The Use of Psychics in Police Investigations
by Joelle Steele
Every day, thousands of people call psychic hotlines all around the country, and there is a more widespread belief in the psychic process than ever before. There are even TV shows about psychics and hosted by psychics. But, psychics are still overlooked by many police departments throughout the world, when they could be great assets in criminal investigations. This is because most police departments rely on testing psychics using methods that indicate the police testers do not adequately understand how the psychic process itself works and how to best utilize it in an investigation.
Selection of Psychics
In a police investigation, the selection of the appropriate type of psychic is critical. There are four primary categories of psychics (and some people possess combinations of these talents):
• clairvoyants, seers, or precognitives (they see the future)
• mediums or spiritualists (they talk to the dearly departed)
• empaths or sensitives (they sense emotions, mental and bodily states)
• psychometrists (they sense information from the physical universe)
The types of psychics who are most ideally suited to police work are psychometrists and empaths. Within those two categories, psychics also possess their own unique combinations of specialties, such as locating missing people (some specialize in children only), finding lost jewelry, identifying a crime site (when the body has been removed to another location), assessing the mental state or health of a victim or perpetrator, determining whether someone is telling the truth, recalling events that occurred in a particular location, etc.
No two psychics are alike. In addition to their areas of specialty, some are more visually oriented and can describe people and things in great detail. Some are able to “hear” conversations that occurred, while others can taste or feel a particular sensation. Combinations of these abilities exist within each psychic, some stronger than others.
Because of the diversity of their specializations, psychics are most effective when paired or in groups of two psychometrists (one visual and one auditory), and two empaths (one suited to physical states and the other to mental sensations). Such groups can create a level of united imagery which leads to even higher degrees of accuracy and more usable information.
Individuals who earn their living in whole or in part from their psychic services will usually provide the least accurate information because they are likely to be clairvoyants or mediums (if they are psychics at all). The only psychics which should be studied or used in police investigations are those who are interested in helping their community, who will work without compensation, and who are not seeking media attention.
Selection of a Crime
The older the crime, the colder the trail. This is true for investigators and it is even more true for a psychic who must rely entirely on sensory input that may diffuse or become contaminated over a very short period of time. In addition, the longer the wait for psychic intervention, the more chance that information will leak to the media and prejudice a psychic unwittingly.
Selection of Reading Venue
For an accurate reading or interpretation, a psychic should walk the crime scene immediately, alone or accompanied at a distance by not more than one person, without touching anything, before forensics enters.
A good psychometrist can hold a an item in a gloved hand or even hold a hand above an item without touching it, for an excellent reading. Also, on the scene, a psychic will be likely to experience “the draw” to a particular item (or items) which will associate with the strongest images. What the police select for a psychic to read may not have the strongest draw, even if it [logically] seems that it should. While being on the scene immediately is always preferable, being on the scene at a later time is preferable to reading on “cold” or “contaminated” items in a conference room at police headquarters. That area and the collected and already-catalogued items will not be at all psychically “clean,” resulting in a greater incidence of “mis-reads.”
Selection of Items
Psychometry is most accurate when items have not been handled by other than the owner (victim or perpetrator). The many individuals (paramedics, bystanders, police, etc.), on the scene add confusion (i.e., their own “vibes”), which makes an accurate reading difficult, if not impossible, due to transference of imagery. The preponderance of evidence makes for the greatest accuracy. Selecting only one or two items, even if an item is a known murder weapon, leads to dead ends and inaccuracies, as does mixing items together that belong to more than one person.
Selection of a Director
Any good psychic needs a director. The images transmitted to a psychic via the “psychic network” are usually random in nature, coming in no particular order or logical arrangement. A director helps the psychic organize information that is received and guides the search for more specific data by asking questions and telling the psychic what to look for next, as in the following example:
Psychic: I see a white house with blue trim.
Director: Is there a house number?
Psychic: No, I don’t see one.
Director: I want you to look at the front door.
Psychic: Okay.
Director: Now look at the area surrounding that door. Do you see any markings?
Psychic: Yes, there’s a mailbox with a red flower painted on it, but no number.
This example may seem pointless if an address is necessary. However, if there are suspects and one has a mailbox with a red flower on it, this could have the makings of a lead, and further readings or further investigation may be in order. At any rate, the director is crucial to achieving order, accuracy, and a greater amount of usable information.
Accurate, Verifiable, and Usable Information
Most psychic information, when rendered by the appropriate psychic under the proper conditions, is accurate. Much of it will be verifiable. How much is usable depends on what is elicited from the psychic by the director. If specific information is needed, it must be requested. Even the best psychic cannot know exactly what the investigating officer wants to know about unless the officer specifically outlines it. Since so much information is present in a reading, all at once, the investigator must state exactly what information is being sought. Generalizations will only result in further generalizations. A psychic should be questioned in much the same manner as an eyewitness would be interrogated, but using open-ended and never leading questions.
Summary
Finding the right psychic(s) for a police investigation is like filling any other job opening. There will be good psychics, bad psychics, the wrong kinds of psychics, etc. It takes some looking, and they should be interviewed in the same way as any other job candidate. Saying “I am a psychic” does not make one so any more than saying “I am a detective” would land a dishwasher a job working homicide.
Finding a legitimate and competent psychic is not an easy process, but it can be a very important first step to a successful investigation. But everyone needs to remember that a “famous” psychic is not necessarily a “good” psychic. In fact, some psychics achieve fame with no psychic skill at all: the late noted psychic Jeanne Dixon accurately predicted the assassination of John F. Kennedy, but on the whole, she read with less than 2% accuracy!
This article last updated: 03/11/2012.
