The concepts and strategies outlined in this book are invaluable for helping to accomplish an investigator's primary objective: 'find the truth.' For those of us who care deeply about investigative excellence and justice, particularly police investigators,this book is a 'must read.

Authored by a 21-year police veteran and university research professor, Criminal Investigative Failures comprehensively defines and discusses the causes and problems most common to failed investigations. More importantly, it outlines realistic strategies for avoiding investigative pitfalls.

Illuminated with case studies, this practical resource examines three main reasons for investigative failure:

· Cognitive biases, such as tunnel vision, that lead to mistakes in reasoning

· Organizational traps, such as groupthink, that investigators fall prey to within their agencies

· Probability errors, such as the prosecutor's fallacy, in forensic science and criminal profiling

Authoritative contributors from a variety of disciplines elaborate on the aforementioned core points with commentary and case studies of well-known crimes. This no-nonsense volume also:

· Outlines logical mistakes even the best investigators can make

· Discusses the dangers of assumptions and organizational ego

· Analyzes what went wrong in several famous criminal cases

· Discusses strategies to minimize the risk of a criminal investigative failure

Written in a quick-to-grasp style, this useful text provides practical advice for avoiding investigative failures. It is an invaluable reference for investigators looking to prevent future failures of justice and find the truth.

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

The Author

Contributors

PART I THE BASICS

1  Introduction

D. KIM ROSSMO

2  Cognitive Biases: Perception, Intuition, and

Tunnel Vision

D. KIM ROSSMO

3  Organizational Traps: Groupthink,

Rumor, and Ego

D. KIM ROSSMO

4  Errors in Probability: Chance and Randomness

in Forensics and Profiling

D. KIM ROSSMO

PART II COGNITIVE BIASES

5  Cognitive Biases in Human Perception,

Judgment, and Decision Making: Bridging

Theory and the Real World

ITIEL E. DROR AND PETER A. F. FRASER-MACKENZIE

6  Bounded Rationality and Criminal

Investigations: Has Tunnel Vision Been

Wrongfully Convicted?

BRENT SNOOK AND RICHARD M. CULLEN

7  On the Horns of a Narrative: Judgment,

Heuristics, and Biases in Criminal

Investigation

DAVID STUBBINS AND NELSON STUBBINS

PART III CASE STUDIES

8 Who Killed Stephanie Crowe?

GREGG O. MCCRARY

9  Milgaard v. The Queen: Understanding a

Wrongful Conviction for Sexual Homicide

NEIL BOYD AND D. KIM ROSSMO

10  A False Confession to Murder in

Washington, D.C.

JAMES TRAINUM AND DIANA M. HAVLIN

11  What Happened to Theresa Allore?

JOHN ALLORE AND PATRICIA PEARSON

12  Wrongful Innocence Claims: Roger

Coleman and Benjamin LaGuer

D. KIM ROSSMO

PART IV RECOMMENDATIONS

13  How Police Departments Can Reduce

the Risk of Wrongful Convictions

DOUG A. LEPARD AND ELIZABETH CAMPBELL

14  Reducing Investigative Failures through

Effective Major Case Leadership

JOHN C. HOUSE, JOSEPH EASTWOOD,

AND BRENT SNOOK

15  Necropsies and the Cold Case

JASON ROACH AND KEN PEASE

16  Recommendations and Conclusion

D. KIM ROSSMO

Bibliography

Index