CRIME SCENE · DO NOT CROSS · CRIME SCENE · DO NOT CROSS
PRINCIPLES OF MANAGEMENT · TOWN HALL
Managing a criminal investigation with POSDCORB
Team Sherlock Avinash Holmes · 6 November 2026
CASE FILE #0417 · 02:13 AM
20+
People who could be involved
1
Officer accountable for all of it
LUTHER GULICK · 1937
P
Planning
O
Organizing
S
Staffing
D
Directing
Co
Coordinating
R
Reporting
B
Budgeting
P
STEP 01 / 07
Definition: deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, and by when, to reach a goal.
Sets the goal (identify, arrest, prove) and the order of tasks to reach it.
Ranks leads by how fast evidence decays, so the perishable ones come first.
Example: seal the store, pull CCTV and note witnesses within the first hour.
Cordon, log every entry, protect evidence
Inside job? Organised gang? Rank the leads
Statements in 24h, forensics in 72h, charge-sheet deadline
O
STEP 02 / 07
Definition: arranging people and tasks into a structure with clear roles and lines of authority.
Divides the case into units, each owning one stream of evidence.
Unity of command: every officer answers to one Investigating Officer.
Example: the field unit hands CCTV clips to tech, not to three different bosses.
Forensics, photos, fingerprints
Witnesses, CCTV, informants
Call records, digital trails
S
STEP 03 / 07
Definition: recruiting, placing and training the right people for each role.
Matches each role to a skill set, not just to whoever is free.
Brings in outside experts when the case needs skills the station lacks.
Example: a cyber analyst traces the stolen phone’s last signal.
Forensic experts, cyber analysts, sketch artists
Pair veterans with new officers
Interview technique, evidence handling
D
STEP 04 / 07
Definition: guiding, motivating and supervising people so the plan gets carried out.
Turns the plan into daily orders that everyone understands.
Makes the hard calls under pressure and owns them.
Example: a morning briefing assigns each team today’s top lead.
Clear orders every morning
Raid now or wait for more proof?
Long nights, dead ends, pressure
Co
STEP 05 / 07
Definition: linking the work of different units so they all move toward one goal.
Keeps every unit on one shared picture of the case.
Links outside bodies: labs, banks, telecoms, prosecutors.
Example: a face from CCTV is matched against a bank’s ATM footage.
Units share leads on one case board
Forensic labs, banks, telecoms, other districts
Prosecutors check evidence will hold in court
R
STEP 06 / 07
Definition: keeping superiors and stakeholders informed through records and reports.
Keeps seniors informed so they can step in early.
Builds the paper trail the court will test line by line.
Example: each evidence handover is signed, timed and logged.
Every step recorded, dated
Who touched which evidence, when
Progress reports to seniors, then charge-sheet
B
STEP 07 / 07
Definition: planning, controlling and accounting for the money the work needs.
Estimates what the case will cost before money runs out.
Puts funds behind the leads most likely to hold up in court.
Example: fund a DNA test on the glove instead of a week of extra patrols.
Lab tests, travel, overtime, surveillance gear
DNA test here or more officers there?
Public money, audited spending
CASE CLOSED?
Which POSDCORB function would you cut first if the case stalled — and what breaks?