Area canvass enquiries in homicide or serious crime investigations

Question 1

Summary

Answer 1

Introduction
The area canvass is a vital component of any homicide or other serious crime investigation. The phase serves to identify evidence and information that may assist the investigation. It must be approached in a methodical manner using a strategy centred around key locations identified by a thorough analysis of the available information. The area canvass must be timely, flexible and tactical. It provides a snapshot of the community at the time and place at which the offence occurred.

Area canvass enquiries are most often used in residential locations but the area-specific principles of a canvass phase can easily be applied to any location where people are associated with premises or to multiple areas/premises. For example: a shopping mall, industrial estate, transport operator, hotel, second-hand dealer, pawnshop or bank.

Question 2

Purpose

Answer 2

Often links exist between the scene of a crime and the offender, victim and witnesses. A methodically conducted area canvass therefore presents a high likelihood of identifying or contacting the offender, an associate of the offender, significant witnesses, identifying evidence or exhibits and establishing significant facts.

The offender had to move into and out of the area around the scene in order to access the scene itself and it is not uncommon for the offender to reside within the canvass area. A canvass can therefore identify witnesses to the movements of the offender before and after the offence occurred, as well as witnesses to the actual offence.

Question 3

Responsibilities of OC Area Canvass

Answer 3

The OC Area Canvass reports to the OC Investigation and together must ensure the canvass is conducted thoroughly and recorded accurately. The OC Area Canvass must ensure the area canvass team remains focused and that the canvass results in efficient use of resources and the return of relevant and manageable information and material.

Question 4

Objectives

Answer 4

The main objectives of an area canvass may include:

identifying the offender
identifying and locating evidence, such as vehicles, discarded clothing, weapons and other articles
identifying witnesses
gathering information.

Question 5

Other benefits

Answer 5

Other benefits of conducting an area canvass may include:

sightings of the victim or offender before or after the event
sightings of relevant property or vehicles
sightings of potential witnesses
creating the opportunity for an early arrest through early identification of the offender
obtaining key information to drive the investigation or develop lines of enquiry
promoting awareness of significant occurrences
eliminating unidentified vehicles or persons reported by other witnesses
obtaining an accurate record of the local community.

Question 6

Review

Answer 6

An area canvass must be regularly reviewed as new evidence is gathered and amended accordingly. Subsequent canvasses of the same (or different) areas may be required as facts and circumstances change, and changes may be required to questionnaires used in subsequent canvasses. The ‘picture’ generated by a subsequent canvass should be compared to the original one, and any differences investigated, as necessary.

Question 7

Getting ready for an area canvass

Answer 7

Preparation
The area canvass checklist is provided as an aid memoire to managing the area canvass phase. The OC Area Canvass should also familiarise themselves with the OC Area Canvass Desk file within the Serious Crime Template.

Reconnaissance
The OC Investigation, OC Area Canvass and OC Suspects should attend the external/ general scene as soon as practicable, to make a reconnaissance of the area and conduct an appreciation and set the parameters and objectives of the canvass. This will also provide a clear perspective of the area, when it is referred to subsequently in statements and/or briefings.

Appreciation process
Before an area canvass commences, the OC Area Canvass in consultation with the OC Investigation, should conduct an initial appreciation to determine whether a full area canvass phase is required and the method and timing of enquiries to be made.

The OC Area Canvass should carefully consider to what extent and for what purpose the canvass is being carried out. The simple question to be asked is why?

The appreciation should take account of all available and relevant information, including all information generated by initial ‘house to house’ enquiries. This appreciation may include the reason the enquiries were made, locations involved, parameters covered, questions asked, staff involved, records kept, who was or was not spoken to, ‘alibi’ details, vehicles owned, witness statements taken, intelligence obtained and the identity of any suspects or persons of interest.

Local staff can generally manage a small localised area canvass in the immediate vicinity of a scene, or smaller localised enquiries. However, more extensive enquiries require deployment of dedicated resources. On occasion, Police recruits have been seconded to augment staff numbers.

Timing of a canvass phase
An initial area canvass will normally be conducted when Police first attend the incident. A formal area canvass will normally follow and re-visits are frequently required to capture persons who were not present during the earlier canvass enquiries.

In some cases, the area canvass should be conducted at the same time as the original offence occurred, to capture people who regularly pass through that area at that time of the day, e.g. a homicide of a person in a park in the early hours of the morning.

