CLE Crime Detection and Investigation Review (20% Weight)

CLE Crime Detection and Investigation Review (20% Weight)

Crime Detection and Investigation is the CLE subject covering how criminal cases are actually built — investigation procedure, interview techniques, crime scene processing, and the practical operational side of police work.

For BS Criminology graduates, this overlaps with the criminal investigation courses. In PRC's current program it carries 20%, the same as Criminal Law and Jurisprudence and Criminology, and it's on Day 2 with Forensic Science. Neglecting it costs real points and risks the 60% subject floor.

This post is the topic-by-topic plan that the CLE pillar guide hands off to.

Suggested study split

PRC doesn't publish item counts per topic, so this is our suggested split of your study time, not an official breakdown:

Investigation process and procedures

Drill list:

Investigation phases:

• Initial response
• Preliminary investigation (operational, not the procedural Rule 112)
• Follow-up investigation
• Case closure

Three I's of investigation:

1. Information
2. Interrogation/Interview
3. Instrumentation

5 W + 1 H (questions every investigator asks):

• Who
• What
• Where
• When
• Why
• How

Modus operandi recognition:

• Recurring patterns in suspect behavior
• Database management for repeat offenders
• Linking cases by MO

Investigator qualifications:

• Knowledge, skills, attitudes
• Observation, memory, recognition

Interview vs interrogation

Interview: information-gathering from cooperating subjects (witnesses, victims, suspects who haven't been arrested).

Interrogation: information-gathering from suspects under custodial conditions, with attendant constitutional rights.

Custodial interrogation rights (Miranda warnings + RA 7438):

• Right to remain silent
• Right to counsel of choice
• Right to be informed in language understood
• Right to be visited by family, doctor, priest, organization
• Confession must be in writing and signed in counsel's presence

Interview techniques:

• Cognitive interview
• Reid technique (and its criticisms)
• PEACE model
• Active listening

Detection of deception:

• Verbal indicators: hesitation, contradictions, vague responses
• Non-verbal indicators: eye contact, posture, micro-expressions
• Limitations and over-reliance risks
• Polygraph (overlap with Criminalistics)

Crime scene processing

Drill list:

Scene response sequence:

1. Receive call → respond
2. Render aid to victims
3. Arrest suspects on-scene if possible
4. Secure the scene
5. Notify investigators
6. Document the scene
7. Process for evidence
8. Release the scene

Documentation methods:

• Notes
• Photography (overlap with Criminalistics)
• Sketches: rough sketch on-scene + finished sketch later
• Video recording

Search patterns:

• Strip / lane
• Spiral (inward or outward)
• Grid
• Quadrant / zone
• Wheel / spoke

Match search pattern to scene type. Indoor/small scenes use spiral or zone; outdoor/large scenes use strip or grid.

Evidence collection:

• Chain of custody (critical for admissibility)
• Packaging by evidence type
• Preservation: refrigeration for biological, dry for trace
• Marking and labeling

Special crime investigations

Drill list:

Homicide investigation:

• First officer responsibilities
• Time of death estimation
• Identification of deceased
• Death notification
• Scene reconstruction

Robbery investigation:

• MO analysis
• Witness interview priority
• CCTV review
• Stolen property recovery

Drug investigation:

• Buy-bust operations (procedure, chain of custody)
• Surveillance
• Test buy
• Controlled delivery
• Section 21 RA 9165 compliance

Sexual assault investigation:

• Trauma-informed approach
• Medical examination procedure
• Evidence collection (rape kit)
• Interview considerations

Cybercrime investigation:

• Digital evidence collection
• Chain of custody for electronic data
• Working with telecommunications providers
• International coordination (Budapest Convention)

Trafficking investigation (RA 9208, as amended):

• Victim identification vs perpetrator identification
• Multi-agency coordination
• Cross-border cases

Organized crime and terrorism investigation

• Definitions: organized crime vs terrorism vs ordinary crime
• RA 9372 (Human Security Act, 2007) — repealed by RA 11479
• RA 11479 (Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020) — current
• AMLC and AMLA basics for terrorist financing
• Inter-agency coordination (PNP, NBI, AFP, NICA)

Surveillance and undercover

Surveillance types:

• Stationary
• Moving (foot, vehicle)
• Electronic (court authorization needed; see the Anti-Wiretapping Act, RA 4200)

Undercover considerations:

• Cover story development
• Backup arrangements
• Entrapment vs instigation distinction (legally critical)

Informant management

• Recruitment and informant motives (revenge, money, fear, ego, repentance and others)
• Handling: cover identity, secure communication
• Compensation considerations
• Reliability assessment

A 4-week Crime Detection plan

Where Super Tutor fits

A CLE reviewer is coming soon to Super Tutor. If you're also aiming for the PNP, we have a reviewer for the NAPOLCOM PNP Entrance Exam. See every exam Super Tutor covers.

What to read next

The CLE pillar guide covers the full review. Other CLE deep dives: Criminal Law, Criminal Procedure and Evidence, Forensic Science, Correctional Administration.