Effective Detective

INTRODUCTIONMethodologyThe general approach has been to apply qualitative research techniques to explorein depth the skills required by an ‘effective’ SIO. A combination of standard jobanalysis techniques was used to undertake the research. Such techniques have beenused successfully in the past with similar studies on police officers (e.g., McGurk etal., 1992; Wigfield, 1996; Nelson and Brown, 1998). These studies are reviewed inmore detail within chapter two of this report.For the main data collection exercise, a semi-structured interview schedule wasdeveloped in collaboration with an occupational psychologist, researchers andcolleagues in the NCF. The interview schedule incorporated both the repertory gridand the critical incident techniques:●●The repertory grid technique aims to identify dimensions (or ‘constructs’) whichdistinguish between individuals (Kelly, 1955). Subjects choose ‘elements’ thatrepresent the area to be examined. For this study the elements were a number of‘effective’ and ‘less effective’ SIOs; the subject picks three SIOs and is asked tospecify a fundamental way in which two are alike and thereby different from thethird. This is referred to as a ‘construct’. This process indicates the way in whichofficers discriminate between SIOs of varying ability.The critical incident technique identifies instances of effective and ineffectiveperformance through recalling events that illustrate good or bad practice(Flanagan, 1954). The individual gives a brief description of what led up to theincident, what was good or bad about it and the consequences. The majorstrength of this method is that it establishes a comprehensive definition of rolerequirements. In this study, the data relate to accounts of the way that an SIObehaved on a particular occasion.The main objective was to obtain a broadly representative range of views amongpolice officers with direct and expert knowledge of the work of SIOs. To achievethis, participants in the study were selected from a number of different forces, andincluded officers of different ranks, roles and backgrounds.Selection of participantsTen forces took part in the study. They were selected to represent as far as possiblea range of characteristics across forces in England and Wales in terms of:●●the demographics of each force area;the extent of serious crime within force areas;13