Capturing Real Time Decisions and Their Supporting Rationale in High Risk Policing Environments

Capturing Real Time Decisions and Their Supporting Rationale in High Risk Policing Environments

Despite the vast research on decision making in critical incidents, little is known about the recording of decisions made in time constrained and dynamic policing environments. The coronial inquest into the Lindt Cafe siege prompted unprecedented levels of scrutiny into the key decisions made by police commanders in resolving uncertain and complex incidents. Decision capture was identified as an organisational deficiency that transcends most policing jurisdictions in applying an effective structure or approach to enable officers to accurately record their decisions and supporting rationale in high tempo operating environments. This study examines tactical level commanders in an Australian policing jurisdiction to understand the current approaches to decision capture and the influences that impact on the timely and accurate recording of decision information. Drawing on semi-structured interview data from nine police officers, the findings identified a shift from handwritten artefacts towards technological solutions such as body worn cameras and police radio networks to record their decisions. This analysis determined that there was no organisational structure to this recording process and decision information was limited and unlikely to withstand scrutiny if critically reviewed. Based on these findings, the study proposes a concept of a three-tiered decision support mechanism that may assist to provide capacity to improve organisation effectiveness in responsive decision capture.

File reproduced in accordance with the copyright policy of the publisher/author.