I'm new here, but am anxious to jump right in – hope you don't mind! I promise to stick around and contribute, but I'll be honest about the fact that I'm joining now because I'm in a pickle. Sorry this is so long, also.
My scenario is this: A 15 year old girl discovers a man trying to dispose of a dead body. The man chases her, but patrol officers intervene (without knowing about the body), and the man runs away – is lost. The girl brings officers back to the park, shows them the body, and homicide detectives, forensic investigators, and a coroner are called. The girl is traumatized and refuses to speak, until a detective coaxes her to. The girl then identifies the suspect (she knows him).
My questions with regard to the primary detective:
– Would the 'dump site' scene be fully secured before the witness would be talked to? Could other police officers do this, along with the forensic investigators?
– Would the detective do a full interview at the park (and would it be recorded?), or would the girl be brought to the Police Station after a short initial interview?
– Also, would the houses around the park be canvassed, starting in the middle of the night, or would it wait until morning?
– After the detective gets the name of the suspect, (note: simultaneously there will be a report that someone matching the suspect's description has been seen trying to steal a car) it turns out that this happened near the suspect's house, would it be plausible that the lead detectives leave the scene and go to the house in the hope of apprehending the suspect, as well as finding the murder scene? If not, why not?
– If detectives can go to the house – when they arrive, someone is entering the house, in the dark. They believe it to be their suspect, so they follow (I think this would constitute a legal entry). However, it turns out one person in the house isn't their suspect – can detectives search the house for the suspect anyway, if they have reason to believe the suspect may have entered as well? (I can insert screaming in the house, if it is necessary – I realize this is a legal question, but please, I would love your opinion.)
– If yes – would the detectives turn on the lights, or use their flashlights? Because of that other person who was in the house, the suspect would have heard them anyway. (by the way
Would they ask this other person to wait outside? Would they lock them in the back of the police car?)
The setting I have used is based on a real place in Canada. It is a town of 15,000 people. The town is policed by a regional police department, of which headquarters are approximately 12 miles away (there is no department in the town). The homicide unit consists of 6 Detective Sergeants and 1 Detective Constable. They cover an area of approximately 600 square miles, and 410,574 residents, as well as 15,000,000 yearly tourists.
The park is a small area, has few trees, and cut grass, and is located on the shore of one of the Great Lakes. It is about 200 feet by 600 feet.
Also, the town is on the border to the US (across the river), and there are multiple bridges, so there is always the urgency of finding suspects before they can leave the country.
I understand that whatever information anyone might want to share may not directly apply to a Canadian setting. I have done quite a bit of research on Canadian crime scene protocols, but every case is different, and I haven't been able to find information that would apply to my scenario.
Any ideas, opinions? Thanks very much!