Having recently joined Expert Investigations from West Midlands Police, Laura Sutton, Senior Analyst at the private investigation firm, writes of the value of using the i2 Analyst Notebook software in investigations.
Often investigations, especially those involving frauds, can be large scale, complex and are rarely straight forward. The use of data analysis can ease this problem through charting the information and data mining, which enables presentation to be simple, straightforward and concise. A key tool used by analysts in order to this the i2 Analyst Notebook software.
i2 Analyst Notebook allows the user to present information in pictorial charts which ensures easy interpretation by the client, and in court cases, the judge and jury. This is especially useful as many people are able to digest information pictorially much more easily. The data presented can be from any source, whether that is witness statements, surveillance logs, bank statements, interview transcripts or any other paper or electronic document obtained. The data can be of any size as it is also possible to import large electronic data sets for charting, with ease using i2.
The data is displayed in a variety of icons including people, locations, vehicles, companies, bank accounts, financial transactions, telecommunications and commodities to name a few. All of which can be linked with arrows to show associations or movements. All the entities can be colour coded in order to highlight or categorise certain aspects of the chart or to show associations to individuals. It is also possible to embed pictures, photographs, documents, maps and files within the chart. The charts often take the form of a timeline, association chart, flow diagram or frequency wheel but can be customised to the specific needs of the client.
Once the information is in the format of a chart it enables the analyst to identify trends and patterns in the data as well as identifying gaps in the information, any discrepancies in accounts and to highlight links between entities that may not have been known previously.
Expert Investigations have the latest version of the i2 Analyst Notebook software and training, which allows the analysis to be conducted in-house or remotely depending on the needs of the client. This is yet another advantage of using this software.
As the analyst has been able to look at all the information collected from the investigation, it is enables an independent overview. It is therefore possible to identify the key findings from the data, make inferences as to what is happening in the situation and suggest optional recommendations on how to further the enquiries in order to meet the overall aims of the investigation.
To reaffirm the main advantages of utilising i2 in investigations, they include displaying the information pictorially ensuring it is easily understood, simplifying and summarising information, highlighting the key points, data mining large data sets and allowing the data to be presented in any way required. It is difficult to see how every investigation could not benefit from the support of an analyst with i2 Analyst Notebook.
Laura Sutton is the Senior Analyst at Expert Investigations Ltd. Email:[email protected].
