ABSTRACT
The structures and processes that were discussed in the previous chapter have been designed to provide some form of common framework to criminal investigations, regardless of the type of crime committed; although the work of Innes (2003) and Carson (2007) and many others illustrates the subtle differences between different criminal investigations. Furthermore, it was also noted that, whilst the structure and regulatory system of criminal investigations is quite rigid, it is flexible enough to allow for the numerous vagaries that could occur during the course of an investigation. Flexibility in investigative practice is crucial for another reason: the core task for those investigating a crime event is to find out what has happened and who the victims and offenders are. In order to do this, investigators reconstruct the crime by gathering bits of information, similar to putting together a 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle. They try to figure out what has happened and get as close to the truth as they can; but, unfortunately, a crime jigsaw puzzle has numerous pieces missing from the box. The remaining pieces are scattered across different areas and need to be identified, collected and interpreted before a reconstructed narrative of the event or events is presented in court. This is all achieved through what Innes calls information work (Innes, 2003:113); and what links the police investigator, crime scene examiner, forensic scientist and legal agencies to these processes is information work. However, despite this link, each of these roles involves its own organisational cultural artefacts and processes; for instance, the investigator is usually a police officer, who operates within an organisational and regulatory framework (see Chapters 5 and 6), whilst the forensic scientist has a completely different perspective and set of practices (see Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 10). Regardless of any organisational differences, there has developed some common ground between the different individuals who are involved in the investigation of crime. This chapter is about that common purpose – the undertaking of information work.
