This one-of-a-kind survey offers a wealth of
information. Det. Bruce Walstad has spent much of his law enforcement
career-debunking psychics and protecting unwary victims. Det. Walstad served as the PACC
president for seven years and is currently on the Board of Directors.
Results of a 1993 Questionnaire by Det. Bruce Walstad
In recent years, I have seen a remarkable number of
media stories concerning the police use of psychics. Tabloids regularly have
articles about psychic crime busters, who are solving crimes and locating
missing persons. Television shows such as Unsolved Mysteries, Sightings and
other programs have featured segments on psychic detectives and their amazing
and fantastic claims of paranormal abilities. The proof offered, if any, is
usually vague and/or faulty.
Local and network television news stations often broadcast stories about how the
police have called in a psychic to assist with a particular newsworthy
investigation. Yet, at a later date, they don't broadcast the psychics'
failures. I suspect that the average person and some police officers who are
exposed to these types of stories might get the impression that psychics do
regularly assist the police in investigations, with positive results.
Let's assume for the moment, that psychics can really name and locate suspects,
find missing persons and predict crimes and accidents before they occur. If this
were true, every police department in the country could lay off at least half of
their officers, and replace them with a single psychic. I don't know of this
happening anywhere.
For more than eight years, I have researched this topic vigorously, actively
seeking every bit of information available. I have collected volumes of news
clippings, many hours of videotape, books, case histories and research
statistics, and I have yet to find any hard evidence that any psychic has ever
helped the police solve a crime.
On occasion, I have met with and debated psychics and psychic detectives,
listening to the outrageous tales they tell about their psychic crime-busting
abilities. When I question them, or show doubt about the tales they tell, they
become quite defensive and, at times, angry with me. When I have caught them
stretching the truth, I am either ignored, or they say, "That's not my
understanding of it."
To further my investigation in this field and to see for myself exactly what
police officers, do, think and believe about the police use of psychics, I
conducted a survey of police officers throughout 1993. From Jan. 1, 1993,
through December 31, 1993, I questioned 270 police officers by means of a
written questionnaire. Of the 270 completed questionnaires, 7 were spoiled or
incomplete in such a manner that they were unable to be used, thus leaving 263
completed ones.
The questionnaires were given out at seminars I conducted for law enforcement
personnel on fraud. The
officers were asked to participate, and to be candid with their responses. Their
names or department names were not
asked. There were no biased opinions or remarks made before the questionnaire
was completed.
Participating were police officers from 14 states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin,
Ohio, New York, Iowa, North Dakota, Florida, New Mexico, South Carolina,
Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri and North Dakota. The majority of the officers
were from Illinois and Indiana. Department size ranged from 2 to 12,000 to sworn
personal. In many cases, officers from the same police department participated.
Here is a breakdown in the rank of the officers participating:
Chief 3
Assistant Chief 2
Commander 3
Lieutenant 8
Detective Sergeant 5
Sergeant 33
Corporal 21
Detective/Investigator 51
Special Agent 4
Patrol Officer 133
Total 263
The overall responses of the questionnaire were as follows:
1. Your department size.
Responses: Ranged from 2 to 12,000
2. Your rank?
Responses: (See above.)
3. Would you personally use a psychic in a police investigation?
Responses: Yes-94 (35.75%); No-165 (62.75%); Maybe-4 (1.5%~).*
4. Does your department currently use psychics in investigations?
Responses: Yes-14 (5.5%); No-183 (69.5%); Unknown-55 (25%).
5. Has your department used psychics in past investigations?
Responses: Yes-61 (23%); No-106 (40.5%); Unknown-96 (36.5%).
6. How many times has your department used a psychic? If unsure, please
estimate.
Responses: One Time-30; Two Times-18; Three Times-8; Four Times-3; Five Times-4.
7. What types of cases were the psychics involved in?
Responses: Homicide 45 (52%)
Missing Person 35 (40.5%)
Kidnapping 2 (2.5%)
Other 4 (5%)**
8. How did the psychic get involved in the case?
Responses: Called in by officer 31 (41%)
Called in by Family 15 (20%)
Volunteered self 26 (34%)
Unknown 4 (5%)***
9. Was any of the information given by the psychic useful in solving the
investigation?
Responses: Yes-9 (13.5%);**** No-33 (50%); Maybe-24 (36.5%).
10. Would the case have been solved without the assistance of the psychic?
Responses: Yes-33 (51%); No-0 (0%); Unknown-32 (49%).
* The choice "Maybe" was not included on the questionnaire, but was
written in by four officers.
** Of the four questionnaires marked "Other," two were marked as arson,
and the remaining two had no written
explanation.
*** The choice "Unknown" was not included on the
questionnaire, but was written in by four officers.
**** Of the nine questionnaires marked "Yes," four did not give any
written explanations. The remaining five were
explained as follows:
+ "Location of body".
+ "Area where crime was committed".
+ "The Victims social behavior, I believe his girlfriend background".
+ "Remembering license number and vehicle color".
+ "Identified area where the patient was located".
