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Tool would not be formally declared responsible until some twenty seven years later. There are four main points that will be critiqued in this paper. The complications faced by Detective Matthews in working with the Hollywood police Department in trying to solve the case. The lack of technology and experience of the Hollywood Police Department concerning the collection of evidence and witness statements. The interagency involvement in finding missing children. The efforts and resources that came about as a result of the Adam Walsh abduction and murder. Analysis
Detective Matthews was a polygraph expert with the Miami Beach Police Department. He was asked to assist the Hollywood Police Department with the Adam Walsh case. Throughout the book, the author explains the trials and tribulations that Detective Matthews faced in trying to help the Hollywood Police Department solve the case. Detective Matthews was seen as an outsider from the beginning. He was met with hostility each time he tried to do his job. This was most notably highlighted in the case of Jimmy Campbell. Jimmy Campbell was a family friend and was Adam Walsh’s Godfather.
Detective Matthews conducted a polygraph interview of Jimmy Campbell and he was subsequently determined to not have been involved in the abduction and murder of Adam. Though, when Detective Matthews explained who Mr.. Campbell was in relation to the Walsh Family, the lead detective in the case, Detective Jack Hoffman, automatically determined that Mr.. Campbell was the guilty party. It was not long before Detective Matthews was taken off the case. Detective Hoffman explained to Detective Matthews that the case was winding down and that his services would no longer be needed. Stanford & Matthews, 2011, p. 6). From the beginning, Detective Hoffman was fixated on Mr.. Campbell, ignoring Detective Matthews’ expertise. Even after having been told that the polygraph indicated no deception in Mr.. Campbell interview, Detective Hoffman based his acquisitions off of subjectivity. Based off of the fact that Mr.. Campbell lived in the Walsh household, had had an affair with Reeve Walsh, and had been asked to leave the residence, Detective Hoffman assumed that Mr.. Campbell had committed the crime.
Several years later, Detective Matthews would be asked by Hollywood PDP Chief Witt to assist with the case. Detective Matthews anally had the chance to interview Otis Tool but was abruptly removed from case by Chief Witt. It is not exactly clear though, why Detective Matthews received such opposition. The author suggests that it was possible that the Hollywood PDP wanted credit for getting Tool’s confession. It could be possible that by this time, the Hollywood Police Department was trying to do damage control and had known that they let the ball drop in moving forward with handling Tool’s confession.
It would be some twenty seven years later when Detective Matthews would be able to complete his investigation, have access to the evidence collected during the investigation, and have access to witnesses, before the Holly. Wood PDP would name Otis Tool as having been responsible for the abduction and murder of Adam Walsh. The authors argues that the lack Of technology and experience Of the Hollywood police Department concerning the collection of evidence and witness statements as a main factor in why this case took over twenty seven years to finally close.
In the book, Detective Matthews noted the disorientation of the Hollywood Police Department when it came to taken down witness tips and information. While some of the detectives seemed organized, others assigned to the case would answer incoming calls randomly, jot information given by tipsters on scraps of paper or napkins or whatever might be handy, then hurry out on unrelated assignments without bothering to log their calls (Stanford & Matthews, 201 1, p 26). At times it appeared that there was no sort of leadership organization.
Even though Detective Hoffman was the lead investigator, he had never handled a high profile case such as this. When Otis Tool was subsequently arrested for having committed a number of there murders, he confessed to Jacksonville Police Department Detective Buddy Terry. Detective Terry contacted Detective Hoffman to advise him of the confession. From the onset, Detective Hoffman accused the Jacksonville PDP detective of feeding information on the Adam Walsh case to Tool. Detective Hoffman subsequently took numerous confessions from Tool but, it was as if he was trying to prove that Tool did not commit the crime.
Detective Hoffman Went as far as to have Detective Terry removed from the case, accusing Detective Terry of supplying with the Adam Walsh case file because the two of them planned to write a book for money. In telling the story of the unprofessional between these two detectives it highlighted what appeared to be a common problem within the Hollywood Police Department. The Adam Walsh case was the first high profile case for Detective Hoffman. He was reluctant to work with other agencies in helping solve the case. Evidence of the murder weapon, car, victim’s clothing, and even an extortion letter were improperly handled.
With Tool’s confession, the Florida State Attorneys office needed evidence linking Tool to the crime prior to an arrest warrant being issued. The strength of the evidence police roved to prosecutors is one of the most important factors influencing whether prosecutors file criminal charges. Thus, when police are able to secure tangible evidence and cooperative witnesses for the prosecution, the prosecutor is not only more likely to file charges, but is also more likely to win a conviction. (Number & gradable, 2014, p. 251).
The State Attorneys office was never made aware of any evidence surrounding the murder weapon or vehicle. Detective Hoffman went as far as to go on TV to claim that they found discrepancies in Tool’s confession. In cases such as this one, it would eave been best for Detective Hoffman to have given all the information to the State Attorney’s office and let them decide what could or could not have been utilized in the case. The case of Adam Walsh involved several different police agencies. Anytime a question of jurisdiction is involved, it is important for agencies to work together and share information to solve the case.
