Towards a more effective detective

Abstract

The characteristics that detectives believe are required to be an ‘effective detective’ were explored in this study. A Repertory Grid Technique and Critical Incident Technique were used to explore in detail the views of experienced detectives (N = 30) from five different police services in Australia and New Zealand about what makes an effective detective. The findings suggest that detectives hold a complex and challenging role that requires 11 key skills. By far, the most important factor was communication skills, particularly how to communicate effectively with a variety of people varying from victims and suspects to colleagues and scientific experts. High levels of motivation and thoroughness closely followed communication as essential skills. The implications of these findings for the recruitment, training and management of detectives are discussed.

Keywords:

• police
• detective
• criminal investigation
• performance

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the Australian Federal Police, New South Wales Police Force, New Zealand Police, Queensland Police Service and Western Australian Police who made this research happen and the detectives from these agencies who gave their valuable time to participate in this study. Finally, we thank the anonymous reviewers for this journal who provided us with valuable feedback.

Notes

1. We use the term ‘skill category’ for ease of reading, although we note that some of these ‘skill categories’ may be better described as abilities or other characteristics.

Additional information

Funding

This research was conducted at the ARC Centre of Excellence in Policing and Security with funding from the Australian Research Council [grant number SR07000002].