Principles of Investigative Documentation

PRINCIPLES OF INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTATION
	ABOUT THE AUTHORS
	PREFACE
	INTRODUCTION
	ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
	CONTENTS
PRINCIPLES OF INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTATION
	Part I  OVERVIEW
		INTRODUCTION
		Chapter 1  FIVE PRINCIPLES OF INVESTIGATIVE DOCUMENTATION
			1. Take notes about everything.
			2. Document every effort to contact a witness and all surveillance in your running resume.
			3. Prepare a report when there is any possibility you may testify.
			4. Take verbatim statements or audio recordings from hostile or unhelpful witnesses; get declarations from friendly witnesses.
			5. Provide all case documents to the client at the conclusion of the case—or have a document retention policy that decrees the maintenance of most records for at least five years.
		Chapter 2  MISCONCEPTIONS RELATED TO DOCUMENTATION
			Myth: Grammatical and other non-substantive mistakes do not matter in reports.
			Myth: Reports are objective.
			Myth: It is better not to document an investigation than to risk the documents becoming discoverable.
			Myth: Email is a sufficient means of documenting an investigation.
			Myth: Digital media do not require additional documentation.
		Chapter 3  RACIAL AND GENDER IDENTITY IN YOUR REPORTS
			1. Consider the source.
			2. Confront biases and assumptions.
			3. Race and ethnicity.
			4. Gender and sexuality.
	Part II  LEGAL ISSUES WHEN DOCUMENTING AN INVESTIGATION
		INTRODUCTION
		Chapter 4  CONFIDENTIALITY AND ATTORNEY-CLIENT PRIVILEGE
			1. What is confidentiality?
			2. What is attorney-client privilege?
			3. What is the work product doctrine?
			4. Are there other protections outside of these three legal doctrines?
		Chapter 5  HEARSAY
			1. What is hearsay?
			2. Literally anything someone tells you could end up being a prior inconsistent statement.
			3. Recorded recollections.
			4. “He uttered excitedly, ‘Greg shot him!’”
			5. Other exceptions and stuff to know.
		Chapter 6  REAL EVIDENCE
			1. You have a duty to preserve evidence.
			2. How to handle real evidence.
			3. Documentary evidence.
			4. Preserving real evidence that is digital.
	Part III  DOCUMENTING IN PRACTICE
		INTRODUCTION
		Chapter 7  NOTETAKING
			1. Always bring along at least two pens and a clean legal pad.
			2. Learn to listen and observe first, and then take notes afterward.
			3. Think proactively and ask the right questions.
			4. Develop your own system for abbreviations.
			5. Review your notes immediately after the activity.
		Chapter 8  RUNNING RESUMES
			1. Add a notation to the running resume for all interviews, attempted interviews, and surveillance.
			2. Update your running resume daily.
			3. Include identifiable details in your updates.
			4. Send updates to clients when you complete a task successfully or when you definitively fail.
		Chapter 9  REPORTS
			1. Use a template and a style guidebook.
			2. When saving digital copies of reports, title them in a way that they can be easily identified later.
			3. Clearly indicate the report’s author and recipients.
			4. Include biographical information about the event or witness in the first paragraph.
			5. For witness-interview reports, also include an identification “disclaimer” paragraph.
			6. Assume the reader does not know anything about the case or how to investigate.
			7. Do not draw conclusions or make assumptions.
			8. Show your work.
			9. Address any unanswered questions up front.
			10. Have the report reviewed and edited by another team member prior to sending it to the client.
		Chapter 10  STATEMENTS
			1. Take audio recordings or verbatim statements from hostile or unhelpful witnesses.
			2. Obtain declarations from friendly witnesses.
			3. Pick an advantageous location.
			4. Avoid creating multiple drafts.
			5. Take the best you can get under the circumstances.
		Chapter 11  DOCUMENT RETENTION
			1. Follow the Five Principles of Investigation Documentation.
			2. Label and store information for the future.
			3. Establish a document retention policy.
			4. Execute your policy after the retention period has concluded.
		Conclusion  MEMO TO THE FILE
	APPENDICES
		Appendix A  INVESTIGATIVE REPORT STYLE GUIDELINES
			STYLE FUNDAMENTALS OF REPORT-WRITING
				1. Use names consistently.
				2. Be careful with pronouns.
				3. Quote consistently.
				4. Use an active voice.
				5. Never write in the second person.
				6. Be concise.
			DINOLT BECNEL & WELLS INVESTIGATIVE GROUP STYLE GUIDE
				Acronyms/Abbreviations
				Addresses
				Ages
				Aliases
				All right
				Attachments
				Author
				Biographical Paragraph
				Case Numbers
				Citations
				Commas
				Contractions
				Countries
				Dates
				Departments
				Disclaimer
				Effective and Affective
				Footers
				Font
				Geography
				Government Agencies/Bodies
				Height
				Holidays
				Hyperlinks
				Job Titles
				Laws
				Margins
				Names
				Numerals
				Paragraphs
				Phone Numbers
				Quotes
				Race and Ethnicity
				Regions
				Recipients
				Semicolons
				Sources
				Spacing
				States
				Time
				Title
				Weight
		Appendix B  INVESTIGATE ACRONYMS/ABBREVIATIONS
			General
			Behavioral Analysis
			Crime
			Description
			Government and Organizations
			Laws and Legal Terminology
		Appendix C  SAMPLE REPORTS
			1. In-Person Interview Status Report
			2. Telephone Interview Status Report
			3. Interview Refusal Report
			4. Due Diligence Report
			5. Background Check Report
			6. Surveillance Status Report
		Appendix D  SAMPLE STATEMENTS
			1. Sample Handwritten Statement
			2. Sample Handwritten Statement on Statement Paper
			3. Sample Affidavit
		Appendix E  TEMPLATES
			1. Evidence Log Template
			2. Chain of Custody Log Template
		Appendix F  SAMPLE RECORDS REQUEST LETTERS
			1. Employment Records Sample Request Letter
			2. Department of Corrections Sample Request Letter
	INDEX