Train your teams to conduct investigations according to best practices and the law
Based on the content of our Certificat en enquête et renseignement – widely recognized in professional circles and trains several hundred students annually – this course is designed for investigation, inspection and audit organizations. Proven teaching methods will help you reinforce your practices while developing new knowledge and skills.
Short-term, custom-made courses
In order to be as relevant as possible to your situation, our courses are developed to address your needs with specific circumstances in mind. The content is always tailor-made by our experts, who study and incorporate your objectives, the legislative framework in which your employees work, your organisational context, and so on.
Courses also offered in French
Would you like to train one or more of your teams in French? No problem !
Modules tailored to your needs
We work with you to develop the training program that best suits your teams' needs. You can choose to follow some modules over others, depending on your teams’ skills, development needs and fields of activity. The training content offered in each of these modules can also be fine-tuned.
Basic training
For basic training, we recommend putting together a program based on the following modules:
Module 1 – Conducting the investigation
Duration: 5 hours
- Principles of investigating: investigation and related concepts (inspection and verification)
- Investigation logic and cognitive biases
- Organising the investigation
- Note-taking
- Planning template
- Order tracking template
- Exhibit tracking template
- Investigation report
Module 2 – The legal framework for administrative and criminal investigations
Duration: 7 hours
- General framework
- Powers, inspection and investigation
- Case law limitations
- Your organisation’s specific legislative and regulatory framework
- Rules for sharing information
Module 3 – Intelligence and technology in an investigative context
Duration: 7 hours
- Open source research
- Definitions and limitations of open sources
- Research methodology
- Research techniques
- Searching for individuals and identities online
- Searching for companies
- Searching for places and geographical locations
- Specialised searches: social media, telephony, etc.
Module 4 – Administrative and criminal investigation techniques
Duration: 7 hours
- Investigation strategy
- Essential elements of an offence and theory of cause
- Toolkit available to the investigator
- Investigation life cycle
- Collecte initiale
- Evidence gathering and organisation
- Useful techniques at the start of an investigation
- Coercive powers and their application in investigations
- Advanced investigation techniques
- Physical surveillance (static, dynamic, infiltration, pretext visits, etc.)
- Electronic surveillance (video, audio, geolocation, DNR, etc.)
- Interviewing informants and cooperating witnesses
- Combining investigation techniques
- Criminal investigation techniques (disclosure orders, search warrants, general warrants, etc.)
- Data analysis and cross-referencing
Module 5 – The interview
Duration: 7 hours
- Basic rules for investigative interviews
- Preparing for the interview
- Starting a meeting with an uncoerced person
- Gathering relevant information and obtaining a version of events
- Managing evidence during an interview with a suspect
- Overcoming resistance and fears
- Risks in investigative interviews
- The constraints of remote interviews
Additional training
Have you completed the five modules of the basic training course? Discover our new seven-hour additional training course and share it with your teams.
Virtual interview techniques
Duration: 7 hours
- Secure and prepare a virtual interview, taking technical risks into account
- Respond effectively to technical difficulties in order to limit their impact
- Detect and reduce cognitive biases related to distance
- Protect confidentiality and better control the virtual environment
- Use simple techniques to establish and maintain trust with the participant
Advanced training
For advanced training, you could add the following supplements:
Module 6 – Court authorisations and seizures
Duration: 7 hours
- Basic legal concepts
- Different types of court authorisations
- Search warrants
- Planning a search
- Conducting a search
- The chain of custody
- Handling exhibits
- In court
Module 7 – The investigator's testimony in court
Duration: 7 hours
- From report to testimony
- Courts and rules of evidence (introduction to proceedings)
- What to do before the hearing
- To correct or not to correct errors
- Ordinary or expert witness
- The witness: the art of expression
- Listening to and understanding questions
- Direct and cross-examination
- Hostile witness
- Rule of testimony
- Appearance in court
- Investigator's notes
Module 8 – Digital evidence
Duration: 7 hours
- Basic concepts
- Law of evidence
- Collecting digital evidence
- Processing and managing digital evidence
- Authenticity of digital evidence
- Note-taking and testimony
- Computer forensic experts
- Best practices
Module 9 – Interviewing skills
Simulations
Simulation duration: 1 hour 30 minutes, in teams of 4 people: 1-hour virtual interview with an actress and feedback.
