of the time, the cause and mechanism of death. Investigating property crime - detection, investigation and proving of offenses, basic forms of burglary, theft, robberies, larcenies, criminal case analytics. Situation when the offender is undetected. Seminar: Complete investigation and documentaion of simple offense in field of CID MP Exercises: Complete investigation and documentaion of a simple offense in field of CID MP
  15. Lectures: Investigating organized crime, corruption and white-collar crime. Basic features of victimless crime, tactics of covert actions. Culture and profile of the military officers and the impact of solidarity on the criminal investigation. Tracing and confiscation of proceedings of crime. Identification of the basic factors for white-collar crime. Seminar: Basic activities in complex crime case with unknown suspect Exercises: Basic activities in complex crime case with undetected suspect

Literature

(.), B. Pavišić, D. Modly, P. Veić (2006), Kriminalistika, Golden marketing-Tehnička kniga, Knjiga prva,
(.), Karas, Ž., Uvod u kriminalistiku, MUP, Zagreb, 2019.,

For students

General

ID 282197
  Winter semester
5.0 ECTS
L0 English Level
L1 e-Learning
45 Lectures
15 Seminar
20 Exercises