A sensemaking tool called AVERs was developed to aid the crime analysis process. Using this tool crime analysts are able to create visual representations of plausible scenarios about what might have happened in a case and their relation to the evidence. Thus, it allows them to reason about scenarios and to critically evaluate them.
The application implements a rationally well-founded and natural model of the reasoning that takes place in crime analysis. In this way a standard of rational reasoning is encouraged and errors may be reduced. Studies indicate that the developed tool is useful to crime analysts and satisfies their desires, while it may improve their analysis of the case and the communication of their results to the investigators working on the case, and ensures that rational analyses are performed. Therefore, through this software in the future biases in the crime analysis process may be avoided.
New software can prevent mistakes in detective work. At present, the police still make unnecessary mistakes when collecting and analysing evidence, which sometimes results in miscarriages of justice. Dutch researcher Susan van den Braak has developed a computer program that can help to prevent such blunders.
Crime investigation is a difficult and laborious process that is prone to error and the costs of mistakes can be high. This project will develop software support to tackle two problems that often occur in complex criminal cases: lack of overview of a mass of evidence by initial investigators and lack of transparency of case files for subsequent investigators, prosecutors and fact finders.
A demonstrator prototype will be developed of software with which crime investigators can visualize and analyse their reasoning about a case. Such software will support investigators in seeing patterns, discovering new relationships or inconsistencies, and identifying missing evidence. It will also enable subsequent investigators, prosecutors and fact finders to gain a better understanding of a case. The software will be built as an extension to evidence data modelling software currently used in six Dutch police regions. The effects of the software on an investigator's understanding of a case and the quality of file transfer will be measured in detailed user experiments.
investigators can structure the gathered information is through stories about what happened, linked to the available evidence and hypotheses with evidential arguments. These insights will be further developed and made precise by clarifying how stories can be anchored in the available evidence by building arguments with general knowledge. Thus the necessary theoretical foundations will be provided for software that is theoretically sound and respects the practical constraints of crime investigation.