Part 9 - Area Convass Flashcards
Objectives
- identifying the offender
- identifying and locating evidence, such as vehicles, discarded clothing, weapons and other articles
- identifying witnesses
- gathering information
Other benefits of area convass may include:
- sightings of the victim or offender before or after the event
- sightings of relevant property of vehicles
- sightings of potential witnesses
- creating opportunity for an early arrest through early ID of offender
- obtaining key information to drive investigation or develop lines of enquiry
- promoting awareness of significant occurrences
- eliminating unidentifed vehicles or persons reported by other witnesses
- obtaining an accurate record of local community
Getting ready for area canvass - Preparation
Area Canvass Checlist provided as an aide memoire to managing area canvass.
Getting ready for area canvass - Reconnaissance
OC Investigation, OC Area Canvass and OC Suspects should attend scene as soon as practicable to make a reconnaissance and conduct an appreciation and set parameters and objectives of canvass.
Getting ready for area canvass - Appreciation
Before area canvass, OC Area Canvass in consultation with OC Investigation should conduct intial appreciation to determin whether a full area canvass phase is required.
OC Area Canvass should carefully consider to what extent and for what purpose the canvass is being carried out. Simple question to be asked is WHY?
Appreciation should take account all available and relevant info, including all info generated by intial house to house enquiries. Appreciation may include reason enquiries made, locations involved, parameters covered, questions asked, staff involved, records kept, who was/wasn’t spoken to, alibi details, vehicles owned, statements taken, intel obtained and ID of any suspects or POI.
Local staff can manage a small localised area canvass in immediate vicinity of scene, however more extensive enquiries require deployment of dedicated resources.
Getting ready for area canvass - Timing of canvass phase
Initial area canvass will normaly be conducted when Police first attend incident. A formal area canvass will normally follow and re-visits are frequently required.
In some cases, 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 day.
Getting ready for area canvass - Identifying location parameters
Parameters must be adequate and relevant to achieving objectives.
Relevant locations which may influence the setting of location parameters include:
- scenes, e.g. sites where victims, offenders, witnesses have been present, sites where offences took place, sites where vehicles, property or exhibits have been found
- premises within line of sight of scenes
- access and egress routes to/from scenes
- areas where offender may have lain in wait
- location where victim was last seen alive
- locations or premises frequented by victim
- locations of similar or previous incidents identified by intel as having occurred in the same locality
Getting ready for area canvass - Risk Assessment
Intel systems should be analysed to establish wether there are any people or events in the area which staff carrying out enquiries should be aware of, including:
- 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
Getting ready for area canvass - Identifying time parameters
- the offence (times between which the offence is thought to have occurred)
- the scene (times when people visited scene)
- sightings (times at which victim, witness, or offender was seen at particular locations)
- previous residents and visitors and scene
- consideration of peoples’ varying work times
Getting ready for area canvass - Identifying witnesses
- 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
Getting ready for area canvass - Identifying suspects/POI
When suspect’s residential or work location is established, OC Investigation to develop strategy to ID all persons living or working at that location, obtain accounts of movements at relevant times. Achieved though Area Canvas
During area canvass - team briefings
1 Summarise the situation and detail the duties and areas of responsibility
2 Emphasise the need for throughness 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 flexible in that information supplied could lead to other questions
4 Advse that evidence of possible probative value must be obtained in a FWS rather than notebook
5 Consider visting the canvass area to record every address including flats and vacant sections then reconcile these with the map
6 Ensure all forms are completed and actioned
7 Reconcile completed locations with master copy to avoid duplication
8 Advise staff:
- what action to take if they believe they have ID’d 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 (i.e. info in media releases or already in public domain)
- what information must not be disclosed
Tbe briefing is an opportunity to remind staff the success of the investigation relies on the co-operation and goodwill of the public and this is to be reflected in their approach to persons spoken to during the canvass.
Emphasise the importance of keeping accurate records. CLear and regular debriefs will help ensure this occurs.
During area canvass - Monitoring progress
As each household is completed, the OC Area Canvass should shade in a map to maintain a quick up-to-date record of teh areas canvassed. A similar map, updated daily, should be retained at the Operation Headquarters.
In addition, the OC Area Canvass should continuall 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 maintained and updated by OC Area Canvass, showing:
- which addresses have been visited
- which occupants interviewed
- the documentation completed
- any relevant comments made
During area canvass - Points to consider
Use of experts
Consideration should be given to the use of experts for example in areas with diverse ethnic culture which may help alleviate misinterpretation of responses and behaviour.
Use of an aide-memoire and script
Consideration should be given to providing staff with an aide-memoire or script to ensure they have ready access to all the relevant information they need to conduct interviews.
Leaflets
In some cases people may be initially reluctant to provide useful information to officers. It is good practice to leave a leaflet at each address that gives details of the investigation and contact phone numbers. This will provide those with information a means of communicating it to the invetigation team when they are ready.
Other options
Consideration can be given to other approaches:
- media
- poster campaign
- mail drop
- high profile Police presence, using a caravan
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.
After area canvass - Debriefing
- key locations where door to door enquiries have been undertaken
- parameters of initial Police activity
- what questions were asked and any perceived issues from respondents
- what records have been completed
- who has been spoken to at what address
- whether personal descriptions have been taken of persons seen
- whether NIA/Intel checks have been completed in respect of persons seen
- relevant information provided by persons seen
- any intel obtained
- whether persons have a credible alibi
- whether witness interviews have been conducted an/or staments taken
- details/locations of vehicles owned by persons interviewed
- details of other persons who live or were present at the premises
- ID of any suspects
- details of premises where there was no response
- confirmation that all notebooks of staff members involved are accounted for
- whether any issues arose that could improve future performance in canvass enquiries
