Essentials for Conducting Proper Investigations

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Essentials for Conducting Proper Investigations

• Infonex
• January 27, 2009

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Todays Objectives

• Investigation Planning
• Information Gathering
• Types of evidence
• How to get it
• Interviewing techniques
• Evidence Collection Storage

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Investigation Planning

• Why is an investigative plan
• essential?
• It forms the backbone of the investigation
• It obliges the investigator to
• identify the issues which require investigation
• define the scope of the investigation
• decide what the relevant information is to be
  collected and
• Provides project timelines for the investigation

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Elements of a Good Plan

• A contact list
• Background information
• A list of the allegations
• Facts in issue for each allegation (i.e. what are
  the elements required to prove the allegation)
• A list of required witnesses and documents for
  each allegation
• An interview sequence plan
• Logistical information

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Planning Considerations

• What materials are presently available for
  review? (Evidence)
• What is the scope of the investigation?
• What issues have you identified as requiring
  investigation?

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Planning Considerations

• What statutory provisions govern your
  investigation?
• What are your timelines?
• What are the logistical considerations?
• Consider consulting with others

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Planning

• What evidence will we need?
• Documentary
• Statements / Interviews
• Physical evidence
• Photographs
• Recordings
• Electronic
• Forensic

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Planning

• Tactics / Techniques
• Undercover operations
• Surveillance
• How do you manage these unusual
• approaches to an investigation or are
• they even an option

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The Investigation
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Gathering Evidence

• Documentary
• What documents will you obtain?
• Sources
• How will you obtain the documents?
• Consent
• Using powers of investigations
• Which powers are applicable?
• Do you have any?

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Documentary Evidence

• Anecdotal notes, letters, minutes of meetings
• Professional documentation made in relation to
  issues
• Health records of the subject of the
  investigation (e.g. occupational health records)
• Banking records, financial statements, ledgers,
  receipts
• Insurance documents
• Incident reports

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Documentary Evidence

• Workplace policies and procedures
• Subjects personnel file
• Professional standards in force at the time
• Police reports, records of conviction, court
  transcripts
• Members previous discipline file (similar fact
  or prior information)

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Sources of Documents

• The agency you are working for
• Historical data on member
• Old cases
• Registration information
• Copies of correspondence related to the member
• complainant / reporter
• Copies of documents they have gathered

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Sources of Documents

• Publicly Accessible Documents
• Corporate searches
• Patents and trademarks
• Media sources
• Court documents
• Ministry of Transportation records
• Internet

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Sources of Documents

• Other Sources
• Police and other regulators
• Subjects place of work
• Banks / Insurance companies
• Service providers to the subject
• Health care providers
• Accountants

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Methods for Obtaining Documents

• Will consent be sufficient?
• Will the production of an Appointment of
  Investigator be required?
• Do you have the power to summons information?
• Will a search warrant be required?
• Do you know how to do a search warrant, if not
  you may need outside expert assistance
• Will an application under FOI be required?

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Evidence

• Interviews
• Who will be interviewed?
• What will be the sequence of interviews?
• Do you anticipate any reluctant or difficult
  interviews
• Telephone or in person?

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Developing our Interviewing Skills

• Be yourself
• Conquer our fears of things like
• Silence
• Feeling the need to be perfect
• Be careful of scripts

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Developing our Interviewing Skills

• Plan ahead
• Goals of the interview
• Location of interview
• Review relevant documents in advance and have
  them ready if you need them
• Know the questions that need to be answered
• Be aware of any cultural, gender or racial issues
  that may be present

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Interview Goals

• Ensure the witness understands the process
• Gain the witnesss willingness to cooperate now
  and in the future
• Establish a rapport with the witness
• Assess their non-verbal communication
• Obtain a complete and truthful statement
• Relevant information 5 ws in context
• Determine if witness can point you in other
  directions
• documents or other materials relevant to the case
• Other witnesses
• The gossip

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Location Considerations

• Ensure the location is
• Private
• Comfortable
• Clean
• Properly equipped (audio / video if required)
• No distractions or interruptions such as
  telephones

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Establishing Rapport

• Try to put the witness at ease and help him/her
  relax
• Be friendly polite and not too stiff
• Talk initially about innocuous topics such as
  weather, traffic, etc.
• Explain your role and the purpose of the
  interview
• Offer the witness an opportunity to ask you some
  questions

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Establishing Rapport

• Likeability Factor
• People will give more to someone they like
• Helps to determine the baseline
• Reactions and general behavior may be compared to
  more stressful periods during the interview

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Interviewing

• Allow the witness to tell her/his story in full
  then seek clarification or ask follow-up
  questions
• Maintain control of the interview but be subtle
• If support person present explain the ground
  rules
• Careful not to make notes too early in the
  interview

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Interview Questions

• Dont be afraid to ask the difficult questions!
• Ensure there is no doubt about what happened
  (e.g. sexual abuse allegation)
• Slept together (what does this mean?)
• What does intercourse mean?
• Does oral sex mean kissing?
• Sexual relations could be anything depending on
  who you askRemember Bill Clinton?!

