Advanced Decision Making

Advanced Information Gathering & Decision Making

The major task of a police investigation is typically to collect, asses and utilize a great variety of sources of information that provide accounts of crime. Closely related to the process of information retrieval is the decision making that follows. The main challenge to investigators is to make important decisions. A lot of information, much of which may be of unknown reliability, needs to be amassed and digested. The general literature in decision making psychology shows us that these are conditions that may lead to biases in thought processes, and consequently decision making. Recognition of the potential for these problems can lead to the development of procedures to reduce their likelihood. Current training focuses on investigators as decision makers, with the aim of highlighting how the perception of information can influence the decision making process. Training on this topic currently focuses on achieving Evidence Based Practice through process and context informed decision making, including the internal cognitive processes of the decision maker as the primary point of focus in any decision making context, and the external situation i.e. crime scene analysis.​

This course aims to highlight how we may apply psychology to the area of decision making as applied to analyzing crime scenes, and will introduce participants to the importance of Evidence Led Practice.

This will be done with particular emphasis on three key areas: 

  • Understanding the importance of being an informed decision maker, in terms of how the brain impacts how we see and interpret information
  • Analyzing the behavior of the offender at the crime scene and determining what are the most important factors to focus on, and why, and
  • Analyzing the behavior of the offender when they commit crimes over time, as a series, and focusing on what factors are the most important to focus on to link crime scenes

Individually tailored 1-day and 2-day workshops provided for organizations. For more information, please contact us: IP_info@jjay.cuny.edu