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Long-term needs, long-term access? Major crime recordkeeping and the information needs of individuals bereaved by homicide

Benton, Lauren; Sexton, Anna; (2024) Long-term needs, long-term access? Major crime recordkeeping and the information needs of individuals bereaved by homicide. Journal of Documentation 10.1108/jd-04-2024-0075. (In press). Green open access

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Abstract

Purpose: The article presents research on the long-term information needs of homicide bereaved individuals in the context of record-keeping practice within Major Crime Units (MCU) in England. The research objectives were to: (1) identify the long-term information needs of individuals bereaved by homicide; (2) establish MCU officer perceptions on the provision of information to individuals bereaved by homicide; (3) establish the current practice of MCU officers in managing and providing access to homicide records and (4) explore the capability of current recordkeeping practice to move beyond the use of homicide records for their primary “policing” purpose. / Design/methodology/approach: The research objectives were met by combining findings from a literature review across policing, bereavement, death, victimology, criminology, records management and archival studies with results from a singular interview-based study with officers at the Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire Major Crime Unit (BHCMCU). / Findings: The findings indicate that the long-term information needs of homicide bereaved individuals are ill-served by the current police recordkeeping framework which provides them with little involvement in record-keeping decision-making and limited long-term access to the information required for sensemaking/adaption in a post-homicide world. In this context, the research demonstrates a long term need for: (1) information access; (2) support for access; (3) a direct and personalised information access service and (4) trauma-informed and victim/survivor centred practice in police recordkeeping contexts. / Originality/value: The research addresses a major gap across disciplinary research literature in its focus on the ways investigative information is disclosed by the police to the bereaved following case closure.

Type: Article
Title: Long-term needs, long-term access? Major crime recordkeeping and the information needs of individuals bereaved by homicide
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1108/jd-04-2024-0075
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1108/jd-04-2024-0075
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Homicide, Bereavement, Records, Archives, Information, Access
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Dept of Information Studies
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10195804
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