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Interviewing Techniques

• Not all witnesses will be forthcoming with
• information
• Answering questions with questions
• Repeat the question as you originally asked it
• Phrases like thats basically it or I guess
  thats all I can remember
• Consider this an admission that he/she has more
  to tell keep probing
• Hypothetically structured phrases like I would
  normally do this is a signal of possible
  avoidance of providing a direct answer.
• Remind him/her that you want to know what they
  did, not what they normally do

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Interviewing Techniques

• Not all witnesses will be forthcoming
• with Information
• Indignation about a question may signal deception
  e.g. what kind of question is that, I wouldn't
  dignify that question with an answer
• Stay calm and repeat the question with an
  explanation why it must be asked
• Answers like its hard to say or thats a hard
  one to answer indicates possible credibility
  issues later
• Make note of this and keep probing. Consider
  asking why the question is so hard to answer

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Language Obstacles

• Use a qualified interpreter if English is not
  spoken
• Do NOT rely on family or friends or a coworker
  who speaks the same language
• Every word must be translated during interview
  and in the transcript of the interview

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Closing the Interview

• Close with thanking the witness and praising
  his/her effort
• Provide your contact information
• Provide the next steps and if possible a timeline
  for next steps
• Leave the door open for further interviewing
• Give the witness an opportunity to ask any
  further questions and ask her/him if you have
  covered everything and if there is anything else
  she/he wishes to say

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Physical Evidence

• Clothing
• Other articles
• Syringes
• Pill bottles / pills
• Hair brush
• Just about anything

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Photographic Evidence

• Photos from the internet
• Surveillance photos
• Photos of evidence
• Photos stored on a subjects computer

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Evidence Collection and Continuity
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Evidence Collection and Continuity

• Any evidence will mean nothing
• if it has not been properly
• collected and stored with access to
• The evidence limited and controlled.

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Authentication of Evidence

• Identify the evidence
• Provide proof of the source
• Custody of the evidence
• Description of Condition on discovery
• Proper receipt or list

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Collecting Evidence

• When collecting or providing evidence
• for a forensic laboratory be sure to
• seek advice on proper collection
• processes
• How to collect the sample
• How much do they need
• How should it be packaged and transported

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Maintaining Evidence

• Preserving Identity
• Marking where possible without affecting its
  evidentiary value
• Tag when marking is not practicable
• Sealing in container and labeling when tagging
  and marking are not practicable
• Identify who collected the evidence and placed it
  into custody

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Maintaining Evidence

• Maintain adequate control
• Secure location
• Suitable environment
• Prevent alteration of any kind

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Preserving the Evidence

• You must control the security of the evidence
  i.e. locked up with limited access.
• Record all accesses to the evidence
• Maintain a suitable environment
• if evidence is perishable photograph it and use
  proper means to sustain it.

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Document the Entire Process

• Without proper documentation evidence will lack a
  proper foundation
• The consequences include
• Unavailable evidence lost, destroyed or never
  collected
• Unauthenticated evidence failure to show the
  source, and handling of the materials
• Damaged evidence not useable because of
  deteriorated or altered condition

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Legal Challenges

• Challenges may look for two possible
• outcomes
• The evidence being deemed inadmissible
• The evidence being given reduced weight

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Legal Challenges

• Quality of the Process
• Sources of evidence
• collected from a scene
• provided by a victim or third party
• validity and continuity will be questioned
• Continuity post collection
• who had access
• What are your protocols / process for handling
  evidence
• potential contamination or alteration

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Summary

• Good investigations are well planned
• Investigators can be a target of defense so
  consider every move carefully
• Consultation is wise be careful of making
  unilateral decisions
• Documenting what you DIDNT do may be as
  important as documenting what you did
• Understand the goals in all aspects of the
  investigation
• Be yourself when interacting with contacts
• Maintain control of the process and yourself but
  be flexible wherever possible and appropriate

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Thank You for Your Time

• Dean Benard
• Benard Associates
• ? 1-888-733-2226,
• ? 519-880-0722
• dbenard_at_benardinc.com
• www.benardandassociates.com