Olivia is considerably more empathetic than Merritt, and asks herself, “Must I always suspect the absolute worst of a person?” (p. 240). Merritt obviously does. Do you think this trait is required to be an effective investigator, or is it something that develops with experience?
I think if you are a detective you have to be somewhat objective in your assessments of others. Olivia’s empathy was fine if she was looking for a friend but when looking for a murderer maybe not so much. Yet I also think Olivia could be more empathetic if she had clearly ruled out the person as a murderer.
I think that if you spend years seeing the kinds of things detectives see, it would naturally start to change your assumptions about human nature. Constantly discovering that people are capable of terrible things would almost certainly harden a person over time. I think Olivia’s empathy helps balance Merritt’s tendency to expect the worst in people, while Merritt’s darker view of human nature teaches Olivia to be a little less naive. In the end, I think the best investigators probably need both qualities
I don’t think it is necessary to expect the worst to be an effective investigator, but assuming the best in them is definitely a disadvantage. You can give them the benefit of the doubt while still keeping an open mind, and not dismissing evidence that seems contrary to how you feel about the person.
I think experience definitely helps a detective become more astute at assessing a suspect’s words and demeanor. Although, Olivia’s empathy did help her find Scott when Pia approached her. I felt like Merritt gave Olivia very good advice when she cautioned her not to jump to decisions about a person’s character.
I think this comes down to just lack of experience. Merritt has probably seen a lot of people who seem innocent, but were not, or she had made assumptions in the past that were incorrect. Thus, when the person turns out to be innocent/good, she’s plesantly surprised. While Olivia is of the adage, that ‘innocent until proven guilty’, and is more positive overall about people than Merritt was.
I agree that you have to keep an open mind to be a successful detective; as soon as you let your own bias or empathy in, you will lose your objectivity. Merritt reminds me of Meryle streep in Prada. She is a very firm boss and does not want to create a friendship, but become a mentor.
I would think that with experience you become better at reading a person, but for some people, (me for one) they will never be able to always assume the absolute worst of people. And, no I don’t believe that it’s necessary to believe the worst about people to be an effective investigator. I think an effective investigator absolutely needs to hold on to the ability to see the good in people. If the investigator becomes so entrenched that they are no longer able to see the good in people, then what could their motivation of solving the crime and giving the family a sense of justice be based upon?
People tend to be empathetic by nature. I think it takes skill to listen and suspect others.
As a detective Merritt has to wonder about everyone.