RT Article
T1 Capturing killers: the construction of CCTV evidence during homicide investigations
JF Policing and society
VO 32
IS 2
SP 125
OP 144
A1 Brookman, Fiona
A1 Jones, Helen
LA English
YR 2022
UL https://krimdok.uni-tuebingen.de/Record/1789486882
AB Drawing upon quantitative and qualitative data gathered during a four-year ethnographic study of 44 British homicide investigations, this paper advances the sparse literature on how closed-circuit television (CCTV) contributes to criminal investigations and the risks associated with its use. Based on insights gleaned from interviews with homicide detectives, analysis of case files and observations of live homicide investigations, we examine how CCTV is used during homicide investigations focusing principally on two key investigative moments – identifying and charging suspects. Our quantitative data indicate that CCTV is used more frequently than any other kind of forensic science or technology to both identify and charge suspects. Nevertheless, our qualitative data reveal numerous challenges associated with how CCTV footage is recovered, viewed, shared, interpreted and packaged for court. We reveal the individual and organisational processes and workarounds that have emerged in a socio-technical landscape that lacks clear standards and principles. We discuss the implications of these findings for practice and policy and their relevance to questions about the socially constructed nature of forensic scientific knowledge.
K1 Expert evidence
K1 Interpretation
K1 CCTV
K1 Homicide investigation
DO 10.1080/10439463.2021.1879075