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|
Term |
Definition |
|
Background Interviews |
Interviews with individuals who possess observations that have
the potential to help describe and explain what occurred, but
which were not derived from the scene of the event. |
|
Chain of Custody |
The manner in which we document the collection and storage of
physical evidence in order to establish at a later time that
the object is truly the thing itself. |
|
Circumstantial Evidence |
All relevant facts which are not direct evidence. |
|
Competency |
With respect to witness testimony, a person is not competent
to give testimony if the person, 1) has a neurologically impaired
memory; or 2) does not understand the difference between telling
the truth and telling a lie, i.e., is incapable of understanding
the concept of taking an oath to tell the truth. |
|
Credibility |
With respect to witness testimony, a determination of whether
-- given the entire record -- a person's testimony is believable. |
|
Demonstrative Evidence |
The manner in which we preserve physical evidence: e.g., photos,
diagrams, x-rays. |
|
Direct Evidence |
Testimonial evidence which, if observed correctly, if remembered
correctly and if communicated accurately answers the investigatory
question conclusively. |
|
Documentary Evidence |
The manner in which we preserve testimonial evidence: e.g., witness
statements, medical records, |
|
Evidence |
All relevant facts in a case. |
|
Expert Testimony |
Where someone, based on their education, training and/or experience
is permitted to speculate about what occurred. For example, a
doctor might speculate -- given the characteristics of an injury
-- how long prior to his examination the injury might have occurred. |
|
Exploratory Interview |
Interviews conducted to help establish the time or location of
an event when the initial report fails to yield sufficient information
to create the time/space intersection associated with the investigatory
question. |
|
Fact |
Any piece of information. Not "the truth." |
|
Final Report |
A report the investigatory completes at the conclusion of the
investigation which records the investigator's activities and
findings. |
|
Follow-up Interview |
An interview of someone who was previously interviewed. Can occur
for one of two reasons: 1) the investigator forgot to ask a question
in the initial interview, or subsequent to the initial interview,
the investigator determined that an additional question was relevant;
or 2) the investigator had been unable to adequately reconcile
conflicting evidence and uses a follow-up interview to more closely
question someone about that information. |
|
HCSIS |
Home and Community Service Information
System. A WEB-based database used by OMR to collect incident
data from OMR Service Delivery System providers.
|
|
Hearsay Testimony |
Where someone testifies as to what another person observed. Such
testimony, if offered in court, would constitute hearsay if it
was used to prove the truth of the repeated observations. |
|
Incident Interview |
The interview of someone who was at or about the scene of the
incident.
|
|
Incident Management |
The collection, classification and use of incident data to better
protect individuals from harm. |
|
Interrogation |
An interview which has as its purpose to put pressure on a witness
to admit to facts which the interviewer believes to be true.
In certain cases an interrogation is a device used to gain confessions
from individuals accused of misconduct. An interrogation is a
prosecutorial tool, not an investigatory tool. |
|
Investigation |
Systematic collection of facts for the purpose of describing
and explaining what occurred. |
|
Investigatory Question |
The question which represents the reason why someone would conduct
the investigation. For example: "Did Frank hit John at approximately
2:15 p.m. in the front hallway of the Franklin Street Day Program?" |
|
Opinion Testimony |
Testimony which represents speculation about what occurred. For
example: "I think John is probably the person who his Loretta." |
|
Physical Evidence |
Things and the spatial relationship between and among things:
e.g., blood on the floor; the dimensions of a room; the condition
of someone's arm. |
|
Relevant Evidence |
Facts that have the potential to help describe and explain what
occurred.
|
|
Slicing the Bologna |
An interview technique that allows for the organized and detailed
interview of an incident witness. The technique is constructed
to help the person remember as many facts as possible. |
|
Testimonial Evidence |
What a witness communicates about his memory of observations
he or she made that are relevant to the resolution of the investigatory
question. |
|
Witness Statement |
A document which preserves a witness's testimony. |