U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Investigators Who Perform Well

NCJ Number
105197
Author(s)
B Cohen; J Chaiken
Date Published
1987
Length
91 pages
Annotation
This volume presents the results of a study to find the best methods for law enforcement agencies to use in selecting investigators and evaluating their performance.
Abstract
The report is written for detective supervisors and managers, personnel department heads, and attorneys who deal with equal employment opportunity litigation. Information gathering for the study included interviews with personnel in a dozen police jurisdictions throughout the United States. Key elements of the selection process, the authors found, are fairness, validity, job relatedness, utility, and efficiency. While college study and past job performance (including rates of conviction) were good indicators of future investigative performance, written civil service examinations and tests for verbal ability were the only factors that achieved the validity standards for job relatedness required under most EEO regulations. Tables and chapter notes.