In episode 132, we speak with Professor Fiona Brookman about what homicide investigations actually look like behind the scenes. Popular culture often portrays murder investigations as straightforward exercises in forensic science, but Professor Brookman’s research reveals a far more complex process of interpretation, uncertainty, and storytelling. Drawing on her ethnographic research inside live homicide investigations, we discuss how detectives use CCTV footage, why forensic evidence never “speaks for itself,” and how investigators construct narratives that ultimately shape courtroom outcomes. Along the way, we explore the promise and pitfalls of modern forensic technologies—and what they reveal about how truth is built within the criminal justice system.
Fiona Brookman is a Professor of Criminology at the Centre for Criminology at the University of South Wales. She is one of the leading researchers on homicide investigation in the UK, with a body of work that spans offender narratives, detective decision-making, and the use of forensic science and technology in criminal investigations. She has conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork inside live homicide investigations, giving her rare and extraordinary access to how these cases actually unfold.
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Below are the papers authored by Fiona that were
discussed in this episode of The Crim Academy:
Brookman, F., & Jones, H. (2022). Capturing killers: the construction of CCTV evidence during homicide investigations. Policing and society, 32(2), 125-144.
Brookman, F., Jones, H., Williams, R., & Fraser, J. (2022). Crafting credible homicide narratives: Forensic technoscience in contemporary criminal investigations. Deviant behavior, 43(3), 340-366.