AN OVERVIEW OF CRIME IN AMERICA PLACES CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IN THE GENERAL CONTEXT OF SOCIETY'S RESPONSE TO THE PHENOMENON OF CRIME. THE ROLE OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS THEN LOCATED WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE LAW ENFORCEMENT SYSTEM, WITH IDENTIFICATION OF AGENCIES AT EVERY LEVEL AND THE INTRA-AGENCY COOPERATION NECESSARY AMONG THEM. THE CHRONOLOGICAL PROCESSES OF INVESTIGATION ARE SUBDIVIDED INTO FIVE CONSECUTIVE STAGES. FIRST, THE INITIAL INVESTIGATION INVOLVES THE IMMEDIATE TASKS OF AN INVESTIGATOR AT THE CRIME SCENE, INCLUDING THE ACQUISITION AND PRESERVATION OF EVIDENCE. SECOND, PEOPLE AT THE CRIME SCENE ARE CONSIDERED, AND THE INVESTIGATOR IS INSTRUCTED ON TECHNIQUES AND CONSTITUTIONAL ASPECTS OF INTERVIEWING VICTIMS, WITNESSES, AND BYSTANDERS. SPECIAL COMPLICATIONS OF CRIMES INVOLVING PHYSICAL VIOLENCE, RAPE, AND MURDER ARE DEALT WITH IN TERMS OF VICTIM PSYCHOLOGY AND THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PROFILE. JOURNALISTIC ETHICS, POLICE-REPORTER RELATIONSHIPS, AND POSITIVE USES OF THE NEWS MEDIA ARE ALSO EVALUATED. THIRD, UTILIZATION OF VARIOUS SUPPORTIVE RESOURCES IS TAUGHT, INCLUDING THE POLICE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS, THE CRIMINALISTICS AND PATHOLOGY LABORATORIES, RECORD AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS, AND PERSONAL INFORMATION SOURCES. THE FOURTH STAGE OF INVESTIGATION ENTAILS PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER, SYSTEMATICALLY REVIEWING EVIDENCE. IDENTIFYING THE PERPETRATOR, DETERMINING THE OFFENSE, AND COORDINATING THE CASE WITH THE PROSECUTOR. FIFTH IS THE ULTIMATE CONCLUSION OF AN INVESTIGATION, THE ARREST AND SUBSEQUENT INTERROGATION AND TRIAL OF THE SUSPECT. AN EXPLANATION IS PROVIDED OF THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND LEGAL PRINCIPLES UNDER WHICH ARREST, INTERROGATION, SEARCH, AND COURTROOM PROCEDURES ARE CONDUCTED. APPENDIXES INCLUDE AN EXPLANATION OF THE METRIC SYSTEM, A GLOSSARY OF INVESTIGATIVE TERMS, A BIBLIOGRAPHY, A REFERENCE CHART OF INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES, AND AN INDEX. TABULAR DATA AND ILLUSTRATIONS ARE SUPPLIED. (MRK)