Investigating Police Productivity: A Literature Review - By Bart van Ark and Joel Hoskins

Since the volume of eyewitness accounts and victim statements are also a critical factor in determining the likelihood of clearing a crime (Jansson, 2005), a lower level of co-operation from the public is likely to increase the amount of time that has to be spent on clearing a case and a reduction in the likelihood that the perpetrators will be brought to justice. [...] Jansson’s review finds that the first stage of the investigative process, involving first contact between the police and the witnesses and victims, is critical for the success of the investigation since a large proportion of convictions and arrests are made based on information given by the public (Burrows et al., 2005). [...] Jansson (2005) also finds that the arrest of a suspect at the scene increases the likelihood of police clearing the crime, which is determined by the time between the committing of the offence, and the arrival of police at the scene of the incident. [...] In 2022, the College of Policing conducted a literature review of the factors affecting the likelihood of success of an investigation, and found evidence that it is important for officers to have an ‘investigative mindset’, which entails the ability of investigators to gather and assess material, interpret the facts, and then form and test hypotheses. [...] The College of Policing review also discovered examples of new technological equipment improving the performance of police investigators, but stressed the risks of over-reliance on technology, procedural uncertainty, and the importance of having the ability to process the new quantities of data.