A Guide to Business Organization Flexible_10

Professional Private Investigators in the Civil Justice System 197 Your investigative plan should also indicate your effort to detect any cameras in the area, such as store security, highway department or police department traffic cameras, and ATMs, and to conduct a can-vass for witnesses. You should already be aware of when the incident occurred or was reported (the when), but there is another when that needs to be addressed in the investigative plan: by when is the information need-ed? Although this initial meeting may be your first involvement in the case, it does not mean that the incident is recent. You may be called in very near the end of the statute of limitations, the time that a person can legally wait to start a lawsuit, or you may be retained on the eve of trial. You must know your own deadlines in every case. Once you and the client have discussed and agreed upon the inves-tigative plan, your estimated hours for the completion of this assign-ment, and your fees, it is time to put the plan into effect. Your first item upon returning to your office should be to document your investiga-tive plan by writing your first report to the client. This report should include the following: • Acknowledgment of your retention and receipt of any retainer from the client. If you have not obtained a signed retainer agree-ment, you should restate your fees, billing and terms of payment, and reimbursement of expenses policy at this time. • A complete summary of the facts as you now know them. • A list of all persons involved and your investigative obligation toward them, including background investigations, interviews, and surveillances. Include any specific instructions from the client regarding persons not to be interviewed or any investigative rec-ommendation that he does not wish you to do. • A listing of your investigative assignments; in other words, pro-cessing the scene and canvassing for additional unknown wit-nesses; obtaining records; searching for media coverage; and other accidents at the same location; locating and obtaining vehi-cles, parts, or other equipment involved in the accident, and so on. • Any deadlines or your anticipated time for completion of the assignment. • Any special instructions from the client. 198 Basic Private Investigation Again, private investigators must be aware of the laws relating to retainers and contracts in their areas. For example, in the state of New York, Title 19 NYCRR states the following: §173.1 Advance statement of services and charges (a) No licensed private investigator, watch, guard or patrol agency shall undertake to perform any services on behalf of a client unless such licensee shall have delivered to the client a written statement, signed by the licensee, which shall set forth the specific service or ser-vices to be performed and the charge or fee therefore. . . .4 However, the statute goes on to say (b) Anything to the contrary of this Part notwithstanding, the state-ment provided for in subdivision (a) of this section shall not be required to be delivered if the client and the licensee have entered into an agreement in writing, setting forth the services to be rendered and the fee or charge therefore, . . .5 Therefore, in New York, investigators can enter into signed, long-term agreements that describe the services and fees agreed to with the client (and, in the case of an attorney, on behalf of the attorneys-clients for which they retain you) and eliminates the need for individual or separate contracts or agreements in every investigation. PREPARATION FOR FIELD INVESTIGATIONS To borrow a phrase from the Boy Scouts of America, “Be Prepared.” After you get to your destination is too late for you to start thinking about a camera, audio recorder, tape measures, or even pens and paper. A competent investigator will have the appropriate tools avail-able at all times. The following items compose the minimum inves-tigative tool kit for noncriminal investigations: 1. a serviceable vehicle with a full tank of gas 2. pens and pencils with erasers 4. New York State Title 19 NYCRR, §173.1 (a) 5. New York State Title 19 NYCRR, §173.1 (b) Professional Private Investigators in the Civil Justice System 199 3. notepads 4. graph paper 5. clipboard 6. witness statement forms 7. an audio recorder, a supply of unopened audiotapes or digital recording medium, extra batteries 8. quality digital or 35 mm film camera with flash, and sufficient memory or extra film; extra memory cards; batteries 9. tripod 10. Video camera with extra memory cards or tapes and extra charged batteries 11. tape measures, retractable (25 feet minimum) or measuring wheel, a yard stick, a set of commercially available reference scales that you can place in photographs, and street maps or GPS 12. cellular phone 13. magnifying glass 14. binoculars 15. compass 16. hand tools (scissor, screwdrivers, utility knife) 17. umbrella 18. insect repellant and sunscreen 19. reflective safety vests 20.safety cones 21. a stopwatch or a watch with a second hand 22.tire tread depth gauge 23.magnet You may never use some of the tools that you have brought with you, but the one time that you need a magnet you will be sorry that you did not bring it along. This is not an emergency response accident