Investigations -- Part 2: Why Official Inquiries Are Needed
Abstract
Part I of this discussion ("Engineer," September December 2010) reviewed some of the legal and practical justifications for the command's inherent authority to initiate inquiries into cases of suspected misconduct; systemic failures in leadership, training, or maintenance; or any event or issue that alarms the unit's leadership. This article, Part II of the discussion, focuses on methodology. If the goal is to foster minimally intrusive but productive and reasonable inquiries, then it is important to reflect on what kinds of questions to ask, what subjects are appropriate, and how to draw conclusions and recommendations from the answers. Command-initiated investigations and inquiries are often plagued by three significant but related problems: (1) They are usually conducted by officers with little or no training or experience with investigations, (2) They typically lack sufficient objectivity and neutrality, and (3) They are not sufficiently thorough or comprehensive. Any of these ailments can lead to serious unintended consequences, the worst of which might be the prosecution of a Soldier for a crime that someone else committed, or the prosecution of a Soldier when the matter could reasonably have been disposed of differently. Prosecution also may become more challenging, perhaps as a result of evidentiary problems or because the commander finds that making a disposition decision that is "warranted, appropriate, and fair" is problematic. For the lay officer, playing detective is hard -- as is making a fair, thoughtful, evidence-based recommendation to the commander about how to dispose of a case. Discussion of the following topics may ease that task: (1) How the commander can define the scope of the investigation for the benefit of the investigating officer (IO); (2) How the IO can plan the investigation, given the commander's scope; and (3) How the IO can use critical thinking to execute a thorough, timely, unbiased, and useful investigation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA572788
Entities
People
- Daniel D. Maurer
Organizations
- United States Army Engineer School