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CHAPTER 1
BASICS
An interesting event occurred in the early 1980s on a passenger bus travelling from one city to another in a certain country. There were twenty persons on board the vehicle, including the driver. On the way, it occurred to one of the passengers to check his pocket for his money. He did so instantly. Surprisingly, he noticed that five hundred dollars which he kept in his back-pocket was missing. He could not hold it. He sent an alarm. Everybody on the bus was stunned. The driver who was in charge of the vehicle then drove all the passengers to a Police Station where a report was made.
The police, after the necessary formalities, detained two of the passengers who were suspected to have taken the money.
Note that the action or steps initiated by the driver and the Police in this case were both aimed at helping to find out the true facts about where the alleged missing money was so that the owner could have his money back.
This process of trying to find out the truth about an allegation, incident, or an uncertainty is what is called Investigation.
In another development, a student left his passport on his desk during a fifteen-minute break after a morning lesson. When break was over and all the students returned to the classroom, he detected that the page which bore a valid U.S. Visa in his passport had been removed. A small peculiar pen which did not belong to him was found on his desk.
He reported the matter to the Class Teacher and gave the teacher the small pen. The teacher in turn did not mention the passport to the class. Rather, he showed the small pen to the class saying that it was found at the Dining Hall and that whoever was or knew the owner could claim it at his or her convenience.
Immediately, two students stood up and mentioned the owner of the pen. They had accompanied the owner of the pen to buy it from a stationery shop in town just the previous day.
A search conducted on the owner of the small pen who belonged to the next classroom, found the missing "Visa Page" of the passport in question on him.
In this example too, the efforts made by the owner of the Passport as well as the teacher in respect of the missing "Visa Page" were all aimed at ESTABLISHING EVIDENCE IN RELATION TO THE ALLEGED MISSING VISA PAGE.
The measures taken in both illustrations above to ESTABLISH EVIDENCE about the respective allegations, suspicions or incidents is all investigation is about. Take note that there would be no investigation unless it is prompted or called for, as seen in the examples above.
However, it is a different thing establishing evidence in a case and not providing same in the Investigation Report; it is another matter also to obtain evidence and shelve part or adulterate it in the investigation Report. These are not professional practice in this specialized field.
It must be noted that Investigation is not limited to past events; it can also be carried out on an on-going event or one that is likely to occur in future. The last two are normally conducted using clandestine principles and expertise to achieve the required results. The two examples seen so far both concern investigation of past events. Rumours are typical instances that can be subjected to clandestine investigations.
Investigation is conducted in every aspect of human life. It is a dynamic and very interesting activity. It takes place in different forms depending on the specific field of human activity that is involved, e.g. Medical, Audit, Criminal, Immigration, Customs, Fire, Accounting, Architecture, etc. Each of them requires appropriate expertise to handle efficiently and effectively.
TYPES AND FORMS OF INVESTIGATION
Types Of Investigation
An investigation may either be;
(a)Open or (b) Secret
The practical use of each of these depends on the circumstances of a particular investigation. Both types can as well be combined in an exercise where and when necessary. They both have their specific characteristics.
Open Investigation
As the name implies, Open Investigations are not concealed. All the parties concerned are fully made aware that they are involved in an investigation or an investigation is going on around them.
This type of investigation is more widely used and hence more common than the Secret one. It is usually used for Crimes, Offences, Incidents or Events that have already occurred. Take note, however, that even in an Open Investigation Secret Investigation can also be employed in order to access specific information that are vital to an investigation but not too easy to come by. It all depends on the discretion and strategy of the investigator in a particular situation as well as the nature of the specific task or case on hand.
Secret Investigation
This type of investigation involves the use of technical aids and various forms of clandestine manoeuvres. It is mostly used in 'complex' investigations and intelligence practice. This book does not discuss this type of investigation for National Security reasons. Nevertheless, let us throw a little light on the subject. Secret Investigation is mainly a Covert Activity mostly used for events that are:
(a) About to take place (certain);
(b) Likely to take place (uncertain);
(c) Still going on (certain).
It may also be employed for sensitive events that have already occurred. These may involve issues such as Coup plots, Bank Robberies, Serial Killings, Kidnaping, Cyber Fraud, Sensitive Chieftaincy Disputes and other forms of organized crime. It is also used in the Financial Sector to monitor the abuse of office, non-performance of Contractors, etc.
