Effective Detective

SKILL AC Q U I S I T I O N, SELECTION AND THE FUTURE ENVIRONMENT FOR SIOs“Passing a driving test does not make you Stirling Moss. If you think thatonce you pass your driving test you have nothing left to learn, then you aremistaken. You learn a lot more about driving after you pass your test”.It was suggested that officers, especially SIOs, should try to be less afraid offeedback and criticism concerning the way in which they handled an investigation.In order for structured de-briefs to be constructive, officers believed that theyshould be conducted in an open and risk-free atmosphere where staff can be honestand learn lessons from the de-briefing. Some forces in the study do operatesuccessful formal de-brief programmes. These were characterised by providing ongoingaccess to other SIOs, and holding review meetings that were supportive,rather than concerned with assessing performance. This suggests that within someof the forces that took part in this study, a genuine learning culture does exist,rather than one where officers are blamed for their mistakes. De-briefing acts as amethod by which experiential learning can be captured and disseminated.7An additional factor might alsobe the willingness of teammembers to be led.Selection of SIOsSelecting the right individualsAs well as acquiring skills and abilities through training and experience, manyinterviewees felt that personal characteristics were also critical in defining‘effective’ SIOs. The suggestion that leaders possess an inherent set of personalitycharacteristics which serve to distinguish them from non-leaders, has previouslybeen explored by the Trait theory of leadership (e.g. Stogdill, 1974; Sorrentino andField, 1986). The evidence, however, to support this view is mixed. It does appearfrom the literature that some people are more ‘natural’ leaders than others, butthere does not seem to be a set of personal qualities which consistentlydiscriminates between leaders and non-leaders (Turner, 1991). An opposingviewpoint is that the effectiveness of leaders is dependent upon the context inwhich the individuals work; some individuals will be more effective leaders in somesituations as opposed to others (Fiedler, 1964; 1981). 7 Given what we haveobserved about investigative management in Chapter 3, this point is worthhighlighting.Nevertheless, many officers interviewed believed that personal characteristicsshould be taken into account when selecting individuals, at whatever point in theircareer, for the role of an SIO. As one detective sergeant stated:“Some of the ‘skills’ of the best investigators are inherent in the individual”.49