ABSTRACT

Drawing upon qualitative data gathered during a four-year ethnographic study of homicide investigation in Britain, this paper explores how detectives, scientists, and other experts use findings from forensic sciences and technologies (FSTs) when constructing and modifying pre-trial homicide narratives. We consider how these narratives unfold from the earliest moments of the investigation and are told and re-told, as they are assembled into one coherent narrative fit for elocution in criminal court. We explore the embedding of findings from FSTs into narrative; the attention given to narrating character, motive, and intent; the use of narrative shifts to accommodate unwelcome findings from FSTs; attempts to deal with ambiguity during narrative creation; and, crucially, the reciprocal relationship between narrative and evidence. We suggest that narratives, such as those that we examine, are not mere chronologies, but the artful products of coordinated professional practice. Our research suggests that illuminating the origins and unfolding of such narratives during criminal investigation is as important as recording their final polished deployment within the theater of the courtroom.

摘要

本文利用在英国对凶杀案调查进行的为期四年的民族志研究中收集的定性数据，探讨侦探、科学家和其他专家在构建和修改审前凶杀案叙述时如何利用法医科学和技术 (FST) 的发现。我们考虑这些叙述是如何从调查的最初时刻展开的，并被讲述和重新讲述，因为它们被组装成一个适合在刑事法庭上进行阐述的连贯叙述。我们探索将 FST 的发现嵌入到叙述中；对叙述人物、动机和意图的关注；使用叙事转变来适应 FST 不受欢迎的发现；尝试在叙事创作过程中处理歧义；至关重要的是，叙述和证据之间的相互关系。我们建议叙述，例如我们所研究的叙述，不仅仅是年表，而是协调专业实践的巧妙产物。我们的研究表明，在刑事调查期间阐明此类叙述的起源和展开与记录它们在法庭剧场内的最终完美部署同样重要。