Objective

To examine the impact of an investigative checklist on evidence collection by police officers responding to a routine burglary investigation.

Methods

A randomized control trial was conducted in virtual reality to test the effectiveness of an investigative checklist. Officers in the randomly assigned treatment group (n = 25) were provided with a checklist during the simulated investigation. Officers in the control group (n = 26) did not have access to the checklist at any time. The checklist included five evidence items commonly associated with burglary investigations.

Results

Officers who were randomly provided with an investigative checklist were significantly more likely to collect two evidence items located outside of the virtual victim’s home. Both treatment and control officers were about equally as likely to collect three evidence items located inside the residence.

Conclusions

Investigative checklists represent a promising new tool officers can use to improve evidence collection during routine investigations. More research is needed, however, to determine whether checklists improve evidence collection or case clearances in real-life settings. Virtual reality simulations provide a promising tool for collecting data in otherwise difficult or complex situations to simulate.

中文翻译：

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初步调查期间清单对证据收集的影响：虚拟现实中的随机对照试验

客观的

研究调查清单对警察应对例行盗窃调查的证据收集的影响。

方法

在虚拟现实中进行了一项随机对照试验，以测试调查清单的有效性。在模拟调查期间，向随机分配的治疗组（n = 25）中的警官提供了一份清单。对照组（n = 26）的官员无法随时查看清单。该清单包括通常与入室盗窃调查相关的五个证据项目。

结果

随机提供调查清单的警官更有可能收集位于虚拟受害者家外的两个证据项目。治疗人员和控制人员收集位于住所内的三件证据的可能性大致相同。

结论

调查清单是一种很有前途的新工具，官员们可以用它来改善例行调查期间的证据收集。然而，需要更多的研究来确定清单是否可以改善现实生活中的证据收集或案件清理。虚拟现实模拟提供了一种很有前景的工具，可以在困难或复杂的情况下收集数据进行模拟。