It is not uncommon for the Federal investigators to get involved in child abduction cases. In this particular case, Florida senator Paula Hawkins tried to get the FBI involved in the search for Adam Walsh. The FBI was reluctant to interfere n the case however. If Hollywood PDP was searching for a suspect somewhere out of state then the feds would be more than happy to lend a hand (Stanford & Matthews, 2011, p. 149). In 1 988, FBI Deputy Director Alan Burgess advised that the Adam Walsh case had entered into the new nationwide database known as VICAR, the Violent Crime Apprehension Program.
The FBI-VICAR became the national repository for violent crimes, collating data on homicides, sexual assaults, missing persons, and unidentified human remains (Stanford & Matthews, 2011, p. 164). In 1988, the Walsh family received a letter from Tool confessing to the crime and ring to extort money in exchange for the location of Adam Walsh’s bones. The letter was given to Detective Hoffman and he filed the letter away citing a lack of physical evidence. Several years later, when the Walsh Family spoke to the Michael Sat at the State Attorneys Office, he advised that he was not aware of the letter.
The book demonstrated Detective Hoffmann failure to share information based off what he considered relevant to the case. There also appeared to be do direct oversight from his superior. When John and Reeve Walsh realized that their son had been kidnapped, they used every source they could to find him. While child abduction is frequently sensationalists, exaggerated, and thus misunderstood, the myth of an epidemic does little to alleviate concern at the family level and widespread conventional beliefs about abduction have developed (Miller et al. 2008, p. 524). The Walsh family was thrust into the spotlight and their personal lives were exposed to the world. Allegations of infidelity and mob affiliation became, at one point, more important than solving the case. Despite this, John and Reeve Walsh managed to bring about change in the way information n missing children was shared amongst law enforcement agencies in the US. While the media tends to sensationalist news, John Walsh used this to his advantage.
He became the host of America’s Most Wanted and used this as an avenue to help other victims of crimes and bring perpetrators to justice. The authors detail just how the Walsh family used their own resources, as well as, outside resources to rally support in an attempt to locate their son. They first utilized search teams and even went as far as producing fliers that were distributed at every major U. S. Airport to passengers (Stanford & Matthews, 201 1, p. 3). They worked tirelessly to aid in not only trying to find their son’s killer, but also other missing children in America.
From their efforts came the passing of the Missing Children’s Act of 1982, the Missing Children’s Assistance Act of 1 984, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. While the author does not detail the effectiveness of the legislation passed as a result of the Adam Walsh abduction and murder, it’s important to note the impact this case had on America. The legislation passed as a result of any type of heinous crime is usually roughs about as a result of public outcry and scrutiny. The Adam Walsh case invoked fear and anger from the community.
Naturally the police were expected to solve the crime expeditiously and in a sense, make the streets safe again. According the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, approximately 800,000 children are reported missing in the CSS and over 100 of these cases are stereotypical kidnappings. Meaning the child did not know the kidnapper or the kidnapper was an acquaintance. The first three hours are the most critical when trying to locate a missing child (“Key Facts,” 2014). Otis Tool was intent on kidnapping a small boy in the hopes of raising that child as his own.
According to the research by Miller et unfairly abduction is more likely to have a criminal motive such as robbery or, more often sexual assault (p. 529). While Tool confessed to having customized Adam, there was no direct evidence to prove this. This study by Miller et al. , showed the difficulty in preventing unfairly abductions vs. family or acquaintance abductions. There have been studies regarding whether child abduction laws are effective in actually preventing crime or simply giving a ales sense of security. In a study conducted by Freeman and Candler (2009), the Adam Walsh Act (AWAY) was examined.
The AWAY required states to standardize their registration and community notification practices by categorizing sex offenders into three-tier levels in the interest of increasing public safety (p. 31). The study examined whether or not the AWAY, as well as, other similar acts actually increased public safety. The results indicated that the AWAY failed to “increase the effectiveness of current registration and community notification practices. In fact, as indicated by the results of the rent study, the system actually decreases the ability of states to predict which sex offenders will sexually roofed and which ones will not” (p. 5). The legislation passed as a result of the Adam Walsh case was meant to create organization amongst the law enforcement agencies. Although it is natural for the media to sensationalist stories such as this, the main purpose was to at least create an avenue for law enforcement to share information with each other. The author detailed the numerous times when information should have been shared but was not. The Walsh family had not received word as to what evidence had been collected. Conclusion The book Brining Adam Home sheds light on one families struggle to find their son.
The authors shed light on the reluctance of the Hollywood Police Department to work with other agencies to solve this case. The failure of the police to properly document evidence and witness statements caused this case to remain unsolved for longer than it should have. Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Children are God’s greatest gifts. The impact a child abduction has on a family can be detrimental and can forever impact that family. This case captured national attention and from that came a need to try and become more proactive than reactive when it came to child abductions.