Early in this article the
author gained my attention by writing something that is absolutely
consistent with one of the three values of a REAL investigation:
objectivity. I can say this even though Mr. Wideman was addressing
criminal investigations of child sexual abuse. His admonition
is no less true for CI's. The author wrote:
The investigator hears the initial allegation
of child sexual abuse from a variety of sources. These include
parents, relatives, neighbors, patrol officers, medical personnel,
social workers, teachers or others who have been in contact with
the child. Make NO assumptions as to whether or not an actual
incident has occurred. The greatest problem in criminal investigations
today is that investigators assume something happened and then
set out to prove themselves right. DO NOT BECOME A PRISONER OF
YOUR INVESTIGATION! First collect all the facts possible and
then determine whether or not a crime has occurred and who may
have committed it, if it did occur. There is not an investigator
alive today who has not had someone make a false complaint to
him at some time in his career.
This person is worth reading, even if you
don't agree with everything he writes!