Logical Investigative Methods

All too often, professional investigations fail because those involved jump to conclusions and draw faulty premises that leave the trail cold. Correct conclusions are not the result of guessing, but by applying efficient thought processes. Logical Investigative Methods: Critical Thinking and Reasoning for Successful Investigations is designed to help investigators, detectives, special agents, and prosecutors avoid assumptions and false premises by using logic, reasoning, critical thinking, and the scientific method in their investigations.

Topics covered in this text include:

Finding facts instead of making assumptionsUnderstanding how our cognitive skills can affect investigationsUsing philosophy and logic to come to proper conclusions and probable inferencesUsing critical thinking and logical reasoning effectivelyOutlining the criminal investigation skills required of detectives and investigatorsProfiling to analyze personality types and to interpret artifacts of a crime sceneInterviewing, interrogation, and detecting deceptionUsing tools to analyze and graphically display organized, understandable information about complex crimesDocumenting and presenting a case using all of the tools learned

This organized text of methods, practices, techniques, and tactics provides concrete instruction that can be applied to any investigation. By learning to become trained observers who make logical inferences from their observations, users of this text can effectively streamline their investigations for a successful result.