I’ve received a few emails this week about criminal investigations. In these instances it was questions regarding a crime that took place and looking for ideas to determine the perpetrator. (There is another area of investigations which deals with working for the Public Defender’s Office or private criminal defense council. You can listen to a pod cast about this type of investigation here.)
One technique that private investigators use, which can be very useful in criminal investigations, is a neighborhood canvass. This is basically knocking on the doors and talking to all the neighbors or businesses within the area to see what you can find out. As I responded to one of my emailers, criminals are not necessarily the most reliable friends. The investigator may just get lucky and someone knows exactly who committed the act you are looking into and since the perpetrator just po’ed the person the investigator is speaking to you will get the break you need. But you’ll never know unless you ask. Again, I’ll stress that communication skills are important as the people the investigator is talking to need to feel comfortable with him or her.
When performing a neighborhood canvass it’s a good idea to do it as soon after the crime as possible. Also it’s a good idea if the investigator can be in the neighborhood at the same time as the crime took place. People are often creatures of habit, the same people and same cars will likely be about at the same time everyday Monday through Friday at least.
And as is important with all investigations the PI needs to keep very good notes of who he or she talked to and when, and what each person had to say. Even if they basically say they don’t know anything this should be noted. This person may change their mind should the case end up at trial down and thorough notes may help impeach them.
Neighborhood canvasses are also a good tool in accident investigations
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: Criminal Investigations, Knoxville, Neighborhood Canvass, private investigator
