Inquiry police officers’ understanding and use of forensic science in the investigation of specialized criminal cases

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine inquiry police officers’ understanding of forensic science and how they used forensic science in the investigation of specialized criminal cases. The participants were 230 police officers responsible for specialized crimes at Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). The surveys were conducted by using questionnaire and interviewing on general topics of forensic Science. Descriptive statistics were obtained for all demographic data and the associations of the data with questionnaire scores were assessed with one-way analysis of variances (ANOVA).The majority of participants were male officers (74.2%) and the mean age of them was in the range of 41-50 years (33.3%). A large number of the officers (69.3%) were graduated with a bachelor degree and 60.4% of the participants were the officers having the ranks within the range of Police Sub - Lieutenant to Police Captain. Nearly half of the participants (47.6%) had the level experience as inquiry officer for 5 to 10 years. The majority of participants reported that they had no prior training in any course of forensic science. However the study revealed that they had a moderate level of understanding of forensic science as suggestions by their average scores. The ANOVA analyzed indicated that the scores were significant different depending on participants ages and on the department that they belonged to. However, there was no association between the scores and gender, education level, work experience or prior training in forensic science. Of participants investing the interview, 114 (50.0%) noted their they needed a training course in forensic science and 144 (64.0%) complained about the increasing workloads in their departments. Finally the findings from this study may have significant implications for CIB management and planning.