Effective Detective

SKILLS AND THE INVESTIGATIVE PROCESSExample 3“Initially there was a misunderstanding on the level of resources needed to runthe enquiry. The (divisional) estimate was completely out of sync with myestimate and it took a few days to get the staff we needed. I think that was badfor the investigation, because in the end we lost a lot of ground. There was alack of understanding of what was required to conduct the investigation interms of the personnel and resources that are required to run an enquiry. Inhindsight maybe I should have been a bit tougher than I was in demanding theresources I really needed. But I was a new boy on my first major enquiry as theSIO. I feel that I would not tolerate that now, I would explain that I neededmore than this. Looking back, I should have been stronger on that as we lostsome time, although we got the case solved.”Differences exist between forces as to the level of involvement in resourcemanagement by the SIOs. Some of those forces that took part in this study operatelogistics departments that are responsible for the majority of the resourcemanagement involved in serious crime investigations. The existence of suchsupport units was cited by some interviewees as an example of good practice, as itleaves the SIO with additional time to actually investigate. However, even with alogistics department an SIO still has to decide what level of resources to draw uponand when. Other forces, however, felt that such units have contributed to the deskillingof SIOs. Having to resource an investigation was perceived by some asintegral to the role of an ‘effective’ SIO. It was argued that managing resourcesenables the SIO to have greater control of the investigative process, allowing themto be more responsive to the changing resource needs of the investigation.Element 4: Case developmentBy this stage of the investigative process, information has been integrated into theinvestigation and interpreted accordingly. Options for gathering additionalinformation have been reviewed. If sufficient information has been gathered, it maybe possible to move to the post-charge element of the investigative process.Where additional information is required, the investigative cycle continues toiterate. If more information is required, it is important for the SIO to considerwhere this information is likely to reside. Many of those interviewed emphasisedthe need for the SIO to establish what options exist to gather the requiredinformation and which are the most appropriate to pursue. If no practical lines ofenquiry exist at this stage then the investigation is no longer perceived as active.Future reviews may identify new lines of enquiry that could serve to re-start theinvestigative process anew.37