Maintenance of the Investigator's Notebook

The Investigator’s notebook is a repository for information relating to work carried out, but it is not necessarily the main one. There are a number of reasons for using notebooks as a primary record of information in an investigation.

1. The investigator, no matter what his level of experience and ability, cannot be expected to have a perfect memory.

2. The notes taken will provide an indication as to the state of the investigation.

3. The immediacy of properly taken notes are difficult to question in a court.

Despite the advent and availability of computer software and data recording systems, investigators giving evidence in a court will still be expected to use a notebook, be prepared to have it examined, and be further prepared to be criticised if the content is not up to the expected standard.

This section of the course therefore covers this important investigatory tool.

Purpose of the Notebook
The investigator’s notebook contains a record of that investigator’s activity in respect of

• Evidence gathering and compliance with certain legal rules governing the provenance of exhibits.
• Interviews with witnesses, e.g. first description of an offender, or explanation of an incident.
• First responses and replies by suspect persons.
• Decisions made, and why they were made.
• The recording of attendance by others at incident scenes.
• Routine work practices and schedules of the owner of the notebook.
• A contemporaneous ‘order of events’ - a diary.
• A record of activities that incur expenses payable to the investigator.

This is an extract from the SFJ Level 3 Professional Investigator Course

To learn more please see the course content page