Ontario Private Investigator: Evidence: types, Evidence Acts and chain of custody

All 13 questions in this test

Every question and its answer choices. The correct answers and explanations appear when you take the test above.

1. You collect a dropped item as evidence. What should you write on the evidence bag?

   1. Your opinion of how the item was used
   2. The subject's name and the client's file fee
   3. Your initials and the date and time gathered
   4. Nothing, so the court sees it untouched

2. An accused voluntarily admits the theft to a co-worker, who later testifies about it. How does the study guide treat this?

   1. It is admissible only if a police officer was present
   2. It counts as opinion evidence from the co-worker
   3. It is hearsay and can never be admitted in a trial
   4. It falls outside the hearsay rule and may be admissible

3. With one party's consent, you save an intercepted electronic message on a USB drive. How should the drive be treated?

   1. As a personal copy you may keep at home
   2. As waste to be deleted once the report is filed
   3. As a draft that can be edited for the report
   4. As evidence, stored in a secure location

4. What type of evidence are surveillance photographs and video considered?

   1. Hearsay evidence
   2. Opinion evidence
   3. Illustrative evidence
   4. Unsworn evidence

5. A witness says a co-worker told her he saw the theft. Why is this hearsay of questionable reliability?

   1. The witness was not under oath when the co-worker spoke
   2. Hearsay is reliable only if written down the same day
   3. The co-worker is not in court and cannot be cross-examined
   4. Workplace conversations are excluded by the Evidence Act

6. A knife is to be presented in court as real evidence. What is usually needed to show it is the same object?

   1. A signed statement from the accused's employer
   2. A witness explains where and how it was found and where it was kept
   3. A photograph of a similar knife from a store catalogue
   4. The investigator's own opinion that the knife looks the same as the one at the scene

7. A young witness does not seem to understand the nature of an oath. According to the study guide, who should be consulted?

   1. The client who hired you
   2. The Registrar
   3. The witness's employer
   4. The Crown

8. A witness testifies that she saw the accused strike the victim. What type of evidence is this?

   1. Direct evidence
   2. Opinion evidence
   3. Circumstantial evidence
   4. Hearsay evidence

9. Which list gives the six core steps for containing evidence?

   1. Observe, deter, record, report, testify, file
   2. Collect, analyse, copy, share, return, archive
   3. Locate, seize, photograph, label, store and then destroy
   4. Collect, secure, preserve, identify, continuity, log

10. Why should you limit how many people handle a piece of evidence?

    1. Because the Registrar must approve each handler
    2. To lower the cost of storing the evidence
    3. To keep an unbroken, documented chain of custody
    4. Because only licensed investigators may touch evidence

11. Which of these is an example of trace evidence?

    1. A surveillance video of the subject
    2. A signed witness statement
    3. A business invoice from a supplier
    4. Fibres from clothing found at the scene

12. Evidence shows the accused owns the same type of gloves found at the scene and was nearby. What is this?

    1. Trace evidence
    2. Real evidence of identity
    3. Circumstantial evidence
    4. Direct evidence

13. Under the Ontario Evidence Act, what notice must a party give before using a business record as evidence?

    1. At least seven days' notice to the other parties
    2. At least 24 hours' notice to the witness
    3. At least 30 days' notice to the court clerk
    4. No notice, since business records are always admissible