Date of Conferral
2022
Degree
Ph.D.
School
Public Policy and Administration
Advisor
Karen Shafer
Abstract
Wrongful prosecutions for the crime of arson are occurring. An identified cause of this problem is the investigation processes used by public fire investigators. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to identify the targeted behaviors that influence public fire investigators when conducting fire scene investigation. Street-level bureaucracy theory indicates public fire investigators are street-level bureaucrats (SLBs). The intent of this study was to identify behavioral interventions that can be implemented to aid public fire investigators in their approach to fire scene investigation. Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 10 public fire investigators in a metropolitan area in the state of Georgia to collect data. Inductive reasoning was used to code theoretical domains framework constructs, resulting in emergent themes that produced behaviors identified in the COM-B model. Predominant themes of the COM-B model were cross referenced with the behavior change wheel for suggested behavioral interventions, thus answering the research question. By targeting these identified behaviors, policy writers and implementers can identify and develop new policy interventions, resulting in a social change mechanism for fire scene investigation to help eliminate wrongful prosecution.
Recommended Citation
Bradshaw, Kyle R., "Georgia Public Fire Investigators’ Behavioral Approach to Fire Scene Investigation" (2022). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 13220.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/13220