Results of questionnaire by rank:
(Questions 3-4-5-6)
Chiefs (3)
3. Yes-0; No-3.
4. Yes-0; No-3; Unknown-0.
5. Yes-0; No-3; Unknown-3.
6. No responses
Assistant Chiefs (2)
3. Yes-0; No-2.
4. Yes-0; No-2; Unknown-0.
5. Yes-0; No-2; Unknown-0.
6. No responses
Commanders (3)
3. Yes-1; No-1; Maybe-1.
4. Yes-1; No-1; Unknown-1.
5. Yes-2; No-0; Unknown-1.
6. 1 Time-2.
Lieutenants (8)
3. Yes-3; No-5.
4. Yes-1; No-4; Unknown-3.
5. Yes-4; No-1; Unknown-3.
6. 1 Time-2; 2 Times-2; 3 Times-2.
Detective Sergeant (5)
3. Yes-2; No-3.
4. Yes-1; No-4; Unknown-0.
5. Yes-3 ;No-2; Unknown-0.
6. 1 Time-1.
Sergeants (33)
3. Yes-15; No-18.
4. Yes-1; No-27; Unknown-5.
5. Yes-10; No-17; Unknown-6.
6. 1 Time-3; 2 Times-4; 3 Times-1; 4 Times-1; 5 Times-1.
Corporals (21)
3. Yes-9; No-12.
4. Yes-0; No-16; Unknown-5.
5. Yes-0; No-4; Unknown-17.
6. No responses.
Detective/Investigator (51)
3. Yes-13; No-38.
4. Yes-3; No-39; Unknown-9.
5. Yes-21; No-16; Unknown-14.
6. 1 Time-11; 2 Times-4; 3 Times-1; 4 Times-2; 5 Times-2.
Special Agents (4)
3. Yes-1; No-3.
4. Yes-0; No-3; Unknown-1.
5. Yes-1; No-2; Unknown-1.
6. 1 Time-2.
Patrol Officers (133)
3. Yes-50; No-80; Maybe-3.
4. Yes-7; No-84; Unknown-42.
5. Yes-29; No-59; Unknown-54.
6. 1 Time-7; 2 Times-8; 3 Times-4; 4 Times-0; 5 Times-1.
Results of questionnaire by department size:
(Questions 3-4-5)
2 to 25 Officers (51)
3. Yes-20; No-30; Maybe-l.
4. Yes-2; No-44; Unknown-5.
5. Yes-3; No-36; Unknown-12.
26 to 100 Officers (90)
3. Yes-39; No-50; Maybe-l.
4. Yes-6; No-68; Unknown-16.
5. Yes-23; No-42; Unknown-25.
101 to 500 Officers (108)
3. Yes-34; No-72; Maybe-2.
4. Yes-4; No-62; Unknown-42.
5. Yes-29; No-26; Unknown-53.
501 to 12,000 Officers (14)
3. Yes-l; No-13.
4. Yes-2; No-9; Unknown-3.
5. Yes-6; No-2; Unknown-6.
RESULTS
Overall, the results were mixed. I found it a bit surprising that about 35
percent of those officers surveyed responded that they would use a psychic in a
police investigation. I had expected (and hoped) the percentage to be lower. It
was interesting to see that only about 5.5 percent of the officers knew that
their department was currently using psychics. This percentage is most likely
inaccurate as 25 percent of the officers did not know if their department was
using psychics or not. This percentage could also be affected by officers from
the same department participating in this survey.
The types of investigations where psychics had been used was pretty predictable:
homicide and missing person cases added up to about 92 percent. One area I found
particularly troubling was the high response (41 percent) of police officers who
called in the psychic to assist in the investigation. Prior to this survey, I
had felt that the psychics volunteering themselves would be number one, followed
by the family calling in the psychic.
The 13.5 percent response that the psychic had given
the police useful information was equally troubling. This figure is most likely
inaccurate as 36.5 percent responded that they did not know if the information
given was useful or not. Of the five written in responses regarding what
specific information was given, three of the responses dealt with locations.
Without further explanation, these responses are too vague to make any type of
accurate conclusion. The two remaining responses were confusing. The one
response that said the psychic helped remember a license number and vehicle
color does not make sense. I suspect the officer confused a hypnotist with a
psychic.
The remaining response dealing with the social behavior
or the victim and his girlfriend was a mystery. I am not quite sure what the
officer was talking about, or do I understand how that type of information could
be useful.
Among command personal (commanders and above), the responses were quite
skeptical, with only 1 in 8 responding
they would use a psychic. Running second as skeptical were
detectives/investigators with about 25 percent responding
they would use a psychic.
Department size seemed to show little difference in across the board responses.
Past surveys and studies have shown that smaller departments are more apt to use
psychics than larger ones.
A few problems do exist regarding the accuracy of this survey. In certain areas,
such as rank and department size, I felt there were not enough participants to
give an accurate conclusion. The number of patrol officers participating also
influenced the results of this survey. As is often the case, patrol officers are
not privy to follow-up investigation procedures. One should also consider that
many patrol officers surveyed may have only been with the department a short
period of time, thus having no idea of their department's history in using
psychics.
Lastly, question 10, asked: "Would the case have been solved without the assistance of
the psychic?" Everyone answered YES!
