How to Face the Investigation
You can face the Investigating officer boldly, if he were not able to detect anything, which has not been already reported and brought to the notice of your controlling authorities, by you. You can also face him boldly if you have brought your house-keeping on track (to proper standards).You can face him, if all of what you have to explain at this stage is already conveyed to controlling office and these records are seen in the correspondence file. This will eliminate the scope for the investigating officer to make one-sided reporting at your expense. If you had not utilized your earlier opportunities and done these things, you have missed a golden opportunity and you have only to thank yourselves. Further these are actions, that you need not have to perform stealthily, but transparently in full limelight, as in this stage you are working to effect damage-control of a jeopardy that may threaten the Department you serve, as well as you.
Extend normal cooperation to the investigating officer and preferably give your version carefully drafted, precise and brief, though such information is already contained in the records, and request him that it should be incorporated in his report. This need not be the basic record prepared by you earlier. The basic record is a total account of happenings. What you have to explain to the Inspector is only with reference to any omissions or commissions that have been mentioned by the inspector on your part. Send a copy there-of to your controlling authority. The wording of your "Note" or "Handout" should not cover any admissions, but it should cover only explanations and steps that you had taken for protecting the interests of the Departments.
You can prevent mishaps by adhering to 20-point safety net. Or you can successfully perform crisis management and ward of a charge sheet. If you are tactful the investigator will find reasons to support you and de-link your responsibility as the cause for the untoward happening. "Things have gone wrong. But no member of staff is found responsible". If this happens, the matter ends there. But what if the investigating officer holds you responsible for specific irregularities (omissions and commission), but for which things would not have gone adverse according to him. This indicates the failure or partial failure of the preventive and pre-emptive stages and the charged officer moves to the crucial final phase i.e. "Protection-Seeking Stage", when he has to use his own skill and dexterity to explain and justify his actions.
Update files and keep correspondences put into respective files. I do not advise you to keep copies of official correspondence with you, unless if any letter is specifically addressed in your personal name, when it will be legally permissible for you to keep either the original itself or a photo-copy.(You are in fact the legal owner of such a letter). Your case dairy should include brief notes of all relevant and important letters (Material records). This is the basic record and this will serve usefully for all purposes throughout. Keep your office neat and tidy. Such things may not appear to be relevant to you, but these all convey that you are a person of customised principles and working. Even when the investigation is going, pay proper attention to customer service and duties in your office, and ensure that the office is functioning smoothly. Do not exhibit any nervousness before the investigating officer. Do not try to solicit compassion from him. You are well and strong and stand on your strength, and what you seek for is not sympathy, but proper understanding and objective approach from the investigating officer.
Next Article on captioned subject "How to Effectively Handle Investigations:
A Charged Officer’s Guide"
await !! and
follow the yourdefensecounsel.blogsopt.com.
"share with all your communities and needy people"
