MURDER AT PORTOBEACH: THE INVESTIGATION

1. MURDER AT PORTOBEACH: THE INVESTIGATION OFFICE THREE: Jodie Hrycajenko, Aimee McMillan, Lindsay Bohan, Fiona Bruce, Alex Stern, James McHutchon, Tawanda Bvumburai, Nausheen Ahmed, Kathleen Kirschling, Rebecca Plews.

2. This report intends to outline the police investigation regarding the spate of murders which have occurred in the city of PortoBeach. A brief summary will be provided, documenting the main findings from the four week investigation which aided in solving the cases. Each individual officer will offer a personal account of their main contributions, most challenging issues and transferable skills gained which are considered beneficial for future employability. Office Three Report

3. During the first week, members of Office Three completed a personal introduction on the ‘team members’ page. This included information such as: contact details, skills, interests, and role preference. This page was completed by all officers apart from two late comers, Alex Stern and Nausheen Ahmed Case studies were also completed by all members apart from the late comers. Example cases included those involving infanticide, shootings, partner killings, violent sexual attacks and stabbings. The Senior Investigating Officer at this point in the investigation was Tawanda Bvumburai. Due to illness it was necessary to reconsider the role of the SIO; Jodie Hrycajenko filled this role during week 2. Week One: Gathering Intelligence

4. WEEK TWO: THE INVESTIGATION TEAM • SIO Jodie Hrycajenko • Public Information Officer Aimee McMillan • Public Information Coordinator Lindsay Bohan • Public Information Researchers Fiona Bruce, Alex Stern • Evidence Disclose Officer James McHutchon • Statistical Analyst Tawanda Bvumburai • Geographical Information Analysts Nausheen Ahmed, Kathleen Kirschling

5. The statistical analysis of data: • PortoBeach appears to have an average murder rate in comparison to Scotland, England and Florida. • Despite having a lack of comprehensive data, the murder rate in PortoBeach appears to have increased during the period Apr – Sept 2009 in comparison to the same period in 2008. The month of June appears to be the only exception (See Chart 1). • A profile of where the majority of murders occur in PortoBeach was created based on our victim profile from Week 1 (See Table 1). Responses to: • Budget cuts: Reducing bureaucracy, increasing officers on foot patrol and bicycles, keeping the public well informed and working with the community to encourage high morale whilst keeping costs low. • New Murder: Giving the public honest and timely information and advice, holding a conference with residents and co-operating with the media in order to prevent moral panic.

8. Community Groups in Glasgow: 1. Woman's Support Group Contact Details: 0141-552-222 2. Routes Out of Prostitution Intervention Team Contact Details: 0141-276-3971 Community Groups in Florida: 1. Bridgeway Center Inc. Contact Details: 1-866-395-1680 2. Sex Industry Survivor Anonymous Contact Details: 888-702-7273 Community Groups in Manchester: 1. Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH) Contact Details: 0161-212-2022 2. Crisis Point Contact Details: 0161-839-5030 WEEK THREE: COMMUNITY LINKS

9. KEY FINDINGS Impact of Vigilantism: • Involves community members ‘taking laws into their own hands’ motivated by their desire of personal security (McLaughlin et al, 2003). • Citizens often lose confidence in the abilities of the criminal justice system to deal with crimes successfully, and may resort to alternative means to deal with these issues. This is considered to be unlawful. (Zimring, 2009). • Vigilantism shows a lack of faith and trust in the police and can therefore be detrimental to police authority (Bachmann and Zaheer,2008) • Moral panic can occur when the media distorts or exaggerates a threat facing the community, which can result in vigilante action. Key to solving the moral panic: • Ensuring better communication within PortoBeach by providing citizens with more information on the victim typology and the action that the police are taking to catch the perpetrator. • Goal: To limit further acts of vigilantism by the community, prevent media from spreading false information and reduce speculation and reliance on false information by citizens in PortoBeach (Bachmann and Zaheer, 2008).

10. This task involved circulating information relating to the recent homicides to the citizens of Portobeach via a public press release. Teams 3’s aim was to quell the growing moral panic which was so obvious in this community. Most members of the group participated in this task and as a whole decided that the ‘investigating team’ should concentrate more on this particular area. This included the Public Information Officer (Aimee McMillan), Public Information Coordinator (Lindsay Bohan) and Public Information Researchers (Fiona Bruce and Alex Stern). WEEK FOUR: Press Release

11. Jodie Hrycajenko (Senior Investigating Officer) Main Contributions: • Active involvement in all Muster Reports. • Contributions to all discussions regarding all aspects of the investigation. • Liaison between Office three and the Chief. • Ensuring all tasks were completed by both the group imposed deadline and the investigation deadline. Biggest Challenge: • Taking up the role of SIO as I do not consider myself a natural ‘leader’ and had concerns regarding my ability to succeed in this role. • The ‘team’ aspect of the investigation was challenging as I would rather not rely on other individuals to complete aspects of the task which may effect my overall achievement. • To trust and be patient with individuals I do not know and may never meet. Skills Acquired: • The ability to work as part of an investigation team in an online environment • The capacity to collate evidence, information and ideas for inclusion in a coherent and professional weekly report • How to use a ‘Wiki’ as an academic tool.

