Samenvatting

In many police investigations, a psychic turns up to help the investigation with his ‘extraordinary knowledge’ of the crime and the crime scene. Little is known about how the Dutch police deals with psychics and their information. We conducted research into this phenomenon through interviews with experts, a review of the legal literature and an online questionnaire for police practitioners. Although a guideline by the public prosecutor’s office states that psychics are not to be consulted without permission, most police practitioners are not aware of this guideline. At the moment, little is known about the actual use of information of psychics in police investigations.