labKinds of dossier. Three levels of the same work
A dossier can be an information, an operational or an intelligence dossier. The levels differ in how far verification went and what may be stated at each.
A dossier is the result of an investigation assembled for handing over. The organisation divides dossiers into three levels by two questions: how far verification went, and what may be stated at that level.
Information dossier
What it is. Open data on the subject, collected and arranged into records: what is known, from where, and when. Registries, court records, publications, archived pages.
What may be stated. A statement of fact: "on such a date the registry lists such-and-such". Every record carries its source and the date of access.
How it is built. Every record stands on its own; relations and conclusions are built at the next level. If two records are evidently about one subject, that is noted.
State of verification. The source is named, a document is attached. No verification tasks, no second person.
Operational dossier
What it is. The information dossier plus analysis: relations between records with a basis under each, a chronology, a list of gaps, verification tasks with their results.
What may be stated. A conclusion with its basis: "A controls B, the basis is document D". A presumption is called a presumption and is drawn differently from a confirmed relation.
How it is built. Every conclusion runs along a chain from a source through named relations. A conclusion the chain does not yet reach stands in the gaps with a verification task.
State of verification. The source is named, a document is attached, a verification task is closed. There may be no second person, and that is said.
Intelligence dossier
What it is. The operational dossier plus interviews with people approached openly, in the name of the organisation, and confirmation of the records by a second analyst.
What may be stated. Everything the operational level allows, plus testimony as a source: "according to N, who was approached openly, …", with the date, the form of the approach, and what N knew about the purpose of the conversation.
How it is built. People are approached openly and in the name of the organisation, data comes from lawful open sources, and the subject of the work is a person in a public role. The rules of work here are the same as at the first level.
State of verification. All four marks: the source is named, a document is attached, a verification task is closed, a second person has confirmed.
Common to all three
- One form. A dossier is issued as a workspace file and a document for reading. A dossier of the lowest level opens the same way as one of the highest and is verified by the same means.
- Gaps are named. At any level, what is not established is listed by name. The organisation does not issue a dossier without a section of gaps.
- No figures. A dossier carries no percentage of reliability and no risk rating. There are verification marks, and they are counted from the record.
- The level is stated on the cover. From the first page the reader knows what is in front of them: a statement of fact, an analysis, or a verified conclusion.
Why there are three levels
With one dossier "for everything", the reader has to guess what in it was verified and what was merely collected. Three levels say so in advance.
A client who needs an extract does not pay for a second analyst. A client who needs a conclusion for a deal does not receive an extract dressed as a conclusion.