Effective Detective

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SKILLS AND THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSFigure 7: Principal skill requirements: assessment of incoming informationManagement skillsPeople managementTe a m - b u i l d i n g● to involve team membersin decision-makingprocessInvestigative m a n a g e m e n tConsultation● to consult withappropriate personnel(e.g. investigative team)and particularly specialistadvisersPlanning● anticipation● to structure investigationwithin appropriateboundariesDelegation● to assign tasks toappropriately skilledindividualsDecision-making process● to have a rationale formaking decisionsExpert advice● to manage specialistadvisers effectivelyGeneral m a n a g e m e n tCommunication process● to communicateeffectively with media,staff, witnesses etc.Investigative abilityInvestigative competence● to formulate investigativestrategies● to demonstrate an abilityto learn from experienceAppraisal of incominginformation● to demonstrate ability toabsorb incominginformation● to establish the relevanceof information● to establish the reliabilityand validity ofinformation● to play ‘devil’s advocate’● to verify expert advice● to display objectivityAdaptation● to remain flexibleKnowledge levelsUnderpinning knowledge● awareness of strengthsand weaknesses of team● knowledge of roles● procedural● domain knowledge ofspecific crime types● to be aware of specialistadvisers that could beapproachedwith investigative experience/ability, should enable the SIO to make appropriateinferences from the crime scene. The SIO needs to assess incoming information toestablish its likely value to the investigation and establish what the investigationnow knows about the offence. This includes assessing the quality and relevance of32
SKILLS AND THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSexperts’ interpretation of information. Example 1 highlights an example of an SIOwho an interviewee felt successfully questioned expert advice provided to theinvestigation.Example 1“This is about an SIO who applied underpinning knowledge to enable him tocritically assess the advice offered by a pathologist. We had an SIO who had alot of trouble with pathology. We [the investigative team] tend to take suchadvice as always one hundred per cent. This SIO was unhappy with thepathology. He went asking others [pathologists] against a lot of people’s[investigative team] advice. He found that there was clearly a conflict and thatthe second pathologist that he saw was right. This led to the arrest and theconviction of a killer. He challenged expert advice.”Therefore, the SIO has to readily assess the information, produce a cogentresponse, establish the substance of the information and whether it links withsomething already known by the investigative team. Respondents stressed that if itis not absolutely clear what occurred, then the SIO needs to develop a number ofplausible scenarios and evaluate them against the facts of the case.Assessing the reliability and validity of a piece of information has to beaccomplished in a short space of time. In hard-to-solve serious crimes, many criticaldecisions will be made in the first 24 to 48 hours and these may influence thelikelihood of a successful detection. A frequent observation was that the SIO alonecannot be expected to evaluate each piece of incoming information. The SIOdelegates to appropriate individuals within the investigative team. Theinvestigative team act as a filter mechanism, evaluating a lot of the ‘lower level’information and passing what is believed to be more crucial information to the SIO(and the management team) to assess. The investigative team appears to be largelyresponsible for ‘sorting the wheat from the chaff’.Given this, appropriate delegation was considered critical; even the best SIO couldnot achieve their objectives throughout an enquiry without sufficient staff of theright calibre, and the skill to make the best use of them. Example 2 demonstratesthe consequences on the morale of a team with an SIO who did not have staff withthe relevant knowledge and investigative experience.Because of the need to partially delegate the assessment of incoming information,particular emphasis was placed on the relevance of communication skills at thisstage of the enquiry. It was important that the SIO makes the investigative teamaware of priority issues and what things have to be bought to his/her attention. The33
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Page 6 and 7: Executive summaryThe Senior Investi
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Page 13: INTRODUCTIONMethodologyThe general
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Page 59 and 60: REFERENCESReferencesAdhami, E. and
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