Police Use Art to Fine Tune Investigative Skills

"Follow me into this gallery," said teacher Amy Herman.

Detectives are never given much time to evaluate a scene, reports CBS News correspondent Seth Doane.

"Now you can all step in," instructed Herman. "It's a large painting."

"We were taught in the Academy how to observe and how to look a little deeper than what meets the eye," said Inspector Kenneth Mekeel.

But he's not talking about Art Academy, rather Police Academy.

Amy Herman teaches "The Art of Perception," a course she designed to use fine art to sharpen observation skills of her students: members of the C.I.A., Secret Service and on this day - the N.Y.P.D. at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"We're getting them off the streets and out of the precincts -- and it refreshes their sense of inquiry -- they're thinking 'oh, how am I doing my job?'" said Herman. "And it forces them to think about how they communicate -- and how they see the world around them."

To encourage them to describe and communicate better, pointing is not allowed.

It's not about recognizing artists or techniques, but fine tuning attention to detail. Mekeel runs the N.Y.P.D. Real Time Crime Lab.

"We always teach -- step back, look at what you have, the crime scene. Make observations, get a whole picture in your head of all the things, you know -- there's more to a picture than meets the eye," said Mekeel.

"They're terrific - they're so smart, and they're so observant - they do it every day," said Herman, referring to her students. "And often they see things that art historians don't always notice."

Or, in some cases, they may just see things a bit differently.

"The female sitting up on top actually has her hands behind her - and it almost looks like she was handcuffed," said Mekeel, describing a painting.

Of course, sizing up a Singer Sergeant is not their usual beat.

"It's getting our mind evaluating, analyzing different things, looking deep into things," said Mekeel.

Already in its fifth year, Herman credits the course with helping to solve at least a couple of cases - as detectives have combed crime scenes more carefully, or re-examined evidence.

"Plus it gives us some extra culture," said Mekeel.