- Interview planning
- Review of training elements
- Preparation of the plan
- Presentation of the plan
- Presentation of the scenario
- Identifying the type of person to meet
- Offences
- Interview objectives
- Introduction of evidence
Independent modules
Some modules can also be taken independently:
Lie detection and credibility assessment
- History of lie detection
- Lying: why and how?
- Unfounded, proven false and pseudoscientific beliefs
- Lie detection through speech
- Lie detection through non-verbal cues
- The influence of culture and context
- The state of the art (and science!) in the search for truth
Security intelligence
Duration: 7 hours
- Introduction :
- Definitions and terminology;
- Security intelligence as a discipline;
- The role and limitations of security intelligence;
- The clientele of security intelligence;
- Ethics and political profiling;
- Security intelligence collection and analysis :
- Types of sources, their strengths and weaknesses;
- Methods of analysis;
- Elements of interest to consider in analysis;
- Threat assessment;
- Dissemination of security intelligence;
- Today's threats and modus operandi :
- Definition of contemporary threats;
- Threats to public security and state authority;
- Violent extremism and terrorism;
- Espionage and foreign interference;
- The internal threat.
The investigator's testimony in court
Duration: 7 hours
- From report to testimony
- Courts and rules of evidence (introduction to proceedings)
- What to do before the hearing
- To correct or not to correct errors
- Ordinary or expert witness
- The witness: the art of expression
- Listening to and understanding questions
- Direct and cross-examination
- Hostile witness
- Rules of testimony
- Appearance in court
- Investigator's notes
Some of our experienced trainers
Michel St-Yves
A forensic psychologist, Michel St-Yves worked for 10 years at Correctional Service Canada and 26 years at the Bureau des sciences du comportement, a specialized unit supporting criminal investigations at the Sûreté du Québec, both to establish suspects’ psychological profiles and to prepare police interrogations. He teaches investigative interview techniques at the Institut Suisse de Police and the École nationale de police du Québec, and is a lecturer at the École de criminologie de l'Université de Montréal. Michel’s teaching experience extends to North America, Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia. His publications focus primarily on the psychology of criminal investigations, crisis negotiation and police interrogation.
Claude A. Sarrazin
Founding president of SIRCO, a firm that specialises in investigating collusion, corruption, organised crime, cybercrime and security, Claude A. Sarrazin has been active in the field since 1987, and has led complex investigations in Canada as well as internationally, notably for the International Criminal Court. Recognised by police and government agencies, he has contributed to reforms of the Criminal Code and the fight against money laundering. SIRCO made history by conducting the first Canadian computer investigation that led to a conviction. His expertise is sought by boards of directors and the Canadian Senate, plus he is a university lecturer, risk management consultant and member of disciplinary committees. Photo: Bell Media.
They recommend our courses
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
“The training program, which was quickly and efficiently developed by the university in response to our request and tailored to our specific operational needs, proved to be a resounding success. The topics covered, the approach taken and, above all, the trainers’ expertise, professionalism and enthusiasm made this first experience a resounding success. The quality and relevance of the training offered allowed us to validate and harmonise our working methods, while highlighting certain aspects that need to be developed or refined. It also helped to increase the confidence of employees, who now feel better equipped to handle often complex situations, in addition to providing a forum for a privileged network for the exchange of best practices.
The hours of tailor-made training provided by the university were an excellent investment of our staff's time, to the point where we are now well underway in developing a second version of the training program.”
Mélanie Boivin
Manager, Investigation and Enforcement Services
Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants
“The trainers took into account the reality of our sector and this training proved to be very beneficial for our monitoring team. The team now has additional tools and skills to continue its work with greater confidence.
Training tailored to our needs. The trainers left plenty of room for participants' questions related to their work. This helps us apply the material in our daily lives.”
Pascale Tremblay
Chief Executive Officer