We shall just limit ourselves to a few characteristics of this subject area in contrast with 'Open Investigation'.
Characteristics of Secret Investigation
This involves:
a. Surveillance: this is the secret watching of a person(s),place(s), Organizations(s) Installation(s), or even a whole State in order to obtain useful information about it/them, as the case may be.
b. Secret Search: this has to do mainly with the clandestine intrusion into one's premises, e.g. House, Office, Vehicle, Mails, Personal effects, etc. There are specific guiding principles here, but, basically you ensure that you do not leave any trace/mark that could create the least suspicion for any intrusion. Secret Search is carried out at a very high Operational Speed.
c. Secret Recording : this includes bugging of telecommunication equipment, secret photography and various other clandestine recordings.
d. Secret Examination Of Documents: here, we ensure that we do not leave any trace or mark any where.
e. The person(s), Organization(s), etc. being investigated is/are not made aware of the investigation.
f. No interrogation takes place. But, elicitation could be employed for the acquisition of specific information.
g. No Statement is taken until the main Secret Investigation is over and it becomes necessary to take Statements from certain individuals of special interest to the specific investigation.
h. Very High Operational Risk: the risk involved here is very high and hence require much circumspection. Only expert hands are usually employed to direct such exercises.
The purpose of Secret Investigation is mainly to prevent Crime occurrence, to establish the Modus Operandi of sensitive crimes or other events, especially those of interest to State Security and also to obtain direct evidence.
Characteristics of Open Investigation
(a) It is mainly used for events or crimes that have already occurred, e.g. Bank Robberies, Jail Breaks, Unsuccessful Coup d'etats, Fraud, etc.
(b) The person or Organization etc being investigated is formally made aware of the investigation;
(c) The person or Organization etc being investigated is also made aware of the specific offence for which the investigation is being conducted;
(d) It can involve formal search (with or without warrant, as the case may be);
(e) Interrogation is involved;
(f) Secret Investigation procedures could/might be employed to support or enhance Open Investigation BUT not vice versa.
Let us consider the following illustration:
On 30th June, 1903, The Police Chief of an European Country received an urgent message from an informant. It read: "MAJOR GEN ALMOND APPLES, COMMANDER OF 2ND INFANTRY BRIGADE OF THE ARMY LEADING A GROUP OF YOUNG MILITARY OFFICERS AND MEN DRAWN FROM THE ARMY, AIRFORCE AND NAVY, REPORTED TO BE HOLDING PRIVATE MEETINGS IN A THICKET ABOUT 2.5KM EAST OF THE JUNGLE WARFARE BASE IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCE. THEY ARE PLOTTING TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS".
Now, in this hypothesis, we notice that the people are IN THE PROCESS OF PLOTTING to overthrow the government. So, Secret Investigation would first have to be used to establish the truth, or otherwise, of the report or allegation and possibly to obtain further evidence for the purpose of either arranging strategies to prevent the Coup d 'tat or arrest the identified suspects or both, where necessary. At least some Prima Facie Evidence must be obtained to (a) confirm or deny the information and/or (b) serve as basis for any appropriate action on it where necessary.
Granted that some suspects are successfully arrested, then Open Investigation could be conducted as well (including interrogation) at the appropriate time.
From the point of suspects' arrest, they are made aware of why they have been arrested, as required by law. The investigation from that point then becomes an OPEN one because the suspects have been formally made aware that they are being investigated. Prior to their arrest, they were not made aware that they were being investigated, and that is the nature of Secret Investigation.
Note that they COULD BE AWARE on their own, or by themselves, that they might be under some sort of Secret Monitoring or investigation. But, the important point is that they were not formally made aware of any such investigation on them until after their arrest.
Consider the following report also:
"Four security officers have been sentenced to a total of 80 years' imprisonment with hard labour for their various roles in the smuggling of cowpeas along the western frontiers of certain State.
These, who were picked up four years ago alongside six others, are to serve 20 years each in prison. The Fast Track High Court, presided over by Justice JORHJ JONNES, upheld the case of the prosecution and said the prosecution was able to lead evidence TO PROVE THE OFFENCES of abetment of unlawful exportation of cowpeas and corruption of a public officer ..."
The facts of the case were that in December, 1905, the National Cowpeas Board, unhappy with the extent of cowpea smuggling across the borders of the country, employed the services of a special agency to conduct investigation into the activities of State Security Agencies posted along the various border posts of its western frontiers.
