Studies by Innes (2002) and Bacon (2013) provide excellent insight into the practice of criminal investigation in their real world context. Although they focus on types of crime (homicide and drug crime respectively) that are not necessarily representative of more general investigations they illustrate very effectively that detective work is socially and culturally determined to a significant extent.

Pepper (2005) and Stelfox (2009) offer accessible and authoritative guides to the practices and principles of crime investigation.

Button (2011) and Walsh and Milne (2007) are good sources to develop an under­standing of the investigation of fraud by a host of public and private sector agencies. In addition to establishing the extent and historical development of these practices these sources also consider the implications that such investigations have in terms of legitimacy, principles of justice and accountability.

The National Crime Agency plays an important role in terms of developing and professionalising police investigative practice, and more information can be found at: www.gov.uk/government/policies/reducing-and-preventing-crime--2.

Information about efforts to investigate fraud within the National Health Service can be found at: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Protect.aspx.

A history of the Criminal Investigation Department within the Metropolitan Police and a range of material relating to the investigation of high-profile cases from history can be found via the Met’s website, at https://www.met.police.uk/

An overview of key strategies and the development of police investigations can be found in: Burrows, J. and Tarling, R. (1987) ‘The Investigation of Crime in England and Wales’, British Journal of Criminology, 27: 229–51.

Button examines strategies and limitations in the investigation of fraud: Button, M. (2011) ‘Fraud Investigation and the “Flawed Architecture” of Counter Fraud Entities in the United Kingdom’, International Journal of Law, Crime and Justice, 39: 249–65.

The changing context of forensic science in criminal investigations is reviewed in: Lawless, C.J. (2011) ‘Policing Markets: The Contested Shaping of Neo-Liberal Forensic Science’, British Journal of Criminology, 51: 671–89.

The use of CCTV and its impact on crime and the conduct of investigations is reviewed by Waples, Gill and Fisher who conclude that spatial displacement does occur but only infrequently: Waples, S., Gill, M. and Fisher, S. (2009) ‘Does CCTV Displace Crime?’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, 9: 207–24.