Intuition In Investigations
by Nancy Rosanoff

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At a recent conference for Adult Protective Service Workers, I was privileged to present a keynote and workshop on how intuition fits in the investigative process. The dedication of the social service workers and detectives who devote themselves to uncovering the truth and serving their clients in a field that receives little recognition and requires long hours was quite impressive. In preparing for the workshop, several case workers shared first hand how they use their intuition on-the-job.

One social worker commented that when he follows his hunches, he saves time, and saving time can save lives. Another told the following story of how she used her intuition to follow-up on a case: An anonymous call came in reporting an elderly man having wild parties. I visited and discovered an immaculate house, extremely well cared for with a distinguished gentleman taking very good care of his ill wife. Professional care and household help was plentiful - it was clear that money was not an issue here, nor was politeness. He invited me in and answered all of my questions.

The logical conclusion was that the original call was a prank or from someone who did not like this man. As I left, something didn`t feel right to me. I decided to go back that night. I was amazed when I saw a wild party going on , with the distinguished, elderly gentleman performing sex acts with young boys in front of his ill wife. There was a subsequent arrest and a prosecution because of follow up on an intuitive hunch.
This was just one of several dramatic stories which describe the important role intuition plays in investigation.

When investigating anything, put your intuition to work by:

• letting intuition act as a flashlight - indicating where to look &
  what to do - not to draw conclusions
• using intuition as internal evidence - look for congruency between
  what is discovered as external evidence and your internal evidence
• knowing that intuition thrives on little or no information - don`t
  give up when you can`t see the big picture - follow the trail that
  grabs you - whether logical or not