Criminal Investigations

What is a Crime?

There is no legal definition of a crime. The only means of understanding what a crime means is by juxtaposing it with an offence. They more or less mean the same thing. Section 2 (s) of the Penal code cap 120 defines an offence as an act, attempt or omission punishable by law.

If a crime is committed, investigators will work to determine what happened and who is responsible. After evidence collection, it is presented to the police or to courts in criminal defence investigations. If the perpetrator is found, he or she may be brought to court and accused.

What is a Criminal Investigation?

A criminal investigation is an undertaking that seeks, collects, and gathers evidence for a case or specific purpose. A criminal investigator looks for clues and evidence to determine whether a crime has taken place. If a crime has been committed, criminal investigators may look into the background of the accused and may try to uncover who committed the crime. Criminal investigators undertake several investigation techniques in order to find the necessary evidence for a case.

The process of criminal investigations

Victims must register their complaints at a local police station preferably within 24 hours, near where the crime occurred.  Upon recording the complaint, the police should prepare a report and a case reference number is given to the individual.

Criminal investigations are handled by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Crime Intelligence (CICI) headed by Assistant Inspector General of Police, Grace Akullo. The function of the Directorate is to ensure effective detection, investigation and prevention of crime. If a case is awaiting sufficient evidence, it can remain open indefinitely under Put Away (PA) status.  Once new evidence emerges, the police can recall a PA case.

Once a case file is opened, a Criminal Investigation Officer forwards the file to the Department of the Public Prosecutor (DPP), where a State Attorney reviews the file.  If the State Attorney is satisfied that there is sufficient information that a crime may have been committed, he/she advices the police what charges to apply in the case.  If the State Attorney finds the evidence insufficient, he/she instructs the police to conduct further investigation or close the file and release the accused. 

For minor offences, investigations and preparations for trial rarely take more than 30 days, though they have been known to last up to six months.  If investigations for minor crimes last longer, the police sometime abandon the case.  If additional evidence is obtained at a later date, the police can re-arrest the suspects.

At times, prosecutors take the accused to court without evidence before the 48-hour time limit expires.  The magistrate may choose to allow the investigation to proceed, and the prosecutor is required to inform the court of the progress of the investigation every two weeks. The accused must also appear in person before the court every 14 days.  In this scenario, a case is considered "on mention."  A case can continue on mention for 60 days for minor offenses, or 180 days for serious offenses.  If the judge deems that insufficient progress has been made in the investigation, he or she can dismiss the case.  In practice, individuals can be detained for up to five years for awaiting trial for serious offenses.  Over two-thirds of the prison population in Uganda is composed of prisoners awaiting trial.

What Kinds of Criminal Investigations Exist?

Types of Criminal Investigation

Fraud investigations Crime scene investigations Sexual crime investigations Physical evidence is very important in sexual

assault cases, and can deteriorate as time passes.  As such, victims should not change clothes, avoid bathing if possible, and have a physical exam at the first opportunity.  Forensic sexual assault exams must be conducted by the Ugandan police doctors at their facilities if the victim wants to report the crime to the police.  Also, it is important to note that the victim must pay up to 50,000 Ugandan shillings for this exam.  This exam generally includes a pelvic exam, vaginal/penile/anal swabs, head and pubic hair samples, fingernail scrapings, blood samples, saliva samples. 

Theft investigations

Kidnapping investigations Assault investigations Homicide investigations Criminal defense investigations

Criminal Investigation Techniques:

Interviews Crime scene photography Surveillance Background checks Document searches