Effective Detective

SKILL AC Q U I S I T I O N, SELECTION AND THE FUTURE ENVIRONMENT FOR SIOsfor an SIO to put ‘theory into practice’. It was widely felt that this could best beachieved through direct involvement in investigations. It is important to note,however, that experience was not so much concerned with the time spent in therole, but defined as an ability to learn lessons from investigations. Being involved ina large number of serious crime investigations did not necessarily provide an SIOwith the correct ‘repertoire’ of skills. Consequently, an ‘effective’ SIO wasidentified as one who has the capacity to learn from investigative experience.Furthermore, many officers felt that this experience did not necessarily have to beobtained through the role of a lead investigator, but could be gained at a number oflevels within CID. As one SIO noted:“I gained a lot of experience on the ground as a detective constable workingon a murder enquiry; a vast amount of experience as a DS at a differentlevel and a huge amount of experience working outside the force with theForensic Science Service. All of these are like pieces of a jigsaw that cometogether”.As a result, future SIOs are more likely to have witnessed, and more importantlylearned from, issues and problems that have to be tackled within a serious crimeenquiry.The interviewees felt that there was a requirement, on behalf of team members, forSIOs to have ‘gone through the pain barrier’ (been involved in a majorinvestigation from beginning to end). This was also seen to afford them credibility,which we have noted is important in terms of motivation, and provide them withthe confidence to carry out their role effectively. In addition, SIOs (including thepeer-nominated SIOs) and Heads of CID stressed that having a great deal ofinvestigative experience does not mean that SIOs have no more to learn. It wasbelieved that every investigation presents a different set of challenges anddifficulties for SIOs to experience and points to learn.A common complaint from the majority of SIOs interviewed was that some newlyappointed SIOs, with little investigative experience, appear to feel that theirattendance on a training course will “magically” qualify them as an ‘effective’ SIO.One SIO observed:“I think that there is a tendency, especially with the Management ofSerious and Series Crime (MSSC) course, that if you’ve got on that, itqualifies you as an SIO. Why do they think an SIO can become an expertbecause they have been sent on the course and been given the manual?”46