PCI Investigative Techniques & Procedures 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of a 'trash cover' or trash examination in an investigation?
- To identify a subject's garbage disposal habits for behavioral profiling
- To recover discarded documents, receipts, and items that reveal activities (Correct answer)
- To plant evidence in a legally deniable location
- To monitor recycling patterns as part of environmental compliance
Correct answer: To recover discarded documents, receipts, and items that reveal activities
Trash covers are used to recover discarded materials that can reveal financial activity, associations, and behavioral patterns without a warrant once trash is placed at the curb.
Question 2: Which type of interview structure is most effective when a subject is cooperative and the investigator wants to gather maximum detail?
- Cognitive interview technique (Correct answer)
- Reid technique accusatory approach
- Structured polygraph pre-test format
- Confrontational direct questioning
Correct answer: Cognitive interview technique
The cognitive interview uses mental reinstatement and open-ended recall prompts to maximize information retrieval from cooperative witnesses.
Question 3: During a background investigation, a PCI discovers conflicting employment dates on a candidate's resume. The best next step is to:
- Report the candidate as a fraud immediately
- Verify directly with the employers listed and document discrepancies (Correct answer)
- Assume clerical error and move on
- Confront the candidate without further verification
Correct answer: Verify directly with the employers listed and document discrepancies
Conflicting dates require direct verification with the employers before conclusions are drawn, ensuring accuracy and fairness.
Question 4: Which principle governs the admissibility of scientific evidence in most U.S. federal courts?
- Frye standard of general scientific acceptance
- Daubert standard requiring relevance and reliable methodology (Correct answer)
- Miranda standard of voluntary disclosure
- Exclusionary rule based on probable cause
Correct answer: Daubert standard requiring relevance and reliable methodology
Under Daubert v. Merrell Dow (1993), federal courts evaluate whether expert scientific testimony is based on sufficient facts, reliable methodology, and valid application.
Question 5: A witness recants a previously provided statement. What should the PCI do first?
- Discard the original statement as unreliable
- Document the recantation and preserve the original statement for comparison (Correct answer)
- Pressure the witness to reinstate the original account
- Close the investigation due to lost evidence
Correct answer: Document the recantation and preserve the original statement for comparison
Both the original statement and the recantation are evidentiary and must be preserved; inconsistencies may themselves be significant findings.
Question 6: When photographing a crime or incident scene, the correct sequence of documentation is:
- Close-up, mid-range, then overall/wide-angle shots
- Wide-angle overall shots, then mid-range, then close-up detail shots (Correct answer)
- Random documentation based on item importance
- Only close-up shots of key evidence items
Correct answer: Wide-angle overall shots, then mid-range, then close-up detail shots
Proper scene photography proceeds from overall orientation shots to mid-range context photos to close-up detail shots to establish spatial relationships.
Question 7: In covert investigations, the concept of 'cover legend' refers to:
- A secret map used to track surveillance routes
- A fabricated but consistent background story supporting an undercover identity (Correct answer)
- The legal authority granted to a covert investigator
- A code name used in encrypted communications
Correct answer: A fabricated but consistent background story supporting an undercover identity
A cover legend is a believable, internally consistent false identity story that supports an undercover operative's role throughout an investigation.
PCI Investigative Techniques & Procedures 3
What is the primary purpose of a 'trash cover' or trash examination in an investigation?