Getaway Vehicle
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A crime scene getaway is the act of
departing ''Departing'' is the second full-length album by Canadian indie rock band The Rural Alberta Advantage, released March 1, 2011 on Paper Bag Records in Canada and Saddle Creek Records in the United States. In a review of their December 2010 con ...
from the location where one has committed a
crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definiti ...
. It is an act that the offender(s) may or may not have planned in detail, resulting in a variety of outcomes. A :crime scene is the "location of a crime; especially one at which forensic evidence is collected in a controlled manner." The "getaway" is any escape by a perpetrator from that scene, which may have been witnessed by
eyewitness Eyewitness or eye witness may refer to: Witness * Witness, someone who has knowledge acquired through first-hand experience ** Eyewitness memory ** Eyewitness testimony Eyewitness testimony is the account a bystander or victim gives in the court ...
es or
law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...
. The crime scene getaway is the subject of several
penal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal law is esta ...
s. If motor vehicles are used for the getaway, then each vehicle is a new crime scene.


As an inchoate offense

In some jurisdictions, the very act of making a getaway from a crime scene is an inchoate criminal offense in itself, though it is generally viewed as natural behavior for a lawbreaker. For example, under
New York law Law of New York may refer to: *Law of New York (state) *New York City Administrative Code *New York City Charter The New York City Charter is the municipal charter of New York City. As part of the 1898 consolidation of New York City, the New Yo ...
, "escape" is defined as escaping custody or detention; "unlawful fleeing a police in a motor vehicle" is a distinct crime.


Methods of crime scene getaways


Running

For thousands of years in the past, the standard method of escape from a crime scene was for the perpetrator merely to run away, faster than the constable on patrol,
sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
, or the night watchman. This was common even into the 20th century. For example, according to the
Warren Commission The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President of the United States, President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the A ...
report,
Lee Harvey Oswald Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963. Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at age 12 for truan ...
infamously walked, then ran away from the
Texas School Book Depository The Texas School Book Depository, later known as the Dallas County Administration Building and now "The Sixth Floor Museum", is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point du ...
from where he shot President Kennedy on November 22, 1963. If another means of transportation becomes unavailable, the suspect may have to run.


