Lesson Structure:  Investigative Techniques  BWR208

There are 9 lessons:

1. Scope and Nature of Investigative Techniques

• What is Investigation
• Why Investigations are carried out
• Who uses investigative skills
• Important skills and traits
• Personality traits – flexibility, self motivation, communication, active listening
• How to be a good Active Listener
• Observational skills – techniques to improve observation skills
• Problem solving
• Research skills
• Interviewing
• Critical thinking
• Emotional and Social Intelligence
• Empathy
• Collective evidence
• Courage
• Investigative bodies – fraud, cybercrime3, missing persons
• Professions -health, legal
• International Investigative bodies – U.N., Interpol, Amnesty International

2. Records Searching

• Record searching skills
• Documents – superficial search, deeper search
• Types of records -official, transitory
• Why investigators carry out records searches
• Conducting records searches
• Offline searches
• Online searches
• Types of documents
• Primary documents – national identification numbers, public records
• Secondary documents – print media

3. Surveillance

• What is surveillance
• Why carry out surveillance
• Ethics of surveillance
• Bias in surveillance
• Surveillance methods
• Types of surveillance – direct, pre-constructive, reconstructive
• Physical surveillance – stakeout, mobile, aerial
• Physical surveillance tips
• Technical and electronic surveillance -fixed video, portable cameras, body cameras, motion detection, drones, audio recorders
• GPS tracking,
• Facial recognition
• Bugging & Cyber surveillance
• Doing surveillance – pre planning, legal considerations, casing, knowing the subject

4. Interviewing

• Interview skills
• Interview versus interrigation
• Why use interviews
• Open and closed questions
• Types of interviews
• Advantages of interviews
• Quantitative versus qualitative data
• Limitations of interviews
• Planning an interview -background information, Number of interviews,Gender, Time of day, Venue, keeping records
• Designing an interview
• Setting goals examples – journalistic interview, criminal interview, academic interview
• Choosing questions
• Questions to avoid
• Uncovering lies, fabrications, misleading responses
• Gathering data

5. Surveys

• What are surveys
• Ethical issues
• Survey Formats
• The survey interview – face to face, telephone, focus groups, survey panels
• Survey design
• Research questions
• Target Audience
• Sampling, Administration, Analysis
• Surveys as an investigative tool
• Validity
• Survey limitations

6. Analysis of Evidence

• What is evidence
• Analysing evidence
• physical evidence -blood, fingerprint, DNA, impression evidence
• Cyber or digital evidence
• Behavioural evidence

7. Applications – Public Sector

• What is the public sector
• Public sector investigations -eg. fraud
• People involved – whistleblowers, moles, forensic accountants, ombudsmen, anti corruption watchdogs

8. Applications – Private Sector

• The private sector
• Private sector investigations
• Discrimination
• Overseas money trails
• Embezelment

9. Applications – Media and Online

• Media and online investigations
• Computer crimes
• Common scams
• The dark web
• Online investigation techniques
• Ways to deal with online and media crimes

Please Note:   Lessons culminate in an assignment, which you submit to your Tutor for grading and is returned together with Tutor feedback and relevant suggestions, comments, and extra reading if necessary.

LEARNING GOALS

• Define investigation and investigative techniques.
• Demonstrate record searching skills.
• Define surveillance and demonstrate surveillance techniques.
• Demonstrate interviewing skills.
• Define surveys and demonstrate their use.
• Describe evidence and types of evidence collected in investigations.
• Describe the applications of investigative techniques to the public sector.
• Describe private sector investigative techniques.
• Describe online and media-related investigations.

The Important Skills and Traits Investigators May Use

Below is a summary of different skills and traits that investigators may use.

Personality Traits
Curiosity is core personality trait of anyone interested in being an investigator. An investigator needs to want to find out why and how something has happened. An investigator needs to be a curious and persistent person. Carrying out investigations can take time.

They may not always be solved immediately, in fact, some investigations can take years. An investigator must also be patient and persistent.

Ethical and honest behaviour is also essential to be a good investigator. Ethics will be covered in more detail throughout the course. Honesty is essential to ensure that the correct, accurate information is revealed to clients or employers.

Clients and colleagues need to know that an investigator can be trusted throughout the course of an investigation.

Flexibility
An investigator also needs to be flexible. Investigations will not necessarily occur on a 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday schedule. An investigator may have to work long and flexible hours at times to obtain relevant information and evidence. They should also be willing to work at short notice, when required.

If an investigator is working for themselves, they should be willing to be flexible when a client hires them. If a person is missing, for example, a client will not want to wait for a couple of weeks. They will expect an investigator to react quickly.

An investigator will also need to be flexible in terms of the way in which they work. New technology and investigative techniques come into play regularly.

An investigator needs to be willing to embrace these new techniques and technology to stay ahead of the game and provide the best outcomes to clients.

Say a car dealership is having a lot of cars stolen. They want to know why. Investigator A sets up GPS on each car, CCTV watching the dealership to observe any crimes and to observe staff and customer behaviours.

They also set up security to monitor the dealership afterhours in case a crime take place or to prevent one.

Investigator B sits outside the dealership every evening hoping to catch the criminal as they steal the car.

Who Is A Client More Likely To Hire?

Self-Motivation

An investigator needs to be self-motivated. They want to find a solution to the problem they have been tasked with. Investigations can be complex and hard work, so an investigator needs to be disciplined to find solutions.

Communication Skills

Good verbal and written communication skills are essential for any investigator. They contribute when conducting interviews, asking for more information, conducting research, and more. Investigations are not only about conducting field work. They will also involve writing reports and compiling information about the evidence that has been found and the conclusions that have been drawn.

Active Listening

An investigator will need to be a good active listener.

Active listening is paying full attention to what someone else is saying. It is not thinking about lunch or what will be said next. It is wholly listening to what someone else says.

Giving complete attention will ensure that all of the facts and information being relayed are taken in – an essential component when investigating. Consider being tasked with finding a missing child.

It is imperative that complete and undivided attention is given to the parents of the missing child when interacting with them. This will show respect for them as the clients and for their situation in general. It will also ensure that no important facts or leads are missed when speaking with them. Practicing thorough active listening will support investigative work and promote an investigator’s professionalism to others.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.

Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

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A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.

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A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.

Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.

Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.

Enrolment

Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.

Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.

Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.

Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.

Qualifications

Q. What qualification will I receive?
A. For individual modules, you would be awarded a Certificate endorsed by TQUK (Training Qualifications, UK), providing you complete all assignments and the exam. If you just want to complete only the assignments and not sit for the exam or finish a Project, then a Letter of Achievement would be awarded. For more details on qualifications available please click here.

Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?
A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.