Introduction to Investigation

1
Introduction to Investigation

• Mr. Cappello
• Sir Robert Borden High School
• 9-1-1 Specialist High Skills Major Program

2
Overview

• An Overview of Investigating
• 1. Defining an Investigation
• 2. Practices to follow during an Investigation
• 3. Art or Science?
• Types of Investigations
• 1. Criminal-Non criminal
• 2. Reactive- Proactive
• 3. Overt-Covert
• The Investigating Questions
• 1. Patterns, Leads, Tips, and Theories

3
Investigation Defined

• Investigation the systematic and thorough
  examination or inquiry into something or someone
  (the collection of facts or information) and the
  recording of this examination or inquiry in a
  report.

• The word investigate can be traced back to the
  Latin word investigare, meaning "to search into.
  
• Investigare is based on another Latin word,
  vestigare, meaning "to track or to trace."

4
Investigation, Art or Science?

• Both!
• Investigating is a science because there are
  certain rules that should be followed to conduct
  a successful investigation. Pure sciences and
  applied sciences play an increasingly important
  role in the investigating process.
• Investigating is an art because it depends on
  the human skills of the investigator, including
  interpersonal communication and creativity.

5
Practices to follow during an Investigation

• A logical sequence must be followed
• Real, physical evidence must be legally obtained
• Real, physical evidence must be properly stored
  and preserved.
• Witnesses must be identified, interviewed, and
• prepared for any potential or actual
  litigation
• Leads must be developed.
• Reports and documentation must be collected
• Information must be accurately and completely
  recorded.
• Evidence collected must correlate to
• the claim cause of action, or offence charged

6
Criminal vs. Non Criminal

• Criminal jurisdiction of police/government
  agencies.
• Non-criminal investigations involve the
  investigation
• of non-criminal incidents or events.
• Non-criminal investigations may be conducted by
  the public, police or private investigators. The
  main difference between non-criminal
  investigations by the public, police and by
  private investigators is that police
  investigations are funded by the government,
  whereas private investigations are paid for by
  individual clients or businesses.

7
Basic Police Investigation

• 5 tasks during the preliminary reactive
  investigation by a patrol officer
• Conducts a preliminary search of the area of
  crime to determine if the suspect is still
  present
• Renders first aid to any injured parties,
• Detains, separates, and interviews any possible
  suspects or witnesses
• Restricts access to the area where the crime was
  committed to prevent the destruction of evidence.
  
• Prepares the first written report of the crime,
  which is generally called an incident or
  complaint report.

8
Proactive Investigation

• Proactive investigations are investigations
  conducted by the police based on their own
  initiative.
• The proactive investigation is
• Designed to catch a criminal in the act of
  committing a crime, rather than waiting until a
  citizen reports a crime. The three main types of
  proactive investigations are
• Decoy operations
• Repeat offender programs
• Undercover drug operations

9
Overt vs. Covert Investigation

• An overt investigation is one that is conducted
  openly-investigators do not try to hide their
  true identity or hide the fact that they are
  conducting the investigation. Most reactive
  investigations are overt.
• A covert investigation, on the other hand, is
  conducted in secret-the investigator tries to
  hide his identity and the fact that he is
  conducting an investigation. Generally proactive
  investigations are covert.
• Covert investigations are more commonly called
  undercover investigations.

10
Patterns Leads

• A pattern is a series of similarities that may
  link particular cases or indicate that the same
  person is committing a series of crimes.
• Leads are clues or pieces of information that aid
  in the progress of an investigation. Leads can be
  physical evidence or information received by
  witnesses or other persons or through
  surveillances, undercover investigations, and
  record searches. A lead is anything that can
  assist an investigator in resolving an
  investigation.

11
Tips Theories

• Tips are leads provided by citizens that aid in
  the progress of an investigation. Generally tips
  involve the identity of the suspect (eg. Crime
  Stoppers)
• Theories are beliefs regarding the case based on
  evidence, patterns, leads, tips, and other
  information developed or uncovered in a case.
  Theories are important because they direct the
  investigation. Investigators have to be very
  careful in building theories about a case,
  because if the theory is wrong, it may lead them
  in the wrong direction.