A major difference between Criminal Investigation: A Practitioner's Approach by Ernie Dorling and many of the other fine introductory books on criminal investigation is that this book aims to aid the student in walking and building the foundation of basic knowledge necessary to pursue a more advanced study of this topic.
Criminal Investigation: A Practitioner's Approach takes a unique approach to teaching the subject of criminal investigation. Written in quasinovel format, students will learn the basic principles of criminal investigation through character dialogue. At the end of each Chapter, there are, in most cases, questions for discussion and exercises. The exercises are designed to have the students inject themselves into the investigation by completing certain tasks that may or may not further the investigation.
Criminal Investigation: A Practitioner's Approach guides students through an analytical thinking process both through the dialogue of its characters and through the Discussion Questions and Exercises found at the end of each Chapter. In most cases, these discussion questions allow the student and instructor to delve more deeply into the evidence and the case being presented. The exercises, in a number of instances, allow the student to actually inject themselves into the investigative process in order to move the investigation along. Hopefully, the students and instructors will find this approach to be one that makes learning fun.