Setting the objectives
The key to effective management of resources is planning and foresight. The OC Investigation in conjunction with their appointed OC Area Canvass should develop a clear strategy with realistic objectives, communicated to all those involved in the process so they understand what, where, why and how they are to achieve the objectives. The strategy, including parameters of the canvass, should be approved by the OC Investigation before the canvass commences.

Question 8

Identifying location parameters

Answer 8

Parameters for the area to be covered by the canvass must be adequate and relevant to achieving the investigation objectives.

The OC Area Canvass should ensure all available information has been analysed to identify locations which are significant to the investigation, and the users of those locations. Police employees or trusted organisations and members of the community who have knowledge of the local area may be consulted.

Relevant locations which may influence the setting of location parameters include:

scenes, for example:
sites where victims, offenders or witnesses have been present
sites where offences have taken place
sites where vehicles, property or exhibits have been found
premises within the line of sight of scenes
access and egress routes to and from scenes
areas where an offender may have lain in wait
location where the victim was last seen alive
locations or premises frequented by the victim
locations of similar or previous incidents identified by intelligence as having occurred in the same locality as the offence under investigation.
Specialist Police units such as the Behavioural Science Unit or criminal or geographic profilers may be consulted to assist with setting parameters or identifying locations where suspects are likely to frequent or to reside.

Where practical, parameters may be set to correspond with natural boundaries such as railway lines or roads.

Question 9

Risk assessment

Answer 9

Once the location parameters are set, intelligence systems should be analysed to establish whether there are any people or events in the area which those carrying out the enquiries should be aware of. This may include:

violent offenders
persons wanted by police for other crimes or wanted on warrant
groups with particular linguistic or cultural needs
local incidents or issues which residents may raise with Police.

Question 10

Identifying time parameters

Answer 10

Time parameters are used by area canvass staff to verify the presence of individuals at an address or area, and to interview potential witnesses. Time parameters should be set for:

the offence (i.e. times between which the offence is thought to have occurred)
the scene (i.e. times when people visited the scene)
sightings (i.e. times at which a victim, other witness or offender was seen at particular locations)
previous residents and visitors at the scene
consideration of people’s varying work times.

Question 11

Identifying suspects/persons of interest

Answer 11

When it is established that a suspect resides or works at a particular location, the OC Investigation must develop a strategy to identify all persons living or working at that location, and obtain accounts of their movements at relevant times. It is logical to achieve this through use of an area canvass, which will assist to assess if individuals may be suspects, by corroborating accounts provided by those persons.

Question 12

Identifying witnesses

Answer 12

People residing or working in the area may have relevant information. These witnesses may be peripheral or significant to the investigation and may include people who have witnessed:

events connected to an incident under investigation
sightings of the victim or offender before or after the event
sightings of other potential witnesses
sightings of relevant property or vehicles.

Question 13

Discreet area canvass

Answer 13

In some circumstances it may be necessary to conduct a canvass phase covertly, such as to identify persons who may avoid a particular area if they were aware of police presence. For example, a covert canvass may be used to identify persons attending an area to pick up prostitutes.

Question 14

Setting ‘subject’ parameters

Answer 14

Investigators may use canvass enquiries to identify people with particular characteristics who are relevant to the enquiry but who are not thought to be the offender. This is most likely to occur when they are seeking to establish the identity of unnamed people who have been sighted by other witnesses, for example an unknown male who was seen walking a dog in the vicinity of the scene or the driver of a car that was seen parked in a relevant location.

In other cases, investigators may decide to exclude some groups of the community, for example, males and females under the age of 14 years.

Question 15

Resources and canvass tools

Answer 15

The OC Area Canvass should seek to obtain suitable street maps, aerial photographs showing houses and the location of sections, geological information, local council records and other applicable references. Consideration can be given to open source Internet applications, Police intelligence systems and public libraries to obtain resources. Maps of New Zealand, including aerial photographs, are available through Google Maps and the Quality Analysis tools managed on Analysts’ Enterprise workstations.

A full assessment should be made of available resources, after which the resources and the area to be canvassed should be divided into manageable sections. The OC Area Canvass must plan a progressive canvass, completing priority areas first. All personnel must be fully briefed, summarising the situation and detailing each employee’s duties and areas of responsibility, particularly in respect of the correspondence flow.

Question 16

Questionnaires

Answer 16

To ensure relevant information is gathered in a consistent manner during an Area Canvass, investigators should use a prescribed questionnaire to incorporate the circumstances of the particular offence.

