NCJ Number
220847
Date Published
2007
Length
23 pages
Annotation
This chapter explores four aspects of the management, supervision, and oversight of criminal investigations: the coordination of the elements and processes of an investigation, the supervision and leadership of police officers and staff who are conducting an investigation, performance management, and the forms of oversight of criminal investigations.
Abstract
The coordination of the elements and processes of an investigation involves bringing together the various processes and stages so as to construct a coherent and effective investigation that complies with the law and standards for conducting an effective investigation. The discussion of this management function addresses the establishment of investigative priorities, managing a criminal investigation, and the manager as a coordinator. The chapter's section on the supervision of investigating officers focuses on the difficulties of such supervision, a new debate about leadership and professionalization, the dispersal of management roles, new forms of supervision, and the prospects for better supervision of investigations. The chapter's section on managing the performance of criminal investigations identifies two performance measures that are directly related to criminal investigations, i.e., the number of offenses brought to justice, and the detection rate. The detection rate measures the percentage of all offenses recorded by the police in which an offender is identified. A discussion of the oversight of criminal investigations highlights four key features of the current oversight regime in the United Kingdom. First, it is increasingly standardized. Second, it is becoming more local in focus. Third, it is public and independent; and fourth, it is cross-agency. 67 references