Planning ahead? An exploratory study of South Korean Investigators' beliefs about their planning for investigative interviews of suspects.

Preparation and planning has been argued to be vitally important as to how effectively investigators undertake their interviews with suspects. Yet it has also been found in previous research that investigators admit that they plan only occasionally, often attributing insufficient time as reason for not undertaking the task. Employing a novel research paradigm that utilized theoretical foundations concerning planning, the present study explored empirically 95 South Korean financial crime investigators’ views, using a self-administered questionnaire. Through the use of second generation statistical modelling, an understanding was developed of the relative relationships between various concepts (which had themselves emerged from an established theoretical framework of planning that had been further extended to accommodate the context of the present study) The study found that perceived time pressures actually showed a very low association with interview planning. Rather, investigators self-belief as to their own capability alongside workplace culture were each found to have stronger associations with investigators’ intentions to plan for their interviews. As such, we argue that there should be more focus on improving occupational culture relating to interview planning, while developing training programs that identify, evaluate and enhance investigators’ planning skills. Implications for practice are therefore discussed.

Preparation and planning has been argued to be vitally important as to how effectively
investigators undertake their interviews with suspects. Yet it has also been found in previous
research that investigators admit that they plan only occasionally, often attributing insufficient
time as reason for not undertaking the task. Employing a novel research paradigm that utilized
theoretical foundations concerning planning, the present study explored empirically 95 South
Korean financial crime investigators’ views, using a self-administered questionnaire. Through
the use of second generation statistical modelling, an understanding was developed of the
relative relationships between various concepts (which had themselves emerged from an
established theoretical framework of planning that had been further extended to accommodate
the context of the present study)
The study found that perceived time pressures actually showed a very low association with
interview planning. Rather, investigators self-belief as to their own capability alongside
workplace culture were each found to have stronger associations with investigators’ intentions
to plan for their interviews. As such, we argue that there should be more focus on improving
occupational culture relating to interview planning, while developing training programs that
identify, evaluate and enhance investigators’ planning skills. Implications for practice are
therefore discussed.