Week 2 - LDF Documentation & Reporting

Question 1

What is LDF DOCUMENTATION?

Answer 1

• allows you or someone else to return to the materials at a later date & understand or verify the findings.
• Must be CLEAR, CONCISE & DETAILED.
• Must give a clear indication of:
  What you did
  What you found
  How you interpretated findings

Question 2

List some considerations when documenting

Answer 2

• Keep documentation in non-proprietry, common, ubiquitous formats (e.g txt rtf docx)
• Use a text editor that can embed links and images
• Use the same editor for documentation & reporting

Question 3

List some suitable documentation programs

Answer 3

You want a reliable way to insert a date & time stamp.

• Notepad (F5 to insert a time stamp).
• Word /Microsoft Office (do NOT use Alt-Shift-D or T to insert a time stamp - this is dynamic and will change when you save or reopen the document and when you print it. Use a static date / time field). You can make a template with a macro to do it. Or use word ‘insert time / date option but make sure the automatic update box is not checked.
• Textwrangler
• OpenOffice / LibreOffice
• Tomboy Notes (Ctl-D to insert a time stamp)
• Blackthorn CaseNotes Insights

Question 4

What to document

Answer 4

• Log the time for everything
• List of exhibits
• Case notes of all actions
• Devices examined (serial numbers / specia characteristics)
• Results
• Documentation supporting your reasoning
• Hours worked on the case (if required by your organisation).

Remember you need to clearly define the goals before beginning - knowing the goal of the documentation with dictate the scope of the documentation.

Question 5

Checklists when documenting

Answer 5

An ordered comprehensive checklist of common tasks that are done at every examination can be used to make sure all bases are covered.
- Forces you to justify NOT doing a specific task
- Must not take the place of understanding - LDF can be dynamic - must be able to adapt / deviate where necessary
ACPO principle 2 - must be COMPETANT - don’t blindly follow a checklist, keep thinking.

Question 6

What is LDF REPORTING

Answer 6

• Describes the analysis and conclusions
• Must be understandable to the intended audience.
• Must be easily referenced (structured so certain parts can be easily found by page number or section)
• Must be unambiguous in logic and conclusions
• Must contain all the necessary info to explain your conclusions
• Do not include uncessary information
• Must satisfy legal requirements

Question 7

List the components of a LDF Report

Answer 7

• Title Page
• Executive Summary
• Table of Contents
• Background Info
• Adopted Analysis Methodology
• Description of Analysis Steps & Results (basically your documentation)
• Conclusions
• References
• Appendices (anything too big or detailed or technical for the main content. Define technical terms here)

Question 8

REPORTING General Key Points

Answer 8

• Beware of placing a person at a keyboard. A user account does not necessarily attribute to a person. Additional attribution evidence is usually required.
• Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Not finding a trace does not mean it did not happen.
• The ultimate issue. The expert is not likely to be making opinion on then guilt or innocence of the accused.

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