investigation kit. You are not a safety or risk manager nor should you be concerned about safeguarding the scene for the police or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) if the inci-dent is no longer subject to their investigations. Neither are you on a demolition project, however. If you do find evidentiary matter that has been previously missed by others at the scene, you should notify your client immediately to discuss your next step. 200 Basic Private Investigation The majority of the items in your kit are used to document what you find at the scene. You cannot overuse the camera or video camera. If you have taken 500 pictures, take another 500. Take the same picture with and without a flash, even outdoors in bright sunlight, because the flash may eliminate shadows. Many photographers use a polarized lens cover to assist in elimi-nating reflections. Learn how to use your camera and its lenses to adjust the depth of field, image exposure, and macro and micro func-tions. Place reference scales in your pictures or videos to provide dis-tance and scale. Use your audio recorder to make notes as you walk the scene. Record all of your impressions as you see them. Most of the tools in your kit have obvious uses; some are redundant ways to record what you find, and others can be used for your own safety. If or how these tools are used is entirely up to the investigator, but it is a best practice to have them available. POWERS OF OBSERVATION The most important tool that a professional investigator can possess does not fit into a tool kit, but it must be brought to every accident scene nonetheless. That tool is the power of observation. Observation is an art that must be developed and reinforced over time. It takes con-scious effort to recognize what we see, especially for those who do the same thing every day. The ability to be observant can easily be over-ridden by the many competing events that we become aware of dur-ing these days of information overload. Our senses can become dulled and our minds preoccupied by the multitude of problems that we encounter, in both our personal and our professional lives. The development of observational skills requires training but can be easily self-taught. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventure of The Red-Headed League, Sherlock Holmes makes the following observation to Dr. Watson regarding a gentleman whom he had met only for a moment: “Beyond the obvious facts that he has at some time done manual labor, that he takes snuff, that he is a Freemason, that he has been to China, and that he has done a considerable amount of writing lately, I can deduce nothing else.”6 6. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of The Red-Headed League, London, 1891 Professional Private Investigators in the Civil Justice System 201 Holmes explained his uncanny ability to deduce seemingly impos-sible information at a quick glance by telling Watson, “You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles. . . . Not invisible but unnoticed, Watson. You did not know where to look, and so you missed all that was important. I can never bring you to realize the importance of sleeves, the suggestiveness of thumbnails, or the great issues that may hang from a bootlace.”7 Holmes practiced the art of observation with the belief that everything has significance. You can develop your own powers of observation by practicing them on a daily basis. Ask any golf pro how to put backspin on a golf ball and you will get the same answer: Practice. Observations are not just what you can see, but what you can hear, touch, smell, and taste as well. At one time or another you will be able to make use of all of your senses as a professional investigator. Try to set aside a few minutes every day to take special notice of a particular thing, person, or event and list a minimum of ten unique items that you may not have seen without concentration. Start with a familiar setting, let us say the street that you live on, and write down your observations for later review. First clear your mind and prepare to concentrate. Deep breathing, calming thoughts, and yoga are all methods that will help you relax. Walk down your block and take note of the signs you see on the houses, fences, street poles, windows, and stores. What message do these signs send? Advertising? Warning? Directional? Informational? More than likely you will discover more signs than you ever knew were there before. You may also be able to observe if the signs are effective while engaging several different senses. For example, are there “Curb Your Dog” signs? Or “No Smoking” signs? Or “Quiet, Hospital Zone” signs? You can practice this same exercise by observing things in your res-idence, such as the way shadows bend on the walls as sunlight spreads across different objects, or you can practice by paying particular atten-tion to new people that you meet and trying to determine their social status, education, employment in the Holmesian traditional by taking note of their grooming (fingernails), jewelry (diamonds, school rings), and language (usage of jargon). If you practice being observant, you will become observant. 7. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventure of The Red-Headed League, London, 1891 ... - tailieumienphi.vn