Characteristics of effective SIOs: a content analysis for management in police investigations

The Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) is in charge of a criminal investigation in law enforcement. As the leader of a crime solving project, it has been argued that the SIO need investigative ability, crime knowledge as well as management skills. An empirical study in Norway was conducted, indicating that management skills are more important than crime knowledge and investigative ability. Furthermore, among management roles, the motivating role of personnel leader was found to be most important for effective SIOs.