Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada no "MSc in Security and Risk Management" (Mestrado em Gestão de Risco e Segurança), do Department of Criminology da University of Leicester, no Reino Unido. Resumo do autor. (*)Ficheiro de 6,49 Mb em PDF.

"Measuring performance in criminal investigation - A knowledge-based activity" (Avaliação de desempenho em investigação criminal - uma actividade baseada no conhecimento). "A escassez de literatura específica de investigação criminal bem como o domínio das teorias clássicas de gestão (quer científicas quer 'behavioristas') na gestão policial têm determinado as práticas correntes dos gestores de polícia criminal. Por outro lado, melhorar os níveis de desempenho investigatório tem sido um objectivo comum às diversas reformas de polícia. Embora avalie a falta de desempenho, este estudo procura testar a aplicabilidade, do paradigma, relativamente recente, da gestão do conhecimento na investigação criminal policial. A diferenciação paradigmática entre o trabalho manual e do conhecimento é testada e incorporada no âmbito das actividades de polícia complexas e de rotina. Os dados empíricos recolhidos mostram a percepção que os gestores de investigação criminal têm das dimensões de desempenho nessa actividade e demonstram as contradições e tensões resultantes das práticas de gestão clássica quando aplicadas a investigadores criminais que têm uma auto-percepção de 'trabalhador do conhecimento'. Por fim, para efeitos de avaliação de desempenho e outros fins, sugere-se uma mudança paradigmática da gestão clássica na investigação criminal para a gestão baseada no conhecimento." Índice: Acknowledgements. Abstract. Abbreviations. Chapter I - Evaluating what performance? 1. Introduction. 2. The problem. 3. The arguments. 4. Opposing paradigms. 5. Study aims and objectives. 5.1 - Study progression. Chapter II - Applying theories. 1. Knowledge management. 1.1. Knowledge in organisations. 1.2. What knowledge? 1.2.1. Individual knowledge. 1.2.1.1. Tacit knowledge. 1.2.2. Knowledge creation. 1.2.3. The role of knowledge - from data to information and intelligence. 1.2.4. Defining knowledge. 1.3. Knowledge-based activities. 1.3.1. Categories within knowledge work. 1.3.2. Knowledge-work productivity concept. 1.4. The knowledge worker. 2. Criminal investigation within policing. 2.1. The criminal investigation process. 2.2. The scientific method in criminal investigations. 2.3. The detective as knowledge worker. 3. Performance assessment. 3.1. Performance in knowledge work 3.2. Performance assessment in policing. 3.2.1. Performance in criminal investigation. 3.3. Contextual setting - the case of the Polícia Judiciária. 3.3.1. Prospects for the new model for performance assessment in Portuguese public services. 4. Concluding note. Chapter III - Criminal investigation in the Portuguese context. 1. A historical synopsis. 1.1. The origins in the 19th century. 1.2. Development after the monarchy. 1.3. Organizational modernity after WWII. 2. Contemporary organizational structure. 3. The Portuguese criminal investigation system. 3.1. The model of functional dependency. 4. The new order in the 21st century. 4.1. Organisational reengineering. 5. The culture of criminal investigation. 5.1. Action from culture. 5.2. The ethnomethodological paradigm. 5.3. Empirical findings. 6. Institutional summation. Chapter IV - Methodology. 1. Introduction. 2. Objectives of the study. 2.1. Aims of the study. 2.2. The questionnaires' and interviews' theoretical framework. 3. Research design. 3.1. Approach to the research. 3.2. Ethical issues. 3.3. Security issues. 3.4. The Likert scale. 3.5. The piloting. 4. The questionnaire. 4.1. The design. 4.2. The limits. 5. The interview. 5.1. The design. 6. The analysis. 6.1. Crossing data. 6.2. Qualitative analysis. 7. Summing up. Chapter V - Findings on criminal investigation management. 1. Profiling the study group. 1.1. Managers of Department of the Polícia Judiciária. 1.1.1. The director's profile. 1.1.1.1. By age, experience and academic qualification. 1.2. The inspector of Polícia Judiciária. 1.2.1. The inspector's profile. 2. Perspectives on criminal investigation. 2.1. Actual investigative performance. 2.2. Adequacy of current performance assessment. 2.3. Importance of performance assessment. 3. Characterizing the activity of criminal investigations. 3.1. The importance of creativity. 3.2. Autonomy versus discipline. 3.3. The importance of self study in criminal investigation. 3.4. Standard measurement in criminal investigation activities. 3.4.1. Criminal investigation activity and its outputs. 3.4.2. Criminal investigation performance indicators. 3.4.3. Who is the client of criminal investigation services. 3.4.4. The client's importance for assessment. 3.5. Performing criminal investigation differently. 3.6. Standard times in criminal investigation. 3.7. The hierarchy in criminal investigation. 4. Criminal investigators' productivity dimensions. 4.1. Quantity. 4.2. Costs. 4.3. Timeliness. 4.4. Autonomy. 4.5. Efficiency. 4.6. Quality. 4.7. Effectiveness. 4.8. Public satisfaction. 4.9. Innovation and creativity. 4.10. Criminal investigation success. 4.11. Responsibility and importance of work. 4.12. The investigators own perception of productivity. 4.13. Absenteeism. 5. The managerial dimension of performance assessment. 5.1. Managing the kind of resources. 5.2. Managing resources in number. 5.3. Designing a operation plan for the next time period. 5.4. Operation function analysis. 5.4.1. The inter-organizational factor. 5.4.2. The creativity factor. 5.4.3. The importance of group-timing. 5.4.4. The importance of independence. 5.4.5. Economy in criminal investigation. 5.4.6. Iindividual procedure analysis. 5.4.7. Assessing by sampling. 6. The analysis. Chapter VI - The investigative task - a knowledge-based activity. 1. Criminal investigation. 1.1. The investigative task - a knowledge-based activity. 2. Investigators as knowledge workers. 2.1. The investigators' scientificity. 2.2. Differentiating investigation from executive policing. 3. Managing criminal investigation. 3.1. Knowledge management in criminal investigation. 3.2. Performance assessment. 3.3. The way forward. 4. Summing up. Chapter VII - Understanding performance measurement. 1. Facts and findings. 2. Recommendations 2.1. Recommendations to improve criminal investigation performance assessment. 2.2. Recommendations for further study/research. 3. Summing up. 4. Concluding remark. Appendices: Formalities; Questionnaire for detectives (Cover letter delivered with the questionnaire; Detectives' questionnaire); Interview for managers. Bibliography.