A study combining interviews and the repertory grid analyses explored Turkish investigators’ views on what it takes to be an effective investigator. Experienced Turkish police officers (n = 286) from seven different cities dealing with high-harm, low-volume crime investigations were asked to describe what differentiates the effective investigator from the less effective one. A total of 1,819 skills, abilities and personal characteristics (SACs) described could be clustered under three main categories, namely “personality and general knowledge”, “investigative and analytical abilities” and “management and cooperation skills”. A vast majority of SACs identified were quite unspecific and provided only a general indication of a relatively low ability to describe the deeper and underlying functions involved in the job. They view their job mostly as a form of art which can only be mastered through mentorship and job experience. In this study, the variety and vastness of skills, abilities and characteristic in the data indicate that the investigators seem to acknowledge the complexity and the difficulty of modern-day criminal investigations. Thus, we reached inferences from the findings, and they are discussed in relation to levels of professionalism, strategic staff management and previous research from other cultures and jurisdictions. The findings of this research can assist with the development of a cross-cultural and cross-jurisdictional and evidence-based policy for the selection and development of investigators.

The dark web is creating difficulties for traditional policing. Previous studies have focused on users, but very little is known about law enforcement dealing with the core challenge of Anonymity Communication Networks: absent and anonymous suspects whose locations and identities are effectively hidden behind encryption. Based on 14 interviews with Dutch police officers and public prosecutors, enriched with a media analysis of 45 Dutch newspaper articles, we come to a model of Dutch law enforcement dealing with Tor cases. We observe that the police are adapting to the new reality of Tor use. However, they still work within their set framework which does not always match the needs for policing Tor cases. We additionally note a more prominent place for the strategy of disruption which may create the need for additional legal grounds.