Good report writing although you may find it tedious and unimportant is a necessary part of Surveillance. Most of the people who will be reading (and trying to comprehend) your reports are not experienced in the field. Doctors, Lawyers and insurance people are in their field because they are good or they excel at it. They are not investigators. In this publication we will discuss direct statements that will inform the layman of observed occurrences that may go unnoticed.

1.    WRITING MEDIA

2.    OBSERVED OCCURRENCE

3.    RECORDERD STATEMENT

4.    PRESENTATION OUTLINE

Writing Media at the beginning of my work was pencil, paper, and a notebook. (Thats a paper notebook) Today laptops and personal organizers are the more accepted media. Still the basics remain the same. You should be able to record what you observe while it is happening or shortly after. This reduces errors. During investigations a portable tape recorder or digital recorder to keep a record of what was observed and who observed it. Used during surveillance to keep track of movement, locations, descriptions and vehicles.

        The way you keep notes should be what youre comfortable with as long as you can keep accurate records and be able to present learned information in an accepted manner.

          Mini recorders can be obtained inexpensively at most every store; the tapes can be saved for reference with out taking up a lot of room. You may want to consider this purchase as there are many options that will be important. Is it easy to use? Does it fit in your hand? Does it play back at double speed? You should be able to operate it with one hand and without looking at it. This may seem trivial but while tailing, looking away from your target can be the end of the day. Ten seconds of fumbling for the record button and your target can turn off, change lanes to turn, accelerate to pass another vehicle or an uninvolved vehicle can pull out. Any one of these can cause you to lose your target. Worse an accident can happen.

          Laptops are an excellent way to type reports. You can remain on the surveillance site and begin your daily report. With wireless modems, public lans and email you can accomplish many things. I believe that your report should be finished when your job is. The most accurate reports are completed while the observations are fresh in your memory. The type of laptop you choose is unlimited. It should be able to be powered by your vehicle and should have a word program of some type. Spell checking and grammar checking are also important. Our companys typist and I use the same word program. I asked her for a copy of the template she uses and now I just fill it in. If you and your company use similar programs you can transfer files on floppy or e-mail them in. This was not company policy but I arranged it with the typist. This is also good for missing reports a second copy is easily obtained. Repeat cases that you have a record of can be copied and pasted to save more time.

          Also available are hand held personal assistants. These can be programmed to recognize handwriting and turn it into text for you. You can use the device for notes and report writing. There are not as many Internet options for these but they are compact and easy to use.

          As I said before how you do it is not as important as turning in a good quality report.

OBSERVED OCCURRENCE

          Stop reading and look around you. Thats long enough. What did you see? What did you actually see and what did you assume was there? You can easily assume any thing even though you did not observe it. If you see a claimant walking away from a vehicle with an open trunk, you can assume that the claimant opened the trunk, but you didnt observe it. You can say: (The claimant was observed walking away from his vehicle, towards the residence. The trunk of the vehicle is now open.) This may or may not be important later but it could be a basis for trouble. IE What happens if you turn in the report that reads you saw him open the trunk? Now two days later you do the same surveillance and he has a wireless electric opener for the trunk. You have to be careful what you report. You must report only what you actually see, no matter what had to have happened. It may seem overly cautious but you should be careful how you make statements. IE. You know that a person driving a car got into the car. Did you see them get in? You can assume that they indeed boarded the vehicle. But did you see it? This may seem trivial now but later it may come back on you. When an attorney asks you about a report from two years ago that states you saw the claimant enter the vehicle when in fact the claimant had a garage where he entered the vehicle and there was no way you could have seen it. Will this cause you to lose the case? Will you now appear to look inept at your job? Little things make all the difference when youre in court.

RECORDED STATEMENT

You may never have any reason to take a witness statement (hopefully). There are many factors to consider when taking a statement. Never take anything for granted. I do recorded statements and even though the subject is looking at the recorder and has said that it is ok to record. Do you have it on tape? Make the subject state their full name the date and that they are aware that they are being recorded.  IE my name is John Smith today is Monday July 4 2005 I have given permission and I am aware that I am being recorded. This is the best start. Adjusters and lawyers will begin to expect this on all your recorded statements.

          Please allow the subject you are interviewing to state the details. The details of the event in their own words. Do not offer them words to help them. A witness statement is just that, A Witness statement. Have your questions ready so you do not have to look for details or paperwork during the recording. You must have the who, what, when and how questions ready. Try to stay away from the what do you think questions.
IE:  Q. Mr Smith what time did you observe the action.
      A. About 10:00 oclock
      Q. Was that am or pm Mr smith?
      A. PM
      Q. Can you tell me how you knew what time it was?
      A. I had just had my coffee break.
      Q. Please describe what you saw.
      A. I saw a white guy with a gun. He was pointing it at the clerk.
      Q. Where did you see this?
      A. At the abc mart.
      Q. Can you describe the white male?
Try to clarify the answers rather than add the answers
IE:
      Q. Mr Smith what time did you observe the action.
      A. About 10:00 oclock
      Q. was that at night? (You added content here)
      A. Yes. (Try to get the witness to provide the information)
     

This again may seem trivial but when the statement is reviewed the lawyer will have a way to make waves. Remember that just the slightest doubt may get a criminal free.

PRESENTATION OUTLINE

      After you have generated all the material that you will present to the client. You should outline all the basic steps taken. This is also beneficial to you billing statement. The client should be able to immediately be able to see all the results you obtained and how you obtained them. Brief descriptions of what work was done and when.


12354
Surveillance and Investigation  Preformed on John Smith
Todays date 1-1-2005


Work Preformed.
On Tuesday 7-09-03
we obtained video of the claimant mowing his lawn for approx. 1 hour.
Full details on page four of this report.

On Wed 7-10-03 We obtained a written statement from Jack Sprat
Jack stated that he observed the claimant throw his lawn mower over the fence at  his (The claimants) residence.
Full details on page nine of this report.

On Friday 7-12-03
We contacted your office at 9:00 Am and spoke to Bob Johnson.
He asked that we discontinue the surveillance and attempt to obtain one other recorded statement.

On Monday 7-15-03
We made an attempt to contact Millie Myerson for a statement.
On Tuesday 7-16-03
We contacted Millie Myerson and she declined to give a statement.
We then contacted your office and again spoke to Bob Johnson.
He requested that no further work be preformed.

This format will allow your client to have the information at hand quickly. Just one time of fumbling for paperwork from another company to answer questions from their boss and you will get more jobs. When you make your client look good you look good.

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