The OC Investigation is responsible for authorising a questionnaire before it can be used, and for deciding the format of documentation that is required. The standard questionnaire Form A and Form B are recommended, depending on the circumstances. Refer to the Questionnaire guidelines for options. ‘Form A’ and ‘Form B’ can be downloaded from the Serious Crime Template.

In cases where investigators have specific material that they hope to locate, a more specific questionnaire may be required. The quality of information gathered reflects the quality of questions asked. In preparing questionnaires, consideration should be given to consulting other parties to ensure the questions selected are relevant and the information is collected in a consistent manner, i.e. the Investigative Interviewing Unit or an intelligence analyst.

Care must be taken to ensure that the questions asked do not divulge information that is only known to Police and the offender about the crime that has been committed, or information that may allow the media or other persons to undertake their own enquiries.

Master record

A detailed master record of progress should be continually maintained and updated by the OC Area Canvass. An Excel spreadsheet template of area canvass results is provided in the area canvass folder within the Serious Crime Template.

Question 17

During an area canvass

Answer 17

Team effort
An area canvass requires a team effort and the effective completion of an area canvass will depend largely on planning, supervision and the input and thoroughness of Police involved. Officers engaged in an area canvass require comprehensive daily briefing and debriefing regarding expectations, their responsibilities and developments within the investigation. This will ensure accuracy and also assist those involved to remain motivated and focussed.

Key points for team briefings
A briefing should include but is not be limited to the points in this table.

Step

1 - Summarise the situation and detail the duties and areas of responsibility of each canvass team member

2 - Emphasise the need for thoroughness and that every person in every household and visitors must be seen personally.

3 - Stress that the questionnaire is only a guide to ensure the questions are asked, but should be regarded as flexible in that information supplied could lead to other questions.

4 - Advise that evidence of possible probative value must be obtained in a formal written statement rather than notebook form. Note: The questionnaire must be endorsed, if a statement is taken.

5 - Consider visiting the canvass area to record every address including flats and vacant sections and then reconcile these premises with the map.

6 - Ensure all forms are completed, and actioned as outlined.

7 - Reconcile completed locations with the master copy to avoid duplication.

8 - Advise staff on:

• what action to take if they believe they have identified the suspect
• what action to take if they locate items of evidential value
• what action to take if individuals refuse to assist
• how to complete the correspondence flow
• what information can be disclosed during the area canvass (i.e. information in media releases or otherwise already in the public domain)
• what information must not be disclosed.

Canvass personnel are the main visible Police presence that public see in relation to an investigation. The public response may depend on how well Police foster goodwill and encourage a free flow of information. The briefing is an opportunity to remind staff the success of the investigation relies upon the co-operation and goodwill of the public and this is to be reflected in their approach to persons spoken to during the canvass.

Every opportunity should be taken to emphasise the importance of keeping accurate records. Clear and regular debriefs will help to ensure this occurs.

Question 18

Monitoring progress

Answer 18

As each household is completed, the OC Area Canvass should shade in a map to maintain a quick up-to-date record of the areas canvassed. A similar map, updated daily, should be retained at the Operation Headquarters.

In addition, the OC Area Canvass should continually review completed canvass forms as they are submitted, in order to:

evaluate the quality of completed work and provide quality assurance
identify lines of enquiry to be highlighted to the 2IC
monitor ongoing progress of the canvass
facilitate the detailed recording of progress.
A detailed master record of ongoing progress should be continually maintained and updated by the OC Area Canvass, showing:

which addresses have been visited,
which occupants interviewed,
the documentation completed,
and any relevant comments made.
A master excel spreadsheet template of area canvass results is provided in the area canvass folder within the Serious Crime Template.
As each household is completed, the OC Area Canvass should shade in a map to maintain a quick up-to-date record of the areas canvassed. A similar map, updated daily, should be retained at the Operation Headquarters.

In addition, the OC Area Canvass should continually review completed canvass forms as they are submitted, in order to:

evaluate the quality of completed work and provide quality assurance
identify lines of enquiry to be highlighted to the 2IC
monitor ongoing progress of the canvass
facilitate the detailed recording of progress.
A detailed master record of ongoing progress should be continually maintained and updated by the OC Area Canvass, showing:

which addresses have been visited,
which occupants interviewed,
the documentation completed,
and any relevant comments made.
A master excel spreadsheet template of area canvass results is provided in the area canvass folder within the Serious Crime Template.

Question 19

Points to consider

Answer 19

Use of experts

Consideration for example should be given to the use of experts in areas with diverse ethnic culture which may help alleviate the misinterpretation of responses and behaviour. The OC Area Canvass or senior officer should be present at the daily briefing given by the OC Investigation.

