ABSTRACT
An investigator who intends to participate in the satisfaction of successful prosecutions must excel at two things: documentation and testifying. The only reliable record of the investigation is the documentation prepared by the investigator. A failing memory that recovers in time for trial is also risky. The quality of preparation is based on the quality of the documentation that has been completed by the investigating officers, the time spent in studying that documentation, and the sources from which that documentation stems. An investigator who testifies well will assist the prosecutor in obtaining guilty verdicts. An investigator who can reliably testify will be seen by the prosecutor as an asset to cultivate. A testifying police investigator can be a defense lawyer’s ally or worst nightmare. Habit is a tool or a vice. If from habit all investigations are conducted with the same meticulousness, a habit aimed at success has been established.
