Puzzles, Patterns, and Policing: Overcoming Deficits of Formal Education to Foster Creative Thinking in Criminal Investigations

<p dir="ltr">Throughout the past century, formal education reform has largely focused on the<br>development of critical thinking in students. The benefits of critical thinking have been widely<br>studied, and it is clear that these skills are essential to problem solving. Furthermore, teaching<br>critical thinking allows for a standardized way of assessing students, which minimizes work for<br>teachers and facilitates a conventional way of learning. However, the conventional approach to<br>formal education is not always the most effective; studies have also shown that an emphasis on<br>critical thinking ignores the benefit of creative thinking skills for students and may even be<br>detrimental to students’ creativity. This absence of creative thinking skills extends to a lack of<br>creativity in professional careers. This gap is particularly evident in law enforcement careers,<br>where creativity in policing is underemphasized and hindered by strict work environments. In<br>order to address this problem, this paper will discuss the history of creative thinking in formal<br>education, explore the advantages of creative thinking in policing, and suggest strategies for<br>fostering creativity in law enforcement environments.</p>