Use of an aide-memoir and script

Consideration should be given to providing staff with an aide-memoire or script to ensure they have ready access to all of the relevant information they need to conduct interviews. Relevant information may include local or national news items, TV schedules or significant events to jog witnesses’ memories. Any photographs of victims or property used should be of high quality. Such reference material should be reviewed and updated as new information becomes available.

Leaflets

In some cases, people may be initially reluctant to provide officers with information that could be useful. It is good practice to leave a leaflet at each address that gives details of the investigation and contact telephone numbers. This will provide those in possession of information with a means of communicating it to the investigation team when they are ready to do so.

Other options

On occasions, the OC Investigation may decide to limit the extent of the area canvass and adopt an alternative approach. Consideration can be given to using the approaches outlined below or a combination of them, to complement door to door enquiries:

Media.
Poster campaign.
Mail drop.
High profile police presence, using a caravan.

Whatever options are decided upon, it should be noted that studies reveal up to 40% of occupants within area canvass zones could be ‘unknowing witnesses’ to an element of the crime under investigation.

Question 20

Public reassurance

Answer 20

The presence of Police officers conducting area canvass enquiries provides public reassurance in the immediate area of an offence. Depending on the nature of the incident and the community concerned, investigators may decide to involve local community leaders or local authority staff to help provide further reassurance.

Certain types of offence will generate intensive media interest. Reporters are likely to knock on doors looking for exclusive interviews with local residents. It is worth considering that officers carrying out the area canvass make residents aware of this possibility and pass on advice to them as appropriate.

Officers may offer crime prevention and personal safety advice but should ensure that this is consistent and relevant to the circumstances and not likely to adversely impact on public confidence. It may be more appropriate to include this as part of a wider media and community strategy aimed at public reassurance.

The OC Investigation should ensure that any information given to the public in this way is consistent with their media strategy, and that enquiry officers are fully briefed about only divulging authorised information.

Question 21

After an area canvass
Debriefing

Answer 21

At the conclusion of the area canvass a thorough debrief must be carried out. This may include confirming such aspects as:

• key locations where door to door enquiries have been undertaken
• parameters of initial Police activity
• what questions were asked and any perceived issues from the respondents
• what records have been completed
• who has been spoken to at what address
• whether personal descriptions been taken of persons seen
• whether NIA/Intelligence checks been completed in respect of persons seen
• relevant information provided by persons seen
• any intelligence obtained
• whether persons have a credible alibi
• whether witness interviews have been conducted and/or
• statements taken for persons providing evidence
• details/locations of vehicles owned by persons interviewed
• details of other persons who live or were present at the premises
• identity of any suspects
• details of premises where there was no response
• confirmation that all notebooks of staff members involved in the area canvass are accounted for
• whether any issues arose that could improve future performance in canvass enquiries.

Question 22

Final report

Answer 22

At the conclusion of the area canvass the phase OC must submit a report to the OC Investigation outlining the circumstances of this particular aspect of the investigation. The report should include; a summary of all action taken, any significant findings highlighted and attention drawn to any action that has been undertaken which was outside of the original phase strategy.

Question 23

Guidelines to completing a canvass questionnaire

Answer 23

Supervisors responsible for overseeing an area canvass must be competent investigators. They must understand the systems used to gather, store, analyse and disseminate correspondence.

The following information is intended as a guide to illustrate how correspondence in an area canvass may be managed. It provides some direction on different issues encountered when conducting the canvass.

The questionnaire consists of Part A and Part B which are provided in the area canvass folder within the Serious Crime Template. It is recommended these two parts are printed on different coloured paper so that they can be easily distinguished. Electronic systems will allow variation in how the information is stored, indexed and searched.

Part A
Area canvass staff should complete the Part A form when they first visit an address. One copy of the form is needed for:

each dwelling
each flat or apartment in the case of multiple dwellings on a single property
a vacant dwelling or empty section.
The Part A form records the:

street name
house number
flat number
personal details of all residents
personal details of all other people who were visiting the address at the time of the offence
vehicles used by all residents and visitors to the address.
The OC Area Canvass retains completed Part A forms.

Part B
The Part B form is the questionnaire used in the investigation. The OC Investigation and the OC Area Canvass decide on the wording in the questionnaire, depending on what they wish to establish.

Part B forms are completed, for each person who is interviewed during the canvass.