Personnel of the contracted special agency carried out the investigations within two years. The team, in the course of the investigations, visited a number of border posts, including Hillsdorf, Kweiksu, Saku, Abrantie Fie and came across a number of security personnel, including the convicts manning the border posts.
As part of their investigations, members of the team presented themselves as ordinary smugglers seeking to smuggle cowpeas to her neighbour to the west. According to the prosecution, the convicts, in their capacity as security personnel, played diverse roles in assisting and facilitating the team to smuggle several bags of cowpea to that sister country.
In the process, they took huge fees for allowing the undercover investigating team to smuggle the commodity to that country. Interactions by the undercover team with the public officials were captured by hidden cameras.
Based on the recordings, FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS were conducted by the Police resulting in the arrest of the convicts." (All emphases mine).
You will notice from the facts of this case as published in the Daily that the nature of the investigation was such that Secret Investigation was inevitable. You will also notice the use of secret cameras to record evidence (direct evidence) and the use of appropriate cover right from the onset to conceal the investigations.
The Secret Camera recordings of the activities of the security officers paved the way for "FURTHER INVESTIGATIONS". Further Investigations here does not mean a rush into Open Investigation. Rather, further CLANDESTINE MEASURES were adopted by The Police, in view of the nature of the task, up to the point of ARRESTS.
The moment an arrest is made the investigation becomes an Open one, to a large extent.
The Private Investigators COULD ONLY USE SECRET INVESTIGATION, while thereafter the Police combined both Secret and Open Investigations very well resulting in the arrest and conviction of the affected security officers.
In this piece, we notice further that:
(a) Secret Investigation was mainly used, especially right from the onset. Only very few people, who needed to know, actually knew what was in store.
(b) After Secret Investigation was applied up to some point and some suspects were picked up by the Police, Open Investigation, automatically, was roped in and that enabled the suspects to, for instance, be interrogated and Statements obtained from them.
(c) The exercise was a very good combination of Secret and Open Investigations. Neither of these two types of investigation could have completely helped the situation.
So, you can see the difference between Secret Investigation and Open Investigation in this brief illustration and how effective and interesting a combination of both can be, if and only if properly planned and executed.
FORMS OF INVESTIGATION
Investigations take many forms, depending on what is at stake. We can talk of Medical Investigations, Ballistic Investigation, Audit Investigations, Criminal Investigations, Architectural Investigations and so on. Each is a specialty of its own. Note, however that sometimes Criminal Investigation encompasses various forms of Investigation depending on what is under investigation at a point in time. That is to say, during Criminal Investigations other forms of investigation can be brought into play.
Sometimes a particular investigation would require a combination of two or more of the various forms of investigation just as we have seen with the two types of investigation.
It must be noted here that where an investigator is not very knowledgeable in a particular field of endeavour, he or she should not hesitate to seek assistance from the appropriate expert, when necessary. Unless this is done, the investigator would not be able to arrive at any good findings and cannot therefore be fair in his report. This is because every form of investigation requires specific professional expertise to unearth the required evidence.
Let us consider this example: "One Madam Apple, a landlady, reported to the Immigration Service of a certain country recently that some eight female foreigners came in as students to rent her four-bedroom self-contained flat.
According to Madam Apple, she had observed the ladies for some time and suspected that they were not students as they claimed. Rather, they were commercial sex workers who also engaged in drug trafficking and the shooting of pornographic films with some male foreign nationals in the said house. She said she could not just eject them because their rent advance had not been exhausted.
For these reasons, according to the landlady, she wanted the Immigration Service to arrest and deport them."
Now, when you carefully study this case, you will notice that both the Immigration Service and the Police have respective roles to play in it. The fact that the case mainly bothers on Immigration and also that it was first reported to the Immigration Service does not mean only the Immigration Service has to deal with it.
Immigration will only determine the Immigration Status of each of the foreigners involved (assuming they were successfully arrested). That is, Immigration would find out whether each of them had a Valid Residence or Visitors' Permit and if even "Yes", whether any of the conditions under which each permit was granted had been broken, and so on. The Police, on its part, would tackle the shooting of pornographic films and drug trafficking. In this way a comprehensive report/findings could be made on the issue.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Professional Investigation"
by .
Copyright © 2018 E. Anim-Danquah.
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