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Don't miss our next workshop on investigations for HR professionals happening October 25, 2018 visit our

We are very pleased to be offering an outstanding all day workshop on conducting workplace

We are very pleased to introduce Stefanie Blacker, who joined Benard + Associates on November 21, 2016.

As another year ends, we want to thank our clients, associates, friends, and family for their support in 2016. Each year brings about the demands of change and the excitement of new challenges. We look forward to all that 2017 will bring, and we wish all of you the very best for a wonderful holiday season and a new year filled with peace and love.

The use of surveillance is common in some areas of investigative work, while in other areas it has not been relied upon as heavily. There has been controversy over its use and as a result there is no shortage of case law where the issues of surveillance and the manner in which it is carried out has been considered.

For investigators, the report is everything. Investigators are not on the stand for every case, and most cases do not even make it to a hearing. Thus, the investigator’s reputation relies on his or her report.

To avoid claims of incompetence, investigators should implement evidence procedures and follow them. They need to make sure all evidence is dated and use some form of case management. For documentation, investigators must ensure they have backup. They should scan documents or make extra copies with dates and times for all interviews and documents for each case file, and log every phone call for every case file.

Investigators-even if they understand the line between appropriate conduct and misconduct and would never cross it-can still be accused of misconduct, such as coercion, threats, and intimidation to obtain information. To protect themselves from such accusations, investigators should record their interviews, as long as their client doesn’t object. However, recording is a two-way street.

Accusations of incompetence can result from poor record keeping and note taking, inaccurate or unclear report writing, failure to consider all sources of information and failure to meet timelines.