Police personnel as eyewitnesses to a violent crime
Purpose. The aim of this study was to explore whether police personnel are more correct in their observations of a violent crime in comparison to civilians. It was hypothesized that if policemen have a talent for and interest in observation, recruits and experienced police officers should be more ac...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Contributors: | ; |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
1998
|
| In: |
Legal and criminological psychology
Year: 1998, Volume: 3, Issue: 1, Pages: 59-72 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Summary: | Purpose. The aim of this study was to explore whether police personnel are more correct in their observations of a violent crime in comparison to civilians. It was hypothesized that if policemen have a talent for and interest in observation, recruits and experienced police officers should be more accurate than civilians (the selection for admittance hypothesis). Alternatively, if policemen during their education and experience as police officers, improve their ability for observation, then police personnel should perform better than recruits and civilians (the hypothesis of professionalization). Methods. Sixty-one university students, 31 teachers, 60 police recruits and 59 police officers with at least three years' professional experience were presented with a series of slides depicting a simulated crime (a woman going for a walk in a park and eventually being assaulted by a man with a knife). After the presentation of the slides, the four groups were tested on what they remembered of different aspects of the crime and their ability to recognize the perpetrator. Results. The overall results showed that police officers were more accurate at remembering details of the crime than police recruits, civilian students, and teachers. This difference was not related to age, general working experience, or a better memory capacity per se among the police officers. Conclusions. It is suggested that police officers, on the basis of their professional knowledge and experience of violent crime events, might have acquired an improved ability to sort out and analyse information from a crime-relevant situation. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 2044-8333 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/j.2044-8333.1998.tb00351.x |