Horseback

Once humans domesticated horses, that animal became a favorite way to escape a crime scene. Many old "
Wild West The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
"
bank robbers Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank branch or teller, as opposed to other bank- ...
,
train robbers A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
and other outlaws such as
Butch Cassidy Robert LeRoy Parker (April 13, 1866 – November 7, 1908), better known as Butch Cassidy, was an American train robbery, train and bank robbery, bank robber and the leader of a gang of criminal outlaws known as the "Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch, ...
,
Tom Horn Thomas Horn Jr., (November 21, 1860 – November 20, 1903) was an American scout, cowboy, soldier, range detective, rodeo performer, and Pinkerton agent in the 19th-century and early 20th-century American Old West. Believed to have committ ...
,
Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, Bank robbery, bank and Train robbery, train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the "Little Dixie (Missouri), Little Dixie" area of M ...
,
John Wesley Hardin John Wesley Hardin (May 26, 1853 – August 19, 1895) was an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter, and controversial folk icon. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, claiming he ...
,
Apache Kid Haskay-bay-nay-ntayl ( 1860 – 1890 or November 11, 1900 or September 4, 1907 / ), better known as the Apache Kid, was born in Aravaipa Canyon, 25 miles (40 kilometers) south of San Carlos Agency, into one of the three local groups of the Ara ...
,
Bill Doolin William Doolin (1858–August 24, 1896) was an American bandit outlaw and founder of the Wild Bunch, sometimes known as the Doolin-Dalton Gang. Like the earlier Dalton Gang alone, it specialized in robbing banks, trains, and stagecoaches in ...
,
Tiburcio Vasquez Tiburcio, the Spanish form of Tiburtius, may refer to: * Tiburcio Carías Andino (1876–1969), Honduran military strongman * Tiburcio de León, Filipino general (the Philippine Revolution and Philippine-American War) * José Tiburcio Serrizuela ...
,
Cherokee Bill Crawford Goldsby (February 8, 1876 – March 17, 1896), also known by the alias Cherokee Bill, was an American outlaw. Responsible for the murders of eight men (including his brother-in-law), he and his gang terrorized the Indian Territory for o ...
, Sam Bass,
Billy the Kid Henry McCarty (September 17 or November 23, 1859July 14, 1881), alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who was linked to nine murders: four for which he was solely res ...
, Rufus Buck,
Belle Starr Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr (February 5, 1848 – February 3, 1889), better known as Belle Starr, was an American outlaw who gained national notoriety after her violent death. She associated with the James–Younger Gang and other outlaws. ...
,
Henry Plummer Henry Plummer (c. 1832–1864) was a prospector, lawman, and outlaw in the American West in the 1850s and 1860s, who was known to have killed several men. He was elected sheriff of what was then Bannack, Idaho Territory, in 1863 and served ...
,
Soapy Smith Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II (November 2, 1860 – July 8, 1898) was an American con artist and gangster in the American frontier and the Klondike. Smith operated confidence schemes across the Western United States, and had a large hand ...
,
William Brocius William "Curly Bill" Brocius (''circa'' 1845 – March 24, 1882), was an American gunslinger, rustler, and member of the Cowboy outlaw gang in the Cochise County area of the Arizona Territory during the late 1870s and early 1880s. His name ...
, Queen Ann Bassett, Jim Miller, John Wilkes Booth and Bob Dozier of the 19th century used horses to get away from the scene of their
larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...
and murders. The etymology of two common terms for
peace officer A law enforcement officer (LEO), or police officer or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, ...
s in premodern times indicates that their major role may have been to prevent
horse theft Horse theft is the crime of stealing horses. A person engaged in stealing horses is known as a horse thief. Historically, punishments were often severe for horse theft, with several cultures pronouncing the sentence of death upon actual or pre ...
—or escape by horse. These are
constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...
(from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
''
comes stabuli ''Comes'' (plural ''comites''), translated as count, was a Roman title, generally linked to a comitatus or comital office. The word ''comes'' originally meant "companion" or "follower", deriving from "''com-''" ("with") and "''ire''" ("go"). Th ...
'' --
attendant Attendant or attendance may refer to: * Car attendant, a railroad employee * Flight attendant, flight crew employed to ensure the safety and comfort of the passengers * Museum attendant * Toilet attendant, maintains standards in a toilet and coll ...
to the
stable A stable is a building in which working animals are kept, especially horses or oxen. The building is usually divided into stalls, and may include storage for equipment and feed. Styles There are many different types of stables in use tod ...
s),p103, Bruce, Alistair, ''Keepers of the Kingdom'' (Cassell, 2002), Constable
Encyclopædia Britannica online
and
marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
l, a
loanword A loanword (also a loan word, loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term t ...
from Old Norman French, which in turn is borrowed from
Old Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 10th centuries. Franks under king Chlodio settled in Roman Gaul in the 5th century. O ...
*''marhskalk'' "stable boy, keeper, servant",
cognate In historical linguistics, cognates or lexical cognates are sets of words that have been inherited in direct descent from an etymological ancestor in a common parent language. Because language change can have radical effects on both the s ...
with Germanic ''*marha-'' "horse" (cf. Engl. ''mare'') and ''skalk-'' "servant" (cf. Old Engl. ''scealc'' "servant, soldier"). While not as common in modern times, horses have still been used by criminals to flee from a crime scene and/or escape from police, oftentimes in
developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a less-developed Secondary sector of the economy, industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to developed countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. ...
where motor vehicles might not be as common and/or in cases when the suspects are trying to uses horses to flee in
rural area In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...
s and/or
wilderness areas Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural) are Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human activity, or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally ...
where cars would be either too impractical or noisy. Examples of criminals using getaway horses in modern times, include
organized criminals Organized crime is a category of transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a form of illegal business, some ...
fleeing from the scene of narcotics operations,
safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is a dwelling place or building whose unassuming appearance makes it an inconspicuous location where one can hide out, take shelter, or conduct clandestine activities. Historical usage It may also refer to ...
s or smuggling routs when they have been discovered by police. During the Columbian search block manhunt,
Pablo Escobar Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria (; ; 1 December 19492 December 1993) was a Colombian drug lord, narcoterrorist, and politician who was the founder and leader of the Medellín Cartel. Dubbed the "King of Cocaine", Escobar was one of the wealthie ...
and his cartel associates utilized multiple methods to evade the authorities, even at times using escape-horses.


