ABSTRACT
A criminal investigator is a person who collects facts to accomplish a threefold aim: to identify and locate the guilty party and to provide evidence of his or her guilt (O’Hara & O’Hara, 1988). Investigators, be they law enforcement or child protective social workers, should endeavor to enter an investigation with a commitment to collect those facts and seek the truth. However, investigative bias can occur in any investigation in which investigators form early opinions about suspects and witnesses. Once an opinion or hypothesis of the guilt or innocence of a suspect is made, confirmatory bias can result when investigators only seek to confirm what they already believe to be true or only accept information that tends to support their theory.
