Information Behavior of Taiwanese Internal Investigation Police Officers

Abstract

This research explored how Taiwanese internal investigation police officers investigate cases and seek information. The tasks performed by internal investigation police officers are more difficult than those allocated to other officers, because internal investigation officers are investigating colleagues. This study examined the information sources that are available to internal investigation police officers, as well as how the officers analyze collected information. In-depth interviews with eight officers who have held their current positions for between 8 months and 3 years revealed that the main information sources used by the officers were their peer officers, informants, the Internet, personal profile, wiretapping, and surveillance. For each case, the information sources varied according to the stage of investigation. The financial status, keywords used in conversation, daily habits, and some behaviors were the primary information sources when the officers analyzed the collected information. Five factors were identified as contributing to their information barriers: language, laws and regulations, equipment, human resources, and psychological factors. Our observations indicate that police officers have unique information behaviors and sources.

Keywords

• internal investigation police officer
• information behavior
• information barriers
• information source
• investigation process