Chapter 5 - Expert Reasoning in Crime Investigation

Summary

Chapter 5 examines expert reasoning, with a focus on detectives solving murder cases. I introduce the data-frame theory of sensemaking, which argues that experts and novices share the same modes of reasoning, both relying heavily on causal models and simulation, but with experts using richer models informed by their experience and training. We also see how detectives use specialist knowledge and organizing structures, including chronologies, crime typologies and legal scripts, all attuned to the investigative context. Finally, I argue that most research on crime investigation focuses on how investigators explain evidence, but it gives us few details about how investigators evaluate complex evidence.