Crime scene investigation is one of the most important steps for the investigation and trial process. The crime scene can provide lots of clues such as physical evidence, modus operandi, etc., which helps an investigator find links to the suspect. Crime scene investigators’ ability to collect evidence and assess crime scenes could help the investigator solve crime efficiently and accurately. There are currently few studies about investigative thinking and decision making during crime scene investigation. The aim of this research is to compare investigative thinking of experts and novices through interview and eye tracking data.
In this study we use omnidirectional camera to scan the criminal scene in order to construct the virtual reality (VR) scenario. Forty-eight participants were recruited from Central Police University and other forensic departments, categorized as experts or trained novices based on their practical experience. The expert and novice investigators wore the VR headset with eye trackers and their investigation strategies were compared in simulated crime scenes from eye tracking data of gaze plot and heat map and hotspot gaze. The participants were interviewed for their investigative and logical thinking during the simulated crime scene investigation.
The results show that the experts searched for evidence more efficiently than the novices because of their prior experience, while making deductions from the crime scenes more conservatively. Finally, we suggest that VR system with eye tracking could be a useful tool for investigators’ training in assessing the crime scene.