ABSTRACT
In this chapter we explore four dimensions of the management, supervision and oversight of criminal investigations: the co-ordination of the elements and processes of an investigation; the supervision and leadership of police officers and staff conducting an investigation; performance management; and the forms of oversight of criminal investigations. These four areas have been chosen because we consider them to be particularly pertinent to a basic, descriptive understanding of this topic and because they provide a framework for analysis which enables us to highlight what we consider to be the important, emerging trends in the management of investigations. What ostensibly appears to be (and has often been discussed in the literature as) mere bureaucratic or managerial change in fact has significant implications for the governance and conduct of policing and reflects broader trends within policing which are discussed throughout this volume.