Vehicle

A
motor vehicle A motor vehicle, also known as a motorized vehicle, automotive vehicle, automobile, or road vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on railway track, rails (such as trains or trams), does not fly (such ...
, commonly referred to as a getaway car, is frequently used by the offender to flee the scene of a crime. Getaway cars are prevalent in major crimes such as
bank robberies Bank robbery is the criminal act of stealing from a bank, specifically while bank employees and customers are subjected to force, violence, or a threat of violence. This refers to robbery of a bank Branch (banking), branch or Bank teller, tel ...
and
homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...
s. Very frequently, but not always, a getaway car is
stolen Stolen may refer to: Films * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu ...
and is abandoned soon after the crime, in the hope that the vehicle cannot be traced to the offender. If the vehicle does not belong to the driver and is quickly abandoned, a trace may not be possible without examination of
forensic evidence Forensic identification is the application of forensic science, or "forensics", and technology to identify specific objects from the trace evidence they leave, often at a crime scene or the scene of an accident. Forensic means "for the courts". Hu ...
. In some cases, the offender may go to extreme measures to discard the getaway vehicle in order to hide his 'tracks' by dumping it in a
river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...
or secluded park, and/or setting it on fire; while this may not make solving the crime impossible, it can make the effort more difficult for law enforcement. The
criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include Search and seizure, searching, interviews, interrogations, Evidence (law), ...
can be further complicated by the use of multiple getaway vehicles, which can confuse eyewitnesses, as well as creating multiple places to investigate: each vehicle is a new crime scene. In ''Forensics for Dummies'', the
rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...
is reminded: "At a minimum, the crime scene includes ... Areas from which the site can be entered, exited, or even escaped...." Since a getaway vehicle often requires a , this additional co-defendant creates problems in itself. First, having a second perpetrator involved creates yet another
inchoate offence An inchoate offense, preliminary crime, inchoate crime or incomplete crime is a crime of preparing for or seeking to commit another crime. The most common example of an inchoate offense is "attempt". "Inchoate offense" has been defined as the fol ...
that the
prosecutor A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in Civil law (legal system), civil law. The prosecution is the ...
can use in an
indictment An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an ind ...
:
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, ploy, or scheme, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with a political motivat ...
. Also, a co-conspirator may cooperate with police, either intentionally by 'turning state's evidence' by way of a
plea bargain A plea bargain, also known as a plea agreement or plea deal, is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor. These concessions can include a ...
, or inadvertently by giving away information to persons outside the conspiracy. If the driver, who may have parked some distance away, unknowingly drives past the scene of the crime, the getaway vehicle itself may identify the occupants to the crime victim and police. This is especially true if the vehicle has unique markings or is an unusual model. Without a driver, the perpetrator may make errors due to the stress associated with the crime, or lack of ability to multi-task (such as leaving the car keys at the scene of the crime); a murderer needs to "think strategically" to get away with
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...
—to "mislead police, stage crime scenes and destroy evidence." Taking a public
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...
or
taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a Driving, driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of thei ...
makes the driver an involuntary co-conspirator, yet also creates an eyewitness whose interest it is to cooperate with police. Witnesses to the crime will often attempt to take note of the tags (registration plate) or other important details of the car and report this information to law enforcement. It may be possible to identify the offender if an officer spots the offender in possession of the vehicle prior to its abandonment. In one news story: Crime victims can also hinder escape by disabling or moving the getaway vehicle. If a witness follows the offender to the point of abandonment, and observes the offender's tracks from beyond this point, that may help the police. However, such civilian involvement may be dangerous, and is generally not recommended by police departments. In other cases, the public may be hesitant to cooperate, with or without the offer of a reward: The earliest robbers known to have made such use of an automobile were the anarchist-inspired
Bonnot Gang The Bonnot Gang (''La Bande à Bonnot''), or The Tragic Bandits (''Les Bandes Tragiques''), was a French criminal anarchist group that operated in France and Belgium during the late ''Belle Époque'' from 1911 to 1912. Composed of individuals wh ...
, active in Paris of the early 1910s. Later, the method was used by
John Dillinger John Herbert Dillinger (; June 22, 1903 – July 22, 1934) was an American gangster during the Great Depression. He commanded the Dillinger Gang, which was accused of robbing twenty-four banks and four police stations. Dillinger was imprison ...
and
Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut "Champion" Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were American outlaws who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression, committing a ser ...
, whose exploits got wide media attention and inspired many less-known robbers.


Rebuttal of the insanity defense

Under the
M'Naghten rules The M'Naghten rule(s) (pronounced, and sometimes spelled, McNaughton) is a legal test (law), test defining the Insanity defense, defence of insanity that was formulated by the House of Lords in 1843. It is the established standard in UK crimina ...
for the
insanity defense The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative Defense (legal), defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a mental illness, psychiatric disease ...
, the defendant must be not only mentally ill ("suffering from a mental disease or defect" is a typical formulation) but also unable to tell right from wrong. If the defendant runs away from the crime scene, there must thus be an awareness that the crime is wrong and so a jury would, under such factual circumstances, deny that defense. ''
Clark v. Arizona ''Clark v. Arizona'', 548 U.S. 735 (2006), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of the insanity defense used by Arizona. The Court affirmed the murder conviction of a man with paranoid schizophren ...
'' ruled that the defense is not a right and that its scope is limited by whether the defendant knew right from wrong.''
Clark v. Arizona ''Clark v. Arizona'', 548 U.S. 735 (2006), is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the constitutionality of the insanity defense used by Arizona. The Court affirmed the murder conviction of a man with paranoid schizophren ...
'', 548 U.S. 735 (2006). {{cite web, title=Docket , url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docketfiles/05-5966.htm, website=supremecourt.gov, access-date=October 15, 2013


See also

*
Consciousness of guilt In the law of evidence, consciousness of guilt is a type of circumstantial evidence that judges, prosecutors, and juries may consider when determining whether a defendant is guilty of a criminal offense. It is often admissible evidence, and jud ...
* Crime preparation *
Disposal of human corpses The disposal of human corpses, also called final disposition, is the practice and process of dealing with the remains of a deceased human being. Disposal methods may need to account for the fact that soft tissue will decompose relatively rapidl ...
*
Fugitive A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
*
Resisting arrest An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be Interroga ...
*
Skiptrace Skiptracing is the process of locating a person's whereabouts. Skiptracing tactics may be employed by a skip tracer, contact tracer (in a public health context), debt collector, process server, bail bondsman or bail agency enforcer (bounty hun ...
*
Tampering with evidence Tampering with evidence, or evidence tampering, is an act in which a person alters, conceals, falsifies, or destroys evidence with the intent to interfere with an investigation (usually) by a law-enforcement, governmental, or regulatory authority. ...


References

Crime Escape Inchoate offenses