Accelerating professional judgement and decision making expertise in crime scene examination: Feedback and scenario-based training

This report highlights the crucial role of Scene Examination within the Forensic Services offered by the Scottish Police Authority, and the importance of Professional Judgement and Decision Making expertise within a skilled workforce. The use of Applied Cognitive Task Analysis allowed for illumination and provision of feedback on the thought processes of experienced Scene Examiners, including detailed observable information about actions taken, situation assessment, and use of critical cues. This information could have a range of operational uses, and be a valuable addition to existing training. A scenario-based training tool was also devised to provide exemplar responses to a complex and serious crime scene scenario from Scene Examiners in the East, West and North regions of Scotland. This is an exemplar of the type of training tools that could be generated as part of a wider expertise-based training environment. Implicit findings indicated the potential to move training towards a more adaptive expertise base, with consequent gains for the quality of service, together with a more flexible and adaptable workforce. Once developed and established, this Community of Practice approach would effectively support human performance in these incredibly high stakes environments, and be cost neutral to the organisation.