Final answer:
Authorities can deduce that a murder has been committed through indirect evidence such as bloodstains, weapons, and signs of struggle, even before identifying a victim. Witness accounts, especially those identifying suspects, also play a key role, although suggestibility can impact reliability. Sociocultural deterrents can also aid in crime prevention and community involvement in criminal identification.
Step-by-step explanation:
Police and detectives may infer that a murder has been committed before identifying the victim by observing evidence and circumstances such as bloodstains, a found weapon, signs of a struggle, or an unexpected disappearance. Additionally, eyewitness accounts or reports of suspicious activity can further support the hypothesis of a committed crime prior to victim identification. The accumulation of such evidence provides law enforcement with logical inferences that build the case.
For instance, if the police apprehend two individuals suspected of an armed robbery and find them in possession of unlawful weapons, they may suspect involvement in more serious crimes like murder if other correlating evidence emerges, such as a missing person or signs of a violent encounter. Furthermore, in the psychological realm, people's memories and identification processes, such as a witness working with the police to create a composite sketch or identify a suspect in a lineup, can lead to a suspect's arrest. However, the issue of suggestibility can often complicate these identifications.
The concept that every member of a community has a direct investment in preventing a crime, due to sociocultural deterrents like the practice of retributive justice observed in certain tribes, also underscores the communal effort in identifying criminal activity. The effectiveness of these practices, albeit controversial, may contribute to the crime-solving process.