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An archival study was conducted using 250 offender descriptions by witnesses of armed bank robberies. The accuracy of the descriptions was gauged against authentic video documentation of the witnessed crimes. In general, witnesses provided accurate descriptions of the offenders but reported few identifying details. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the witnesses' role (bank tellers vs. customers), the type of weapon used, and the number of perpetrators involved were moderately predictive of the quality of offender descriptions. However, several of the observed relationships were conditional on whether descriptions of basic attributes (e.g., height, age, build) or more detailed features were considered. Hence, the authors concluded that verifying all aspects of witness descriptions is crucial when studying memories for actual crimes.

An interview study explored criminal detectives' views of critical factors related to decision making in homicide investigations. Experienced homicide investigators in Norway (n = 15) and the UK (n = 20) were asked to identify decisional 'tipping points'-decisions that put detectives in a mindset focused on verifying the guilt of a suspect-and situational or individual factors that relate to these decisions. Two types of decisions were identified as typical and potentially critical tipping points: (1) decisions to name, arrest, or charge a suspect, and (2) decisions on main strategies and lines of inquiry in the case. Moreover, 10 individual factors (e.g. experience) and 14 situational factors (e.g. information availability) were reported as related to the likelihood of a mindset shift, most of which correspond well with findings in previous decision-making research. The consensus between British and Norwegian detectives was very high, and the findings indicate that experienced detectives are aware of many of the risk factors and obstacles to optimal decision making that exist in criminal investigations.

The purpose of this paper is to articulate a set of interlinked research propositions about knowledge management systems in relation to police investigations and in particular the possibilities of capturing the investigative knowledge inherent in how experienced police understand the investigative process. Moreover, the paper addresses missing links in the literature between 'know-what' and 'know-how' relationships between knowledge management systems and police investigations. A series of policy recommendations are also outlined in relation to this research agenda.Keywords: stages of growth; value shop; knowledge resources; detectives; investigative thinking styles; investigation performance; communities of practice; tacit knowledge Introduction Capturing the knowledge that underpins a police investigation is a key task for an investigator. In fact, catching criminals cannot happen until an investigator first captures the 'knowledge' provided by forensics, intelligence, and interviewing victims, witnesses, and interrogating suspects.Hence, this paper is a hypothesis building exercise into how to best capture the sort of investigative knowledge which is more likely to promote successful police investigations. We conceptualize from a research point of view how investigative knowledge can be surfaced in the thinking styles of detectives/investigators and linked to knowledge management systems and the technologies that underpin knowledge creation and transfer.Given that our focus is limited to the investigative dimension of policing this does not imply that policing is only about crime control nor does it downplay the importance of community policing, public order maintenance, and the protection of civil liberties and human rights which is central to the notion of policing in a democracy (Engel & Burruss, 2004).The importance of this paper lies in the set of innovative research propositions presented and discussed which seek to address the missing links in the literature between 'know-what' and 'know-how' relationships between knowledge management and police investigations. 'Know-what' has stressed the importance of knowledge in police work. This paper makes a much-needed contribution to 'know-how' as it explores and sets out a future empirical research agenda about how to capture investigative knowledge in order to better manage police investigations.Initially, the paper outlines the propositional methodology used to hypothesize about the two interlinked domains of research interest -that of police investigations and knowledge