As an investigator, I have had the occasion to read other
investigators reports as part of follow-up assignments. In my experience, I have
found that investigators tend to lay out what it is they have done in very large
paragraphs with the results of the investigation buried randomly within this
rambling dialog.
The client may have to read the report several times to grasp
exactly what it is that the investigator found out. This article will give you
some basic guidelines to putting together a report that will not only save you
time, but it will save your client time and frustration while impressing him or
her with your abilities.
1) Organize your report into main categories with outline headings. Use roman
numerals, bold and all caps. For example:
I. SUMMARY
II. SURVEILLANCE
III. BACKGROUND
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS
2) Under each main category, break it down once again into
specific topics. Under background you might have A. Criminal Convictions, B.
Driver's Record, C. Civil Judgments, Liens and Bankruptcies, D. Neighbor
Interviews. Once again, the outline format breaks up the information in easy to
read and easy to find blocks.
3) If necessary, break it down even further. Under neighbor interviews do
1. Marci Champagne, 123 Maple, Springfield, MO, 65807;
417-889-3391. Underline and italicize to help make it even more visually
distinctive.
4) Always start your report with a summary of your findings.
Busy attorneys and SIU managers want to know exactly what the results are, and
they don't want to have to wade through the report to do so.
5) Only make recommendations, if they are warranted. Your
recommendations should be limited to the need for further investigation and what
that might entail unless otherwise asked to do so by your client.
6) Never interject your opinion about what the subject is
doing, might be doing, might be feeling, might be thinking, etc. It is tempting
for many of us to interpret what is going on, but our job is only to report the
actions or activities that we see. Interpretation is up to the client.
7) Head each page with enough information that if the report
pages get separated, the client knows where it belongs. For example:
RIPLEY/File No. 970211A
August 4, 1999
Page Four
The top line represents your client's name and his file
reference number which should also be in the RE: line on the first page. You
might put the subject's name there instead of a file number.
8) Always, Always, Always check your report for spelling and
grammar errors. If you don't have grammar and spellcheck on your computer, have
someone in your office edit your reports for you. It doesn't matter how well you
lay out your report if it contains sentences like "We was watching the subject
bild a shead."
9) Refer to yourself as "this investigator" or, when there
was more than one investigator on the case, use "investigator A" and
"investigator B" with references to who those investigators are at the end of
the report. It comes across more professionally to say "this investigator"
rather than "I", although sometimes you can't get around it.
10) Whenever you have documentation relating to a specific
part of your report, refer to that documentation within the report. For example,
when discussing the activities of the subjects captured on film, insert (see
attached photographs). When referring to criminal convictions, insert (see
Certified Missouri Highway Patrol Report in appendices section).
11) Organize very large reports in a binder. Use tabs with
appropriate headings and even put photographs in photo sleeves within the
binder. Use a table of contents page and include a listing for all appendices.
The client has probably spent a lot of money for this report and it should look
like he got his money's worth.
12) The number one rule to remember before mailing off your
report is to ask yourself, "Does this represent the time, expertise and
professionalism that went into this assignment?" If the answer is "yes", mail
it. If it is "no", redo it.
Leilani Canella is a co-owner of Faber Investigations and
Bulldog Technologies & Investigative Resources in Springfield, Missouri. She has
a Bachelor's Degree in Writing with a minor in Communications from Southwest
Missouri State University. Leilani is the Secretary of the Missouri Association
of Private Investigators and the editor of the MAPI
