Produce once, then rebuild
A document is produced the first time and rebuilt after that, from whatever the record says at the moment you rebuild it. Earlier runs are kept.
Reporting
Nothing in a report was typed twice.
A field log is written once, in the field: the event, the time, what was observed, which vehicles. That log is what the day-end update prints, what the full-day report narrates, and what the final report carries into the client’s file.
Example output
Illustrative day-end update excerpt from a fictional case.
An individual matching the subject’s profile was observed exiting the residence and walking to a parked vehicle. The individual entered the vehicle and departed the area.
The observation comes from the field log. In the report, its recorded event time and any attached evidence stay beside it. A manager reviews the document before releasing it; your agency’s report profile supplies its structure and letterhead.
Five documents, and what each is built from
- Beginning-of-day update
Sent once the day has started, from the first field log.
- Mid-day update
What has happened so far, from the entries filed up to that point.
- Day-end update
The day's entries in order, with each clip linked beside the entry it evidences. Requires a log that ends the day.
- Full-day report
The same day narrated from the same entries, with the day's facts and hours.
- Final report
Every worked day the case has, carried into one client document.
The investigator submits. The manager releases.
Investigators and online investigators author and submit for review. Only a manager marks a document client-ready, and an approved document is locked as evidence until it is returned for rework.
Two client documents from the research side
The online investigator ships an open-source intelligence report, and a pre-surveillance intelligence report that precedes the field work. Neither is built from the day’s logs, and neither is part of the surveillance report.
Two that never leave the building
The handoff note carries what the next investigator needs, and the surveillance plan carries how the day will be worked. Both are internal, and neither can be released to a client.
Your practice
Your sections, your letterhead.
An agency that sends no intra-day updates stops being offered them, everywhere at once. Report sections, wording and branding come from the agency’s own report profile, and the document a manager approves on screen is the document the client receives.
Next
Explore the evidence or plan your agency setup.
Evidence stays attached to the entry it supports, and the client opens it without an account.