Understanding the Workload of Police Investigators: a Human Factors Approach

Abstract

Criminal investigative work entails a diverse array of tasks and responsibilities, ranging from interviewing suspects and victims to managing the paperwork and necessary follow-ups for each case. The present study sought to evaluate the workload and workload impacts of police investigators in a metropolitan police agency. The NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX), a well-established human factor measure of workload, was administered on 759 investigators as a quantitative measure of workload. Subsequently, 49 investigators participated in focus group discussions to provide deeper insight into their workload experiences. The results indicate that police investigators reported a markedly high level of workload when compared to similar human factor studies in the literature. Findings of the focus group discussions attributed the perceived high workload to various contributors such as operational challenges, dealing with the public and external agencies, as well as organisational challenges. Interventions to manage the heavy workload were discussed. The human factors approach can be a suggested approach to understand the task load of police officers.