Administrative Interviews and
5.4 Communicating Our Results
5.4.1 Bulletized Summary Reports
Conclude the interview by completing all of the items on your checklist, provid-ing the interviewee your contact information and any final instructions. Then arrange for the interviewee to safely return to work if appropriate. A few final thoughts:
◾ SAFETY IS YOUR FIRST PRIORITY.
◾ Your work will affect the lives of those you interview and those they touch.
◾ Treat the subject as you would wish someone treat you or a family member.
◾ Respect the rights of those you interview.
◾ Treat all people with respect and dignity.
The presentation is tight and to the point. Overwhelmingly, my clients have grown fond of this format as well. Moreover, it can be used for nearly any type of investigative report and any type of situation. I strongly recommend you try it if you are currently not using it. The bulletized summary reports also easily lend themselves to the insertion and use of references, exhibits, and footnotes. Because I like to use footnotes in my reports, the bulletized summary report allows me to quickly insert a few words that otherwise might not fit or flow smoothly in the body of the report. For example, see Figure 5.3.
Neatly, the footnote allows me to quickly provide additional information and context to what may appear to be an otherwise ordinary piece of information.
Footnotes used in this fashion make the report interesting and more readable.
Attorneys have used footnotes for years; isn’t it about time professional investiga-tors and fact finders do also?
Interview of Mr. Erik Spicer Saturday, August 21, 2011 Mr. Spicer stated:
• He is the Vice President of Finance and has been an employee of Marathon Press (“Marathon”) since August of 1983.
• He currently works at the Houston, Texas office located at 1541 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 150.
• Before joining Marathon he worked for Random House as an auditor for approximately fifteen years at its New York, New York headquarters.
• He reports to Mr. Charles L. Davidson, President and C.E.O. and has done so for the past eleven years.
• On Monday, August 16, 2011, he arrived at work at approximately 7:30 a.m.
and opened the office for he was the first to arrive (see Exhibit C, Access Control Log dated August 16, 2011).
• Upon entering the business’s executive office area in order to go to his office he noticed Mr. Davidson’s office door was open and his desk lamp was on.
• Looking into Mr. Davidson’s office expecting to see him, he saw instead, Ms. Rene Williams at his credenza with what appeared to be a contract file in her hand.
Figure 5.1 Sample of bulletized report.
Bulletized summary reports also allow reports to be quickly and easily redacted.
Redacted reports are sometimes required when providing information to the authorities or others who are not members of the investigative team. In order to protect confidentialities and, in some cases, privacy, redacted reports are sometimes necessary. Deleting individual bullets or groups of bullets is easy and fast. The same cannot be said when redacting narrative reports.
Tip: Select a report format that best serves your purpose. Use a format that you find easy to prepare and your customer finds easy to use.
Here are a few additional suggestions regarding reports:
◾ Ensure every report is clear, concise, and complete. The report should be a stand-alone document that can be read and understood by anyone.
◾ Prepare your report so that it tells a story. It should have a beginning, middle (or body), and an ending. Make sure your story is complete and precisely expresses that which is being reported upon.
◾ Ensure that your report objectively represents your investigative result.
Subjective commentary and recommendations, even when appropriate, do not belong in an investigative report.
Interview of Ms. Mary Brown Tuesday, June 14, 2011 Ms. Brown stated:
• She has been an employee of XXX since July 2001, and is currently a maintenance clerk.
• She knew Ms. Snell from her previous place of employment, Hills Pet Nutrition and that Ms. Snell was known as a liar there, just as she is known to be one now.
• Ms. Snell hired her son-in-law (name unknown) at a wage, which exceeded his skills and experience.
• She was resentful that Ms. Snell rated her performance substandard and Ms. Brown intends to appeal it.
Figure 5.2 Sample of bulletized report 02.
◾ Do not use military time. Other than those with military or law enforcement experience, most people are unfamiliar with military time. It is professionally arrogant to use it when your customer cannot translate it.
◾ Do not use law enforcement terminology. Do not use terms such as agent, suspect, perp, busted, or any other form of cop-speak. It is unprofessional and makes for lousy reading.
◾ Do not opine on the subject’s credibility, truthfulness, or character.
◾ Do not offer a legal opinion or draw a legal conclusion.
◾ Do not use abbreviations or acronyms unless properly explained.
◾ Do not address the subject solely by his or her last name. Address the subject properly in the body of your report, and use Mr. and Ms.
◾ Use footnotes to provide supplemental information or context.
◾ Use footers on all of your reports. It looks professional and helps identify pages that have been separated from the original document.
Interview of Ms. Susan Snell Tuesday, June 22, 2013 Ms. Snell stated:
• She has been an employee of XXX since August 2013, and is currently a scheduling supervisor.
• She knew Ms. Brown from her previous place of employment, Hills Pet Nutrition and that they worked together closely for many years.
• Ms. Brown frequently complains about the performance of others and often distracts others with her constant griping.
• She hired her son-in-law, David Long approximately one year ago after receiving management approval from Stan Smith, Facility Superintendent.
• Mr. Smith decided both the pay rate and job title of Mr. Long at the time he was hired and that she had no influence over either decision.*
* This assertion is in direct conflict with the statements of Ms. Brown (dated June 14, 2013) and the first interview of Mr. Smith (dated June 15, 2011). It should also be noted that the employment application of Mr. Long dated April 1, 2010, indicates that it was Ms. Snell who decided Mr. Long’s starting wage and it was she who approved a waiver for a pre-employment drug screening of Mr. Long (See report Exhibit Q).
Figure 5.3 Sample of bulletized report entry with footnote.
◾ Clearly mark the classification (i.e., COMPANY CONFIDENTIAL (or its equivalent), ATTORNEY WORK PRODUCT) on each page of your report.
◾ Consider writing your reports in the third person, past tense. The use of first person should be reserved for statements, addenda, and affidavits.
◾ Spell-check and proofread all reports before submission.
The most frequent shortcomings I see include:
◾ The report writer has a poor understanding of facts and/or topic.
◾ Disorganization.
◾ Communicating in the wrong language (using industry vernacular or acro-nyms no one knows).
◾ A general failure to meet needs or expectations of the reader.