The Part B form records the:

personal details
home details
work details
answers to specific questions.
Any evidential information provided by the witness must also be recorded by way of Formal Written Statement.

The OC Area Canvass retains completed Part B forms so they can:

check them for information relevant to the enquiry
match up the Part B forms with the relevant Part A forms for that address
tick off the Part A entries to show who has been interviewed.

Question 24

Visitors

Answer 24

When the occupant of the dwelling or visitor to that dwelling is no longer there, Area Canvass staff must obtain information that will assist Police to locate and interview that person, and record this on the Part A form.

On receipt of a Part A form relating to someone who is no longer in the area, the OC Area Canvass should:

submit a report requesting Police interview the person
attach two copies of a Part B form to that report
give the original report and the two Part B forms to the 2 IC
attach a duplicate of the report to the relevant Part A form as a record of an outstanding enquiry.
When the 2IC receives the report, they will pass on the documentation to the relevant Police district for the enquiry to be made.

When the out-of-area enquiry has been completed, the OC Area Canvass should process the Part B form in the usual manner.

Question 25

Conducting an interview

Answer 25

Area canvass staff will need to use follow-up questions when necessary. The staff should use their initiative about discussing matters outside the scope of the questionnaire, subject to the parameters set by the OC Area Canvass.

When a person spoken to in the area canvass has relevant information to offer, the investigating member must:

arrange for them to provide a Formal Written Statement, which is provided to the 2IC
record on their Part B form they have made a Formal Written Statement and add a description of the person interviewed. This information is particularly helpful if there are indications the offender lives near the scene of the crime
ensure the witness information is conveyed to the OC Area Canvass and 2IC Investigation as soon as practicable
give the Part B form to the OC Area Canvass.

Question 26

Filing

Answer 26

When all enquiries in respect of a particular address have been completed, the OC Area Canvass will:

file Part A and Part B forms together, in numerical and street sequence
send the duplicate Part B form to the File Manager for filing alphabetically, separately from the main file
shade in the area on the area canvass map.

Question 27

Area canvass checklist

Answer 27

The points in this checklist outline the key areas of responsibility the OC Area Canvass should consider before, during and after an area canvass. It is important when developing an area canvass plan, that the OC Area Canvass and OC Investigation ensure final decisions are driven by the individual circumstances of an investigation and not by completion of the checklist.

Before area canvass

Define objectives, area and scope

1 Obtain suitable street and other maps of the area showing houses and location of sections.

2 Visit and inspect the canvass area to record every address including flats and vacant sections. Confer with the OC Investigation to assess:

the extent of action taken to date
identify the parameters to be covered, including the physical boundaries of the area
assess the staff, transport and other resource required.

3 Reconcile the list of premises with the map.

4 In conjunction with the OC Investigation, develop an area canvass strategy addressing:

area canvass objectives
location parameters
time parameters
risk assessment
identifying suspects/persons of interest
identifying witnesses
resources
use of questionnaires.

5 Divide the area into manageable sections and plan a progressive canvass, completing priority areas first.

During canvass

6 Fully brief all staff, covering the following:

Summarise the situation and detail the duties and areas of responsibility of each team member.
Emphasise the need for thoroughness and that every person in every household as well as visitors must be seen personally.
Stress the questionnaire is only a guide to ensure the questions are asked, but should be regarded as flexible in that information supplied could lead to other questions.
Evidence of possible probative value is to be obtained by way of Formal Written Statement and this must be endorsed on the questionnaire.
Provide guidance on what action staff should take if they:
identify the suspect; or
locate evidence; or
encounter individuals who refuse to assist.
Expectations for how correspondence is to be completed.
What information can and can not be disclosed.

7 Ensure all forms are completed and actioned - see questionnaire guidelines.

8 Shade in the map as each household is completed, to enable a quick up-to-date record to be kept of the area canvassed. A similar map, updated daily, is to be kept at the Operation HQ.

9 Maintain a detailed ongoing record of area canvass results showing addresses visited, occupants spoken to, documentation completed and relevant comments. An Excel spreadsheet template of area canvass results is provided in the area canvass folder within the Serious Crime Template.

10 Visit team members regularly during the area canvass to monitor welfare, maintain control, morale, enthusiasm and efficiency.

11 Attend investigation squad conferences and supply situation reports.

After canvass

12 On completion of area canvass, the OC Area Canvass must:

conduct a debrief of canvass staff
ensure all questionnaires are reconciled with the master list
ensure all staff notebooks are accounted for
submit a report to the OC Investigation, detailing the results of the area canvass.