NCJ Number
52704
Journal
Police Studies Volume: 1 Issue: 3 Dated: (SEPTEMBER 1978) Pages: 5-10
Date Published
1978
Length
6 pages
Annotation
THE STATUS AND LIKELY FUTURE OF CRIMINAL DETECTION IN THE UNITED STATES ARE ASSESSED, WITH REFERENCE TO THREE MAJOR STUDIES OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.
Abstract
THE FOLLOWING STUDIES ARE REFERRED TO: THE RAND CORPORATION'S NATIONAL SURVEY OF CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, CONDUCTED FOR THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE; THE URBAN INSTITUTE'S ASSESSMENT OF COORDINATED TEAM PATROL IN ROCHESTER, N.Y., CONDUCTED FOR THE POLICE FOUNDATION; AND A STUDY OF TWO NATIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES, THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION (FBI) AND THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT AGENCY (DEA). THE RAND STUDY CONCLUDED THAT CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS INHERENTLY A LOW-YIELD UNDERTAKING, THAT CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS ARE CARRIED ON INEFFICIENTLY, AND THAT HALF THE DETECTIVE FORCE IN ANY POLICE DEPARTMENT COULD BE DISPENSED WITH. THE ROCHESTER STUDY FOUND BOTH STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES IN THE PRACTICE OF ASSIGNING COMBINED UNITS OF PATROL AND DETECTIVE OFFICERS TO PERFORM POLICE OPERATIONS IN SPECIFIC GEOGRAPHIC AREAS. THE THIRD STUDY FOUND MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DETECTION WORK OF FBI AGENTS AND THAT OF DEA AGENTS AND CONTRASTED THE FBI'S REACTIVE STRATEGY WITH THE DEA'S PROACTIVE APPROACH. THE VARIETY OF VALUES AND DIMENSIONS IN DETECTIVE WORK REFLECTED IN THE THREE STUDIES IS DISCUSSED. POINTS OF DISAGREEMENT AMONG THE STUDIES ARE NOTED, AND COMMENTS ON THE RESEARCHERS' RECOMMENDATIONS ARE OFFERED. THE SCIENTIFIC, MANAGEMENTORIENTED APPROACH TO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION FOUND IN THE STUDIES IS CONTRASTED WITH THE CONCEPTS OF THE DETECTIVE AS ARTIST (THE MASTER OF INTERROGATION AND INSIGHT) OR CRAFTSMAN (THE MASTER OF PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES, PARTICULARLY THE CULTIVATION OF INFORMERS). IT IS PREDICTED THAT A MORE SYSTEMATIC APPROACH TO CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION, BOTH IN MANAGEMENT AND IN INVESTIGATIVE TECHNIQUES, WILL BE DEVELOPED AND THAT MORE DETECTIVES WILL HAVE COLLEGE EDUCATIONS AND WILL UNDERGO INTENSIVE TRAINING IN INTERROGATION AND INTELLIGENCE-GATHERING SKILLS. IT IS PREDICTED ALSO THAT DETECTIVES WILL BE SUPERVISED MORE CLOSELY AND EVALUATED ACCORDING TO SOPHISTICATED QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITIVE MEASURES. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE CRAFTSMAN-TYPE DETECTIVE WILL BE RELEGATED TO NEIGHBORHOOD-LEVEL POLICING, WHILE THE ARTIST MAY BECOME A CASUALTY OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT AND RESTRICTIONS ON POLICE UNDERCOVER OPERATIONS. A LIST OF REFERENCES IS INCLUDED. (LKM)