Uncovering
Reasonable Doubt: The Component Method
by Brandon Perron
Reviewed by Glenn R. Swift
“For many years, private investigation was regarded
as the mere bastard-child of lawyers and law enforcement,” says
Dr. Richard Grego, a Board Certified Criminal Defense Investigator
with the Criminal Defense Investigation Training Council (CDITC). “This
all-too-popular image of private investigators as uneducated,
poorly trained, and woefully inferior to other professionals
with whom they worked, was perpetuated by the industry’s
almost complete lack of professional standardization. In the
not too distant past, some national investigative associations
made a pretentious attempt to become more professionally legitimate
by excluding investigators from speaking at their own conferences – allowing
only doctors, attorneys, and engineers to address the audience.
That was a glaring example of just how poor the investigation
field’s self-image had become.”
Brandon Perron’s landmark work, Uncovering Reasonable
Doubt: The Component Method, represents a turning point for
the profession. By laying down a set of specific standards
in a scientifically-based systematic approach, Perron has provided
a revolutionary methodology for criminal investigation -- one
that has helped to elevate the field to an entirely new level.
In Uncovering Reasonable Doubt, Perron provides a framework
for a comprehensive criminal investigation based upon the author’s
own accepted and nationally recognized techniques. Long known
by many in the industry as the “philosopher” investigator,
the energetic Perron has toiled painstakingly to revive an
age-old spirit of learning and inquiry. He unequivocally maintains
that the private investigator’s role is, and should remain,
that of a “critical thinker and problem solver – an
impartial and objective advocate of truth.” His Component
Method, also known as the Perron Method, is closely related
to the rules of observation with regard to scientific inquiry
espoused by the thirteenth century English philosopher and
scientist, Roger Bacon.
Each component of Perron’s investigation process is designed
to uncover leads and develop questions leading to the next
component. The subsequent components are designed to support
the investigator’s efforts to track leads and answer
questions in the previous components. Utilization of the Component
Method allows the criminal defense investigator to begin and
end a criminal investigation with the knowledge and confidence
that an effective and professional investigation has been completed.
His book acts as a reference manual for the gathering and handling
of evidence in criminal cases while helping to determine where
the evidence for reasonable doubt begins and ends. The Component
Method also reinforces Perron’s firm conviction that
the investigator should be the one in primary control of the
course of the investigation.
After a brief introduction in which the author discusses the
complex and abstract nature of truth seeking, the book begins
with a brief overview of the six components:
1) Investigative review of the discovery file; police reports,
victim and witness statements, crime scene examinations, lab
reports, etc.
2) Initial defendant interview
3) Crime scene examination, diagram, and photography
4) Victim and witness background investigation
5) Witness location, interviews, and statements
6) Report of investigation and testifying
Although the author acknowledges that the criminal defense
investigator will not always have the opportunity to pursue
all of the various components, let alone in the prescribed
order, Perron makes an excellent case as to why his various
elements are laid out in specific succession. As one goes through
the text, the philosophical rationale for the components and
their intended sequence becomes readily apparent. Uncovering
Reasonable Doubt, however, is not meant to be the end-all for
criminal investigation. Recognizing the limitations of any
theoretical framework, Perron is the first to point out that
the book serves as a foundation and basic reference guide.
Nevertheless, each component is thoroughly examined within
the context of a number of high profile criminal investigations
in which the author was intimately involved. These case studies
give the book a utilitarian quality by providing the reader
with a hands-on, sights-and-smells understanding of the Component
Method in action.
Throughout the book, Perron unabashedly proclaims his image
of the independent investigator as an “impartial and
objective advocate of truth.” The writer’s stalwart
commitment to a “code of honor” makes clear his
reverence for the highest level of professional ethics. The
book is peppered with engaging quotes from Socrates to Mark
Twain. The colorful citations serve to entertain the reader
while firmly supplanting the text’s moral theme.
Written from the perspective of “one in the trenches,” the
book is easy-to-read, humorous, and intellectually engaging.
The “ripple effect” of Perron’s Component
Method has been profound since its initial publication in 1998
and it continues to elevate the professional standards of private
investigation. Although numerous manuals in criminal investigation
exist, this ground-breaking work is indispensable to anyone
serious about the profession.
Softcover
101 pages
8 1/2" X 11"
Charts, checklists, illustrations
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