Forensic Security Experts In Legal Cases: Educating And Providing Professional Support

Is It Necessary To Educate Attorneys About Providing Professional Support Before Conducting A Site Visit?

As a forensic security expert, my role involves various aspects crucial to legal cases. Here are some key elements that define my professional support, often beginning with educating attorneys on the nuanced aspects of security, such as the NFPA 730 Guidelines for Premise Security: 2006 Edition. This guideline establishes standards for premise security, emphasizing the need for a security plan and a professional risk assessment of the property.

Educate Attorneys

I provide insight into standards the NFPA 730 advocates for, ensuring attorneys understand the importance of a security plan and a professional risk assessment, realizing full well that most attorneys are not familiar with detailed security protocols, and part of my role is to bridge this knowledge gap.

I emphasize the first standard that premises should have a security plan, a critical yet often overlooked component. I also make great efforts to drive home the necessity of a comprehensive risk assessment to identify vulnerabilities.

The many heartbreaking school shootings that have happened recently particularly illustrate the need for robust security plans and risk assessments. With so many thinking, “Something like that will never happen here,” challenging common misconceptions surrounding the likelihood of experiencing something horrific like this can go a long way to making this happen.

Conduct Site Inspections

Site visits enable you to gain firsthand knowledge of the environment and identify elements of a case that may not be evident in depositions or reports. Visiting a site helps illuminate the influence of the area on criminal activity, analyzing how the environment contributes to criminal activities. This is often overlooked by attorneys, but there is data that suggests a strong correlation and perhaps even a causation.

I have seen this many times throughout my career, with one experience especially coming to mind. Once, my wife and I had a somewhat unusual experience at a restaurant. Typically, you expect to be greeted by staff at the entrance, but this place had a sign instructing people to wait for someone to seat them.

On this particular day, there was no one at the front, and all the service staff seemed huddled in the kitchen, away from the dining area. It was evident they were watching a football game on TV or something. The atmosphere was chaotic, and it left the front unattended.

It wasn’t surprising that a crime had occurred here not too far before we visited this site. There was no one around when two individuals barged in and assaulted a customer. One person used a plate to strike the left side of the victim’s head, while the other used a beer bottle, hitting him on the right. The injuries were severe, requiring five staples at the hospital.

Quickly, with no one present to prevent the assault, the victim suffered unnecessarily. If that day was anything like the day I visited, it is likely that the manager and staff were preoccupied in the kitchen. Despite this, though, the manager was able to produce surveillance camera footage capturing the entire episode. He downloaded and shared the data, helping to put things into the record that wouldn’t have been able to otherwise.

Review of Material

I advocate for a thorough review of all available and relevant material, including police reports and relevant data. This greatly enhances the depth and accuracy of conclusions drawn from the available information.

Conclusions and Reports

When summarizing findings, clear communication is paramount. I strive to ensure that conclusions align with applicable standards and support the case effectively. This oftentimes requires stressing the value of reports as organized references during legal proceedings. This may aid in presenting complex information to judges and juries that later prove convincing.

In forensic security, operational significance takes priority, comprising key elements such as:

• Site visits
• Assessments
• Material reviews
• Conclusions
• Comprehensive reporting
• And more…

These components collectively form the bedrock of a forensic security expert’s role. Adopting a holistic approach is especially important, and doing so extends beyond merely executing duties to include educating others, conducting thorough site visits, and generating comprehensive reports, all elevating their contribution to any legal proceedings.

For more information on Educating & Providing Professional Support, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (617) 686 9867 today.