Effective Detective

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONSEarly identification of SIOsMany of those who participated in this study suggested the need for earlyidentification of individuals with the potential to perform well as SIOs. Furtherresearch would be required, however, to establish the point at which an individualwith this potential is best identified, and to assess on what basis this potential isrecognised. Our findings indicate that to be an ‘effective’ SIO, an officer shouldpossess a number of core skills, abilities and personal attributes. A number of thesemay be partly demonstrated early in an officer’s career. 9 For example, successfulcompletion of the sergeant’s exam demonstrates a measure of some of the qualitiesassociated with the role of an SIO (leadership, basic management skills, etc.). Ifsuch officers also possess the desire to be an SIO and possess the right personalattributes, they could be targeted as potential future SIOs. It would then beincumbent upon senior officers to encourage them to further develop the skills,abilities and knowledge suitable to the role of an SIO.9PRC are planning futureresearch in this area.Career developmentDeveloping ‘effective’ SIOs for the future does partly depend on selecting the righttype of individual who appears to possess an aptitude for the role. However, oncethese individuals are identified it is necessary for officers to be exposed to the rightkind of experiences. This will enable them to enhance any existing skills andabilities that they may possess, as well as allowing them to develop those skills thatthey lack. The research acknowledges that there is no single clear route tobecoming an ‘effective’ SIO; a number of alternative methods and complementarymethods of skill acquisition exist.●Skill developmentForces need to provide future SIOs with the relevant opportunities to increasetheir investigative ability, management skill and knowledge base throughouttheir career. Officers from a less CID-orientated background possess limitedinvestigative experience. Therefore it would be necessary for senior officers toensure that these officers are provided with sufficient exposure to this type ofexperience. This could be achieved through attachments (both within their ownforce area and in different forces) to relevant units such as forensic departmentsand major crime units. This may be both a cost-effective and practical solution,the principle of which could also be applied to those officers with a stronginvestigative background who need to develop their management skills. Some ofthese skills might be obtained through short-term attachments outside the CIDcontext.56