Descriptionary

I.A.D. Internal Affairs Division; a division that investigates complaints against police or other depart­ment personnel.

ingratiation a technique in which an interrogator flatters and befriends a suspect in order to get the sus­pect to drop his or her guard.

Integrated Ballistics Identification System an

archive of bullet and shell evidence from crime scenes across the United States. Computers are employed to look for matches.

inventive witness a witness who makes up or embellishes details in order to be involved in a case and feel important.

informer one who provides police with information concerning a crime.

john a prostitute's male customer.

jumper a bail jumper.

K-9 division trained police dogs, used in sniffing out drugs, in tracking and attacking fleeing suspects, or in locating corpses.

latent fingerprints fingerprints formed by perspira­tion or oils, which cannot be seen by the human eye but can be revealed by a variety of techniques.

lead a clue.

leading question a question posed by interrogators in a manipulative or misleading way in order to elicit the desired response from witnesses or suspects. The answer given to such a question is often inadmissible in court.

lie detector see polygraph.

lineup a group of men or women arranged in a line, from which a witness must identify a suspect in a crime.

liquid-chromatography mass spectrometer a vari­ation of the gas-chromatography mass spectrometer, used for similar purposes.

lividity discoloration of a body caused by the pool­ing of blood after death; it can be used to help deter­mine the time of death.

Luminol a chemical used to detect blood, even when diluted 10,000 times.

manhunt a coordinated search for a fugitive.

mark a victim of a crime; a dupe.

marshal a U.S. federal officer in charge of process­ing court orders.

maximization an interrogation technique in which a detective tries to convince a suspect that the police have much more evidence in a case than they really do in order to elicit a confession.

medical examiner (M.E.) one who is not an elected official, as a coroner is, but rather is hired by a county or city to perform the same duties.

microexpressions very brief and partial facial expressions that occur after being shown or told something with emotional content and which occur too quickly to fully conceal. Such expressions are readily detected by a skilled interrogator.

minimization an interrogation technique in which a detective plays down the seriousness of a crime or casts blame on others or circumstances, in order to relax a suspect and get him or her to confess.

Miranda rule law that requires an arresting officer to read an arrestee his or her constitutional rights, including the right to an attorney and the right to remain silent.

M.O. modus operandi; a criminal's method of operating.

most wanted list the FBI's roster of extremely dan­gerous criminals at large.

moulage a cast impression of a footprint or shoe print.

MP military police.

nab informal, to catch or arrest.

narc slang for a narcotics officer.

narcotics division a division that handles crimes dealing with narcotics.

nightstick see baton.

odontology the study of the characteristics of teeth, sometimes used to identify remains.

on the take receiving stolen or illegal goods or money.

organized referring to criminal behavior that is carefully planned, with evidence meticulously hidden.

Organized Crime Intelligence Division a division that investigates and gathers information on members of organized crime.

orthotolidine solution chemicals used to detect the presence of blood in a stain.

ouchteriony test a crime lab test used to determine if a bloodstain is human or animal.

paddy wagon a vanlike vehicle designed to hold and transport several arrestees simultaneously, as dur­ing a riot.

palynology the study and identification of pollens. Pollens left on clothing can sometimes be used to nar­row down or even pinpoint where a suspect has been in the recent past because some plants may only grow in a limited or specific territory.

pepper spray defensive tool used by an officer in subduing a noncompliant suspect in a crime; the highly irritating ingredients held in a can are sprayed directly at the face of the suspect, causing temporary breathing difficulties and blindness.

petechial hemorrhage any one of tiny, pinlike hem­orrhages that form below the skin, especially under the eyelid, in a strangulation or asphyxiation case.

piece a gun.