12. Aimee McMillan (Public Information Officer) Main Contributions: • Welcoming members to our team • Assisting in the creation of the initial victim profiles • Analysing statistics between the UK and USA • Using statistical data to come up with innovative crime prevention methods • Locating institutions which could support potential victims of crime • Researching vigilante actions in the aim of protecting Portobeach • Studying previous press releases to help construct a realistic and helpful resource for the community of Portobeach Biggest Challenge: The group work element was what I struggled with the most. I tend to take control in situations like these, however, I was lucky enough to work with some very keen, capable and intelligent students during this task which in turn revealed our ability to work extremely well as a team. Skills Acquired: I have most definitely learned to be more patient and trusting of group Members. I believe that in the real world these fundamental skills are priceless.

13. Lindsay Bohan (Public Information Coordinator) Main Contributions: • Incorporating Officer suggestion into organized victim profiles • Summarizing Officer suggestions into succinct answers for the statistics answers • Writing the first draft of the press release using information provided by all of the officers • Offering my own suggestions and information for each task Biggest Challenge: My biggest challenge during this project was the teamwork aspect in general. My first instinct is to go off and do my own thing but in this case the communication between each officer during each task was key. I had to really step back, be patient and trust in my team’s abilities. Skills Acquired: The real world lesson that I gained from this project is that you can never know enough that another person’s point of view isn’t useful.

14. Fiona Bruce (Public Information Researcher) Main Contributions: • Outlined common characteristics of serial killer victims to aid discussion on victim’s profiles. • Analysed statistics and suggested crime prevention techniques and ways in which the police can increase public confidence whilst keeping costs low. • Suggested a range of suitable Glasgow based community organisations based on our victim profile from Week 1. • Explained the role of the media in creating moral panics and ways in which the police can try to tackle this and avoid vigilantism. • Suggested a number of ideas for the press release (e.g. safety advice, amnesty, explaining statistics) • I feel I have consistently tried to base my ideas on academic theory and outlined useful sources that the group can look at each week. Biggest Challenge: I have found it difficult working in a group where some members have not contributed every week and have left the majority of the work to other group members. However, the members who have consistently contributed have worked well as a team to overcome this challenge. Skills Acquired: This project has enhanced my collaborative and communicative skills and has enabled me to apply theoretical knowledge to specific tasks/scenarios. It has also enhanced my organisational skills as we have had to work to deadlines each week.

15. Alex Stern (Public Information Researcher) Main Contributions: • Active in muster reports • Contribution to group discussions on the Wiki • Suggesting a plan for the press release Biggest Challenge: • Signing in for the first two weeks as it wouldn’t let me sign in at first • Coordinating with the rest of the group • Working with people I had never met and couldn’t talk to outside of the website • Suggesting new ideas, everyone was very tentative about suggesting mistakes people may have made because they didn’t want to offend anyone • Deciding who would do what Skills Acquired: • Working in an online situation with people I’ve never met • Adjusting to different time zones to embrace people from outside the UK

16. James McHutchon (Evidence Disclose Officer) Main Contributions: • Keeping track of the goings on through muster reports • Required contribution of ideas when necessary • Adding individual case study reports into Wiki Biggest Challenge: • Keeping up to date on a daily basis • Lack of contact with everyone involved consistently • I found it difficult to understand all that was required Skills Acquired: • Working as a team member, often taking a step back to let others voice their opinions • Getting a grip of the time zones of others in the group • Sharpening online skills through the use of a Wiki

17. Nausheen Ahmed (Geographic Information Analyst) Main Contributions: • Possible indications for profiling for victims • Converting information from statistical data to help with the analysis of the investigation. Also by analysing various statistics, it helped to identify where most murders occurred, gaining a clearer picture and hence getting closer to solving the murder • Worked as a team with other group members to help with issues such as the press release and format of work • Provided analysis for key terms such as vigilantism which helped with identifying key issues within the investigation and also provided analysis and suggestions for the press release • I also made suggestions such as increased police presence in certain areas was essential in avoiding vigilantism and moral panics. A cost-cutting way of doing this was having police on either foot patrol or riding on bicycles as opposed to cars and vans Biggest Challenge: • Although we had a great team of individuals who worked hard to make sure all tasks were completed, there were aspects that could have been improved. • Personally I felt that there was an issue in terms of everything being internet based. This limited the time I was able to give each week to the project. If there has been tasks that could have been done manually to show local tutors, it would have varied the methods used. • In addition to this, the team was built up of students from across the world. This was interesting and gave the project a different dimension. However this was also a limitation as time difference and the only communication that took place was through the internet. Skills Acquired: • By doing this project I improved many skills and learnt new ones too. I learnt that in order to succeed in any situation, compromises have to be made and working as a team is essential. • Also, given that we were working from different countries around the world, I learnt that, essentially, the Criminal Justice System works in the same way wherever we are in the world.

18. Kathleen Kirsching (Geographical Information Analyst) Main Contributions: • Suggestions for victim profiles • Statistical data summarization for Week 2 • Offered information and suggestions for the following tasks: Vigilantism/community groups (Week 3) and Press Release (Week 4) Biggest Challenge: • My biggest challenge during this project is trusting in the team to get tasks done when they are due that week. By building a strong communication, the team was able to complete all tasks required. Skills Acquired: • Communicate effectively, Ask more questions, and know there are more answers to something than just one.