NCJ Number
93325
Journal
Canadian Police College Journal Volume: 7 Issue: 3 Dated: (1983) Pages: 161-205
Date Published
1983
Length
45 pages
Annotation
As a first step in developing indigenous information about the management of criminal investigations in Canada, this survey is designed to provide information on existing criminal investigation practices and procedures in Canada.
Abstract
This survey, which was conducted in the fall of 1981, distributed a questionnaire to all municipal police departments in the country having 50 or more sworn personnel as well as to certain provincial, railway, and harbor police forces. The response rate was about 70 percent. The information obtained dealt with such matters as (1) awareness of existing criminal investigation research findings and willingness to participate in such research; (2) current or projected innovations in criminal investigation practices and procedures; (3) number and conditions of employment of detectives and their relationship to those of uniformed officers and civilians; (4) organization and structure of criminal investigation services; and (5) the selection, training, promotion, and performance evaluation procedures for detectives. A principal finding of the survey was that a significant proportion of the total investigative effort of each agency involves joint activity with another force or forces. In contemplating future developments and research priorities in the management of criminal investigations, it is important to keep in mind this interagency cooperation. The current organization of criminal investigation service may often not only hamper these interactions but also result in duplication of investigative effort for certain types of crimes. Recognition of such problems has already produced a number of potentially fruitful innovations, including the establishment of the Coordinated Law Enforcement Unit in British Columbia, which uses a combination of municipal, provincial, and Federal resources in the investigation of organized criminal activity on a regional level. This suggests the establishment of similar interagency units to investigate most if not all serious crime, leaving individual forces to handle routine, localized investigations, permitting the redeployment of a substantial proportion of existing criminal investigation resources to other police tasks. Tabular data and 17 references are provided.