Perpetrator knowledge
Perpetrators knowledge (or Tatwissen ) is in criminalistics only when perpetrators existing knowledge about the factual circumstances (eg. As preparatory acts , adapted devices , crime scene , time of the crime , modus operandi ) of the crimes committed by his offense .
General
The perpetrators knowledge encompasses the entire offense stage a crime because the offender from Tatentschluss to completion by its control over the infringement full knowledge has on the Tatablauf. All other involved parties ( instigators , accomplices , participants , witnesses ) usually only have partial knowledge. Even with the most precise investigative procedure , the course of events cannot often be fully determined. The disclosure of the perpetrator's knowledge is an important part of the conviction of a perpetrator or a perpetrator . Whether a suspect has knowledge of the perpetrator can be found in informational interviews , interrogations or telephone surveillance .
Comprehensive knowledge of the perpetrator, including details of the crime, is only available to the law enforcement authorities once the perpetrator has fully confessed . An indication of specific perpetrator knowledge can only be assumed if the accused reveals objectively verifiable information that was still unknown to the law enforcement authorities at the time of the interrogation , such as the hiding place of the corpse . However, since the accused could have obtained knowledge of the facts from the real perpetrator, the confession need not be accompanied by a perpetrator. In kidnappings and similar extortion crimes , the perpetrator's knowledge is sometimes consciously communicated, for example in order to legitimize himself in ransom negotiations .
In the case of public searches , the law enforcement authorities will usually not provide the public with all the information they already know about the course of events for "tactical reasons" in order not to divulge any knowledge of the perpetrator. This should also avoid false confessions or false testimony. The perpetrator can defend himself better in court if he learns helpful information from the media. For example, the murder weapon is usually part of the perpetrator's knowledge that is not disclosed. If a suspect or a witness “gossips” during the interrogation and mentions the weapon of a homicidal offense, the investigators can use this as evidence , because only the perpetrator can know which weapon he used. In many cases, the knowledge of the perpetrator made known to the police saves lengthy investigative work or leads to the investigation of a criminal offense in the first place .
Legal issues
However, whoever has knowledge of the perpetrator is not necessarily the perpetrator. Someone may have acquired knowledge from the perpetrator without having been involved in the crime. The knowledge of the perpetrator could justify the conclusion that the perpetrator was the perpetrator , so that the judge is required to explain the circumstances of the submission of a possibly false alibi allegation and to deal with these in detail, in particular with regard to the history of the origin and the reason for the specific statement to deal with. In addition to confessions, the evidence in the sense of the indictment can be reinforced by weighty objective traces and incriminating statements interspersed with perpetrator knowledge, as well as by statements of other witnesses. What is already known through media publications , however, is not considered to be perpetrator knowledge. That is why the investigative authorities are reluctant to publish information because they are revealing knowledge of the perpetrators that no longer has evidential value as a result of the publication .
International
Criminology makes use of the knowledge of biology , chemistry , logic , physics or technology , so that internationally the same conditions also apply to knowledge of the perpetrator.
literature
- Gerald Hahn: Legal evidence and forensic problems of acquiring and using perpetrator knowledge and its delimitation from factual knowledge in the interrogation practice of the investigative bodies. Diss., Humboldt University Berlin 1989.
- Susanne Bisson, Jürgen Rehm, Wolfgang Servay and Martin Irle: Use of perpetrator knowledge. For the prevention of burglary in the Federal Republic of Germany. In: Christel Frank and Gerhart Harrer: The expert in criminal law - crime prevention. Springer, Berlin 1990, p. 124ff.
- Gabriele Jansen: Witness and statement psychology. 2nd edition, C. F. Müller, Heidelberg 2012. (Overview of case law on the term "perpetrator knowledge" on p. 50)
- Jens Andreas Sickor: The confession. Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen 2014, ISBN 978-3-16-153113-2 (especially on perpetrator knowledge, pp. 302ff.).
- Thomas Feltes : Effectiveness of technical burglary prevention in residential and commercial properties - an investigation with special consideration of current perpetrator knowledge , 2004.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ralf Eschelbach, Festschrift for Ruth Rissing-van Saan , 2011, p. 115 ff.
- ↑ Jens Andreas Sickor, Das Geständnis , 2014, p. 304
- ^ BGH, judgment of March 18, 2009, Az .: 1 StR 549/08 = NStZ-RR 2009, 248
- ^ BGH, judgment of June 14, 2005, Az .: 5 StR 142/00 = NJW 2005, 2466
- ↑ BGH, judgment of 23 August 2007, Az .: 4 StR 180/07