The potential for qualitative triangulation to mitigate investigative negligence

ABSTRACT

Identifying investigative negligence as the prevalent cause for wrongful convictions in the United States is supported in the academic literature. Most of that research has concluded with a call for stricter auditing within the criminal justice system. Human mistakes occur in police departments long before criminal cases are forwarded to courtrooms. Triangulation is a practical, qualitative methodological technique that can help increase the credibility and reliability of analytical findings. Questioning epistemological foundations, the author proposes that implementing triangulation methods within a criminal investigation could enhance corroborative findings while also safeguarding the suspects’ Constitutional rights.

KEYWORDS:

• investigation negligence
• wrongful convictions
• criminal investigation
• triangulation
• police practice

Acknowledgments

I would like to express my special things of gratitude to my research partner, Dr. Venessa Garcia, who inspired my interest in qualitative methodology and whose work with me prompted the idea for this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Thomas Shea

Dr. Shea served in the United States Marine Corps and as a police officer and commander for twenty years. Presently, he is a full-time Assistant Professor and Program Director of the Police Graduate Studies at Seton Hall University. Dr. Shea holds degrees from Rutgers, Seton Hall, and New Jersey City Universities. Additionally, and is an active member of PERF, ACJS, and NJACJE. Dr. Shea published academic and professional articles in various publications and has spoken at both criminal justice and school security conferences nationwide. His book, titled ‘115 Proven Ways to Drastically Improve Your Agency, Your officers and Your Leadership,’ was published nationwide in Spring 2020.