One of the most popular pages on my web site is the one listing the contents of a large investigation kit that could be assembled in an hour by visiting a Canadian Tire Store. So the other day when I got an inquiry from the United Nations to quote them a price on providing dozens of these I was not surprised even though I don't make or sell this style of kit.

Why am I telling you this? I thought it might brighten your day if you feel you work in a bureaucracy and there's too much paperwork in your life.

The UN wanted within a ten day turnaround a full physical description including engineering design standards, country of origin identification, and a colour photograph of each of the 100 or so kit items.

I hope they aren't waiting for my response!

If you are looking for a small investigation kit for your vehicle, desk drawer, or first aid kits go to investigation kits.

Last month's newsletter featured an article on how to identify areas of a witness statement where more information might be available. Once this is done, your next challenge is to consider the truthfulness or accuracy of this information.

The link below will take you to an article on statement analysis and while it pertains to criminal matters there's lots of straight forward information in it that would be helpful in routine safety matters.

For example, an important factor in statement analysis is a person's lack of conviction. When analyzing a statement, investigators should note if the person feigns a loss of memory by repeatedly inserting "I don't remember" or "I can't recall." They also should look to see if the person hedges during the narrative by using such phrases as "I think," "I believe," "to the best of my knowledge," or "kind of." These phrases, also called qualifiers, serve to temper the action about to be described; thereby discounting the message before it even is transmitted.

http://www.crimeandclues.com/oct964.htm