Citation

Morling NR, Henneberg ML. Int. J. Law Crime Justice 2020; 62: e100406.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.ijlcj.2020.100406

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In sudden or unexpected deaths, there is a need to identify whether or not the death resulted from a criminal act. Adding evidentiary problems associated with fire and arson to this further complicates the investigation. A multi-agency approach with an open exchange of information is recommended, though the use of unrestrictive contextual information is problematic. Extraneous contextual information may introduce bias into the investigative process, risking flawed decision-making, and fatal fires may be particularly vulnerable to this. The authors examine the effect of cognitive bias on fire investigation and argue that, in fatal fire investigations, the sharing of contextual information should involve the use of strict information management strategies to ensure that forensic experts only receive task-relevant contextual information.

Language: en

Keywords

Case-manager approach; Cognitive bias; Decision-making; Fatal fires; Linear sequential unmasking; Scientific protocols