Detective workload and opportunities for increased productivity in criminal investigations

Much of what we know about detective work has been derived from the Rand report, a collection of scholarly articles that are now over three decades old. Studies concerned with detectives since Rand have been rare; however this line of research has identified opportunities to increase detective productivity through more effective workload management and the implementation of non‐traditional tactics and strategies. Still, the most recent evidence shows that detective work has remained essentially unchanged over time, and that workload‐related constraints continue to hamper detective productivity. The present study uses information derived from a workload analysis of detectives to: (1) provide more comprehensive data regarding how detectives spend their time on shift; and (2) explore opportunities to increase detective productivity that are evident in the workload data.