If investigations are not thorough or accurate there are three possible outcomes: 1) the crime goes unsolved; 2) the police gather only enough evidence to arrest the correct perpetrator—but stop short of gathering enough to make a successful case—and the prosecution fails; 3) the police arrest the wrong person, who may well be wrongly prosecuted and convicted. Each outcome only exacerbates the hurt to victims and communities that have suffered, and continue to suffer, violence. D. Kim Rossmo, Criminal Investigative Failures, CRC Press 2008.
IPNO believes that well-trained and resourced detectives armed with state-of-the art crime solving techniques, knowledge of best evidence practices, and supported by agencies and political entities that value accuracy over numbers, provide a critical community-wide service.
IPNO advocates for policies that re-direct resources from over-policing of poor and marginalized communities and instead directs them to training and supporting excellent investigative divisions within law enforcement.
IPNO believes in rigorous, rounded training for detectives and their supervisors to give them the tools they need to accurately solve violent crime.
IPNO advocates for increased and ongoing training for detectives on best practices for complete, thorough and accurate investigations.
To that end, since 2016, IPNO has partnered with the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) to bring a unique detectives training program to new and seasoned detectives: a training designed to use lessons from past investigative failures to improve the accuracy of future investigations. We have worked with over 300 detectives to date. And in March 2018, IPNO partnered with the City of New Orleans to host a national first: a symposium for NOPD commanders on best practices for major incident investigation.
Read more on the detectives training here and here.