Art, Craft and Science of Detective Work
| Author | Ben Bowling,Stephen Tong |
| DOI | 10.1350/pojo.2006.79.4.323 |
| Date | 01 December 2006 |
| Published date | 01 December 2006 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
DR STEPHEN TONG
Senior Lecturer in Policing, Department for Studies in Crime
and Policing, Canterbury Christ Church University
BEN BOWLING
Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, School of Law,
King's College London
ART, CRAFT AND SCIENCE OF
DETECTIVE WORK
The failure of high-profile criminal investigations and falling
detection rates have led to public criticisms of the effectiveness
of detective practice. Furthermore, the lack of research on
crime investigation and the apparent mystery surrounding what
detectives actually do and how they do it, reinforced by
fictional representations of detectives guided by ‘instinct’,
leaves a distinct lack of transparency. This article presents a
typology of logics guiding detective work (the art, craft and
science of investigation) that provide a useful framework for
examining what detectives do and the changing nature of their
work. It is argued through these different perspectives that
more needs to be done to articulate a theory of detective
practice in order to provide transparency and rich information
from which future generations of detectives can learn key
skills.
There is, at present, public concern about the effectiveness of
crime investigation and of detective training. A number of
causes célèbres have brought to light investigative errors which
have been blamed for delays in discovering crucial items of
evidence, failure to identify suspects and the collapse of criminal
prosecutions (Bichard 2004; MacPherson, 1999; Smith 2002). In
the worst cases, investigative errors have led to convictions later
found to have been unsafe and unsatisfactory (Naughton, 2005:
165–7). There is little research available on detective work, but
what there is reveals a different perspective to that of popular
media images of the detective as ‘super sleuth’. In reality the
informal and formal building of detective reputations rests on the
basis of successful cases and detection rates, which serve as
motivation for detectives to achieve results (Hobbs, 1988;
Skolnick, 1994; Young, 1991 ). The practice of effective detect-
ive has been shrouded in mystery, although the RAND study*
criticised detectives for their inability to solve crime unless the
The Police Journal, Volume